Aha, so it seems Les Papilles is no longer the bargain it once was..... are they still serving the dinners in the copper cookware I hope? If wandering over to the 9th to get to the place mentioned above on Rue de Martyrs, be sure and pick up first for an easy read "The Best Street in Paris," a memoir about the author's time in Paris on Rue de Martyrs and their association with all its local shopkeepers. Wish I'd read it before our last trip, but it is a great piece to get you a la mode (like you need that if going to Paris -- LOL).

alice, if you mean "The Only Street in Paris" by Elaine Sciolino, I have just finished reading it and LOVED it. I agree, very recommended.......

Possibly a very useful source for you:

http://johntalbottsparis.typepad.com/

Talbott blogs Paris restaurants with pictures, commentary, and costs.

Thanks, AJ...really great source.

John Tallbot is a great resource and also gives out good information at Chowhound.com on the France and Paris boards. Parisbymouth.com is also full of good info and has a great list of restaurants by arrondisment. I'd stay away from trip advisor for food. Maybe good for lodgings, but food rec's are sub par.

Bookmarking. I'll also be in Paris in Oct., staying in St.Germain, so these suggestions are great.

You know, right near touristy Latin Quarter is this gruff little fun-loving place, good for wine, passable or better for food. I've not been in two years, but I hope it hasn't changed terribly much. Studenty and fine, music some nights. I went early one evening by myself and it was great!

Les Pipos
2, rue de l'Ecole Polytechnique

They apparently don't have a website, but this is a fairly accurate summation, heavy on the wine notes:
http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.co...les-pipos.html

Same trip I had a really sweet, friendly dinner at Au Bon Coin, mentioned by AGM Cape Cod above.

Just to confirm : for frenchspeaking a bistro or bistrot is first and foremost a cafe.
Now some use it in their name and some U.S. may decide it means restaurant as an entree is in U.S. a main plate.
In French :
Bistro : small cafe. Usually on a corner. (Le bistro du coin).
Cafe : a little bit upscale and you may have some snacks
Brasserie : restaurant with basic food and long opening hours - usually rushed
Restaurant : a place where some decoration must take place where you are welcomed seated and tended to. And you get more elaborate food.

Another vote for L'Estrapade in the 5th, excellent, and Le Hide in the 17th. Our first visit to both Sept 2015 and will definitely go back on our next trip.

<i> I've not been in two years, but I hope it hasn't changed terribly much.</i>

I am afraid it has. I heard that les Pipos changed owners less than a year ago and the last time I was there, a few months ago, will indeed be the last.

It should be OK for a drink but I would not eat there again.

Of the restaurants (bistros) previously mentioned, I would highlight les Papilles and add Joséphine Chez Dumonet. 30€ to 40€ is what one pays for dinner now in Paris, not including wine. It's possible to find microwaved food at the 20€ to 25€ level but that's for nothing other than what you can do yourself at home.

I might suggest these blogs:

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/
http://francoissimon.typepad.fr/english/paris/
http://parisbymouth.com/

Another vote for L'Estrapade probably our most enjoyable meal in Paris.
In Montparnasse also enjoyed Kigawa very much.

Wow, Sarastro, you are eating in the wrong part of town if you have to pay 40€ for a decent meal. Of course, everybody knows that expats have more refined taste buds. ;-)

I will add that we have never microwaved one single meal at home.
Not once.
However I am often paying 50 euros a meal in the single digit arrd esp when we are several since the wine consumption usually rises up to at least one third of the cost.

I think that Bistro Paul Bert is now 43€. So no kerouac, 20€ does not go very far when looking for a good restaurant in Paris. L'Estrapade, mentioned many times above, is 36€.

That´s just the price. Crêperies are considerably less but a restaurant with a capable chef is going to cost 30€ to 40€, maybe a bit more.

Appreciate all the replies, folks...lots to choose from here. About the discussion on price...while 30-40 euros may be insufficient for some folks to get a decent meal, it's approaching what I consider to be the high end for me. And I know from my own experience of living in Los Angeles that great meals can be had for considerably less.

We all have local hangs that we dine at that serve good food for a good price. Sure, I can go out and spend several hundred dollars on a meal here in LA...and I've done it more than I'd like to admit. But I'm trying to find those places that the locals in the neighborhood dine at on a regular basis. That can mean a bar, a cafe, a bistro or a full blown restaurant. What I'm trying to avoid are places that serve you a dollop of food in the center of a big, square plate with some sauce drizzled over it.

Again, thanks for all the suggestions. I'm sure there are many jewels in the above listed recommendations.

Jim, in case no-one else has said this, bargains are often to be had at lunch-time by taking the "menu a €". Reasonably priced places can become cheap and expensive places reasonable.

Evening menus are often more expensive but still generally offer better value than a la carte dining and you would be hard pressed to be hungry after the average 3 courses; if you are you can always take the cheese course as well.

Thanks, Ann. Lunch is indeed a better value. The problem is that we're usually still full from the breakfast buffet at the hotel :)

I guess that's a good problem to have.

<i>while 30-40 euros may be insufficient for some folks to get a decent meal, </i>

I don´t think anyone said 30€ to 40€ was <i>insufficient</i>. It has been explained that this is the price point at which you can generally assume your dinner was not reheated inside of a microwave oven.

Additionally, while these prices are in euros, not US dollars, they are inclusive of any service charge or tip as well as sales taxes. In any major US city, add in sales tax (up to 8.5%) and a 20% gratuity and even with a 1.1% exchange rate bump to the dollar, 30€ to 40€ per person is very comparable.

Sarastro, that's too bad about Les Pipos. Thanks for the update.

Jim, I know you're looking for personal recommendations, but I'd suggest you may want to look at thefork.com It lists hundreds of restaurants by arrondisment or by type of food and you can usually take a look at sample menus. Also, you can make reservations on the site, frequently getting (up to 40%) discounts.

An example of a place I got a 40% off deal was Truffes Foiles. It's a tiny place in the 7th with the most heavenly truffles and excellent food. The 40% will put you well below your price point.

And don't forget that tap water is free and nobody is forced to buy expensive wines.
Wine can be had below 20 euros a bottle for a vin du patron or less for a pichet.
Being an anonymous alkie I like some good wines when in good company and a single glass or none at all if alone.
So you find a lot of good places below 40 euros per person drinking reasonably.
Esp in the outer arrondissements.

Chez Fernand in the 6th.

Thanks, Ann. Lunch is indeed a better value. The problem is that we're usually still full from the breakfast buffet at the hotel>>


Jim, we tend to stay in hotels where breakfast is extra, so often we miss it, and have a smaller breakfast elsewhere, in order to have room for a decent lunch. we find that we get a lot more sight seeing done if we fortify ourselves midday.

And then we can have dinner too!

Nothing wrong with that, Ann. I'm sure we'll manage to squeeze a lunch or three in.

After 5 nights in Paris we head to Normandy for 5 days.

Any suggestions for that? Or perhaps I should start another thread.

Jim - I would start another thread for Normandy - apart from anything else it means that it should load more quickly as it won't be so long.

Topping, because this is such a helpful thread, and to make note of MaitaiTom's blog. Absolutely hilarious! Thanks for sharing!

Jim, I wish you all the best and bonne chance.
I'll be heading off to Paris in a couple of days myself and my travelling style, eating criteria and restaurant search will be very much like yours for this trip.

I've visited Paris with different goals and mindsets on 5 previous visits, but this time round my time allocation between business and pleasure commitments is uneven, and so I've set myself the goal of casually discovering the lesser known out-of-the-way eateries with rising star chefs, where the price is low(er) and the reputations poised to soar. Thanks to a few friends in the business with recommendations, I hope this will be an exciting adventure of discovery, lol. I'll be happy to post notes and reviews upon my return and I hope you will too.

Bon voyage.

This is a jewel of a thread and considering I'm starting my November trip planning (yes, I am a procrastinator :-) ), this is helping me along quite well.

I would like to add

<b>Petit Pontoise</b>
http://www.lepetitpontoise.fr/en/
9, rue de Pontoise
75005 PARIS
A go-to favorite for at least one meal, if not more than that.

Seconding HappyTrvlr for
<b>Rotisserie de Beaujolais </b>(sister restaurant to La Tour D'Argent)
Very nice menu
They are so nice to us and remember us every trip. Once we had to cancel our reservation because I had a sore throat and she (the owner) said she would make a take-away tray for my husband to come get -- it was a most generous (and heavy!) staab pot of lamb stew, and small variety of other things as she didn't know what I would feel like eating. So very generous and kind.
** I just checked their website and is closed for renovation**
:-( I hope they are open in November

L'Amarante near place de la Bastille--

http://www.amarante.paris/

http://www.alexanderlobrano.com/rest...-new-bistro-b/

Bookmarking

This is all so great -- we're leaving on Friday for Paris and I feel like I'm still in the beginnings of research. oops.

I eat at home, mostly - because I know the food will be good and of course, a whole lot cheaper than if I went out somewhere.

But when I go out to eat with friends, I don't really care too much how much the meal costs per person. The whole point for me is to celebrate being there with them and enjoying ourselves. If someone is on a budget, which is usually the case, that person just chooses to have a "plat" instead of a full meal.

There are always discussions about the wine, but most times, reason prevails, because more than one bottle will be consumed.

Great suggestions bookmarking for our next trip.

Now if only it was this easy to find recommendations for vegetarian / vegetarian friendly places in Paris....<sigh>

'There are always discussions about the wine, but most times, reason prevails, because more than one bottle will be consumed.'

Got the same problem and the same solution.

Bookmarking for our Paris visit in May. Thanks!