Our two favorite bistros: Au Petit Marguery, in the 13th, and Le Bistro de Breteuil, in the 7th.
You coulda fooled me Underhill. They're my favorites too.

Lancaster certainly is good.But if you're looking in the neighborhood of 100€ for two, forgettaboutit. Probably why it wasn't confirmed.

Le Petit Pointoise in the 5th is good.

We dined at the Table de Lancaster in April and found it very good as it should be at the price level. You can read my comments(http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=85887)If you are staying at an upscale hotel such as the Lancaster, you probably will be more inclined to try places like Carte Blanche, Drouant, l'Angle du Faubourg, Mon Vieil Ami rather than places such as Chartier, Procope, Petit St. Benoit, which are historic but serve mediocre to downright bad food.

Next door to Julien on the left, there is a delightful Turkish restaurant with faded elegance ("Derya" -- 16 rue du Faubourg Saint Denis), which will give you a finer and fancier meal than Julien for about 30% of the price. Impeccable, attentive waiters in starched shirts and some very interesting Turkish wines which they will be happy to recommend.

If you have the money, I love Dominique Bouchet's restaurant. It's a bit out of the way it the 8eme. The chef / owner calls it a bistro ... I think it's more than that.

ttt

Hi,

Try Le Trumilou at 4, Quai de l'Hotel de Ville - great, honest old-time food, decor, experience. More fun at lunch - (filled with Americans at dinner, but that's not necessarily a terrible thing) but you'll waddle out anytime as the portions are generous, to say the least. Go for the house wine and if you like sweetbreads, then this is your place. We go there, usually twice, on every trip to Paris and have never been disappointed. L'AOC, rue des Fosses St. Bernard, in the 5th, is also a gem.
msm4

ILUVPARIS,

Just returned from a whirlwind 3 1/2 day birthday trip. This time, we didn't make a single reservation, but we also didn't eat at the "named" restaurants. Sidewalk tables, cafes, brasseries, etc...no problem. To be honest, I enjoyed the food much, much more this trip than our usual routine of long, multi-course dinners.

Lots of seafood platter restaurants in the area around Cluny metro (Rue Saint Jacques at Blvd Saint-Germain).

For rotisseried meats, try the street adjacent to St. Severin church (near Petit Pont)...Mmmmm.

Our hotel concierge recommended Chez Francis (5-10 min walk from Eiffel Tower). This was EXCEPTIONAL.

Also, Garnier (this was in the Opera District, I believe). Not sure if you are a seafood fan, but their chilled seafood appetizer (something like a ceviche) was great. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

PS: I should have clarified that "seafood platter" doesn't mean fried seafood like in the states. Oh, my, no. I'm referring to the huge iced platters of shellfish, usually for 2 people.

Some of our favorite Paris restaurants are Brasserie Balzar and Le Perraudin in the 5th and Fish, in the 6th. These are restaurants we enjoyed enough to go back to.

Brasserie Balzar can be reserved online, and no reservations needed at Le Perraudin. We made our reservation for Fish the day before, as we were walking by.

Brasserie Balzar
49,rue des Ecoles 75005
Tel: 01 43 54 13 67



Le Perraudin
157, rue Saint Jacques 75005
Tel:01 46 33 15 75


Fish
69, rue de Seine 75006
Tel: 01 43 54 34 69

Sandy

marking for future reference (Hi, Jeanne!)

ttt

I would have to say that if you have had such terrible luck at choosing restaurants in 10 trips, you are either the unluckiest people in the world or unbearably fussy, in spite of claiming that you are not picky. One can eat an excellent meal in Paris for well under $50 for 2.

I ate at Fish on rue de Seine a couple weeks ago. Loved it! Well below your budget. It is small and you might need reservations. I just stopped in one day and made reservations for the next night.

Hey, Lynn. Going anytime soon?

I hope so, Jeanne. If Mr. M doesn't run the Boston Marathon, perhaps 2007 will be our "April in Paris" year.

We were just in Paris last month and had the best dinner at Benoit, 20 rue St-Martin 01-42-72-25-76. Alain Ducasse bought this gem last year and it was fabulous! Reservations are a must. We also had a wonderful dinner at Chez Pauline.

Since this is an add-on thread, I'll add my list of favorites:

http://www.parisescapes.com/paris_restaurants_top.html

I second Fish for a great reasonable meal, and I loved Pinxo because it was so different (if you pass on a bottle of wine, you can eat there for about 30euros/person). And, also L'Ambassade d'Auvergne for the fun presentation of the aligot (mashed potatoes).

Lynn,
I think we're going in late May...but probably just Italy this time. If we pass through Paris I'll let you know.

We were just there (got back last night) and foudn the exact opposite. Any number of cafes and Brasseries. We stayed in the Latin Quarter so it may have been better there.
Here are a few we loved:
Cafe Panis, 21 Quai Montebello.
Cafe Delmas, 2 Place Contrascape
And our all time favorite was actually in Versailles. a sweet little place run by a young couple. Imaginative cuisine, excellent wine list, fabulous service, quirky decor. L'Harmonium. Just off Rue Royale, near the Chateau. I will try to find the address.