bozama

Pizza in Paris, non, non, and non ( inside joke).. LOL

ALL restaurants, cafes etc. are required by law to display their menu outside their establisment.. so you never have to worry about sitting down and being surprised by prices.


Personally I found Paris was good cheap eating, I don't know how the rest of you eat at home, I mean if you expect an all you can eat buffet for 10 bucks that includes desert and drinks, well, Paris will shock you. But, if you go to a steak house and have a few drinks , then you likely won't find Paris shocking ( as long as you keep out of fancy places).

We almost always had a crepe or sandwich and drink for 5 euros for lunch each day,( from the carts) and then an ice cream for about 3-4 euros later in afternoon, then a sit down dinner for anywhere between 15- 30 euros each at night.

We often then had a SECOND ice cream for dessert while walking home in evening,( it was darn hot every day we were there)

Our hotels ( I stayed in three different ones as we visited Paris at beginning and end of trip to other countries also) all included good breakfasts, and I made sure we ate protein at breakfast to keep us full.. cheese and meat was on all the buffets. Since you are in an apt you can really save money eating in,, although, don't avoid eating out, it is one of the true pleasures of Paris.

FrankS

In Paris you dont have to have Lunch at home, there are a number of sandwich shops that sell wonderful sandwiches(goat cheese, tomato, lettuce and a variety of meats) for takeout for about 4E. Pick one up and have a picnic in the park.
My dummy guide for reataurants, go out at 9pm near your hotel and see which is full of locals, then go there the following night at 7 to eat. I found some gems with sub 20E menus

AnthonyGA

The minimum, if you eat at places like McDonald's, would be around €12-15 per day, for lunch and dinner. Something more typical would be €12-15 for lunch and €24-35 for dinner, thus €36-50 per day. If you like to eat in nice restaurants, the price rises from there very quickly and almost without limit.

Remember that you will probably spend money for drinks outside of meals, particularly in summer when the heat (100° F today officially, about 5-10 degrees hotter on the street) will force you to consume more fluids. If you stop at supermarkets you can get bottled water for €1 or so, but if you buy from anywhere else, drinks will typically cost about €2.50.

Cheap "meals" include sandwiches or crêpes to go from shops, or fast food (McDonald's, Quick). Places like Flunch may only cost €6-8, if cafeteria-style is okay. Chinese restaurants may only cost a few euro for a small meal.

suze

zeppole- That's backwards, as Kerouac mentioned already.

You said "At today's exchange rate ...A 10-12 euro lunch is $6 to $9."

The correct exchange is that A 10 to 12 euro lunch will be *$15 to 18usd*. Big difference!

Mahya2

Wonderful suggestions.

some of the names of places I have never heard of, so I'll have to see if I can map them with a google.

Where/what is Polidor ?
Where/what is Flunch ?
Paul Boulangerie sounds wonderful for sandwiches and crepes - any in the 6th arr. ?

sorry, I dont eat at McDonald's in the states and I'm sure not going to start in Europe.

And I love Leon's of Bruxelles. but enjoyed lunch there more than sitting alone at dinner - boo hoo hoo
a girlfriend who was going to meet up and take the trip with me informed me this morning she wont be able to get her visa in time. I dont mind lunching alone, but dining out in a nice restaurant for dinner is not fun.

Cafeteria style for a few lunches sounds good and I found a wonderful Chinese restaurant when I stayed in the second on Rue Honore- if anyone has one around the 6th arr. please say.

You all mention street vendors for crepes/sausages.
Do you mean the stores with serving windows open to the street?

I think my big meals of the day will be late lunches and the plat of jour - but most certainly I will go to a couple of nice dinners, within reason.

Does anyone know what time restaurants change from late lunch to dinner prices ?

But I'll be writing all this info down.

I know I was in a department store which had a cafeteria on the top floor - we even went out to the roof and sat down and enjoyed the site of all of Paris. It had those gremlin statues on top. Does anyone recognize it?

Adrienne, I will be staying in an apt. on a small street in St. Germain,it might be 22 Rue du Rigard from the 19th Sept, leaving the 29th-it's not far from a Bon Marche - do they have a lunch cafeteria ?

Keep em coming. I'm enjoying all your knowledge.

zeppole

Suze, you're absolutely right! Must have been wishful thinking!

zeppole

Yes, kerouac. My brain went into reverse.

Mahya,

You will also see crepe vendors and others selling from pushcarts, but sure, hole-in-the-walls with windows are often good.

Don't keep buying bottled water for your walk arounds. Buy one and keep filling it up from taps.

Almost every place mentioned here is on the web. Just do google searches to find locations.

suze

Sometimes it's stores with windows but sometime they are actually cars on the sidewalk (think like hot dog or pretzel vendor in NYC).

Flunch is a chain restaurant.

Pizza and McDonald's are not the same in Europe as in the U.S. I'm not saying you need to eat either, but suggest keeping a more open mind to new things you will find. For example, McD serves wine some places!

I'm pretty sure the department store you are referring to (with the view & cafeteria) is La Samaratine, which is now closed.

suze

oops, carts (not cars)!

Christina

Paris is in France, and thus pizza is not necessarily good at all. You can't make blanket statement like that, some of the worst pizza I've ever had has been in Paris (and not just once, but in several places). I would never eat pizza in Paris myself with all the other superior choices, and I can eat plenty of it elsewhere, not when I'm visiting Paris.

kerouac

The first pizzeria opened in Paris in 1950. The first pizzeria opened in Milan in 1960. Would you eat pizza in Milan?

dmlove

McDonald's may serve wine, but it's only to disguise the taste of the food, which is just as bad there as here (yes, I've eaten it, unfortunately, in both places)

danon

"Does anyone know what time restaurants change from late lunch to dinner prices ?"

most have the same menu for both.

kerouac

However, you can be careful sometimes of the weekday menus, not valid on weekends or holidays.

adrienne

Polidor restaurant is on rue M. le Prince between carrefour de l'odeon and blvd st-michel. It used to be much much better but does serve inexpensive meals. I'd stick with the beef burgundy or something like that. The tarte tatin with creme fraiche or tarte au citron are good.

Vesuvio pizzaria (corner of rue Bonaparte and blvd St-Germain) is good. Actually the pizzaria is not quite on the corner. It's on a small street that run parallel with blvd st-germain. So if you are at the intersection of the 2 streets and S-G-d-P church is behind you walk a few steps forward and turn left at the small street on the left.

The crepe stand on blvd St-Germain by S-G-d-P church is good for nutella crepes as a dessert.

Here's the link to Paul. You can find addresses on this site. I ate in one once and wasn't thrilled.

http://www.paul.fr/uk/histoire.php

suze

I'm talking about McD's as a possible bathroom stop & a quick glass of wine for fortification & to use the restrooms... not to eat the food there.

It's about knowing your available resources & keeping an open mind.