Paris Restaurant for New Year's Eve
 

My wife and I are looking for a good restaurant in the Marais or Bastille area for New Year's Eve. We'd like to find a place with a lively, casual atmosphere and few vegetarian or seafood choices on the menu (my wife does not eat meat but I do). We'd prefer a restaurant more frequented by locals than by tourists, and we're looking for a fun environment more than an intimate setting. Any recommendations?

Hi David,

Responding, without much in the way of specifics, because your post is slipping down the "row" without much in the way of help.

New Year's eve, to put it as the French would, is a "special" time for dining in Paris. Vast numbers of restaurants have menus crafted for the occasion, which is another way of saying that in those restuarants, the food choices will be less limited on New Year's eve than on other nights. So one of the key questions is whether you can find a restaurant that night with fish as a main-course choice. I suspect you can but I can't vouch for it. Within your goegrapic parameters, I suspect Bofinger, near Place de la Bastille, might work for you, but you would no doubt be crossing paths with some other non-French diners. A bit east of the Bastille, and for a more French crowd, you might check with the Square Trousseau (on the square of the same name) and/or the Pause Cafe, on rue de Charonne, or the tiny and trendy Temps a Temps, on rue Paul Bert, or the Bistrot Paul Bert, on its namesake street, to see what they're doing on that night. Good luck!

We dined at Bofinger a few New Years eves ago. Lots of seafood, and it's dead-center in the area you are considering. Pretty interior, if you can snare a table under the Dome. Tourists & locals galore.

Stu Dudley

Just to add to Stu's observation. We dined at Bofinger a week ago. It's not only quintessentially French, but the wait staff was adorable!

Dave I also adore the Bofinger and its waiters, as well as their sense of humour. I've had wonderful dining and waiting experiences when dining on the second floor. However, our waiter on the main floor wasn't so pleasant when we had lunch there last January. This is a great suggestion for the NYE.

Here's another vote for Bofinger for NYE. Everything about it is perfect for that occasion. And yes, the waiters are absolutely droll!

You'd best make that reservation really quickly, though, David. I suspect it's already getting late to reserve a table!

Ceci,

We were dining on the ground floor. Maybe they rotate the staff?

Another option is Ma Bourgogne in Place des Vosges
http://www.aveyron.com/english/phbistro/bougogneUK.html
Don't know what they will serve but it's a nice spot.

Ma Bourgogne is a nice memory for me. Sitting under the eaves during a warm summer day was great. But they are a cash only establishment so bring lots of cash if you have New Year's Eve dinner here.

Dave, it might be. Also, this was January, 1st, in the middle of the afternoon, quite a late time for lunch, and a too early time for dinner, for sure. They were shortly staffed, and the restaurant was nearly empty then.

I'd recommend you consider Le Dôme du Marais at 53 bis rue des Francs-Bourgeois for its combination of quality food and elegant, historic ambiance. (Ph: 01 42 74 54 17.) You'll find both seafood and meat dishes (am not certain about strictly vegetarian) and a gorgeous Neo-classic dining room with a domed ceiling.