I've been searching and searching on this forum and on the internet in general for reasonably priced restaurants (or cafes or brasseries, etc) to go to with my husband and 2 teenage sons on our upcoming trip to Paris. Most of the prices for the restaurants that are characterized as inexpensive, good values or cheap eats take my breath away when I calculate how much it's going to cost for our family of 4! In other words, 30 euros per person is way more than we'd like to spend on one dinner.

The other consideration is that while I have one son who is fairly adventurous when it comes to food choices, I have another who would do better sticking with old standbys like onion soup, rotisserie chicken and steak frites.

We are staying in the rue Cler area in the 7th, but would be willing to venture out to find appropriate restaurant choices. Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks so much.
Susan

I wouldn't worry about the cost of food. Save during the day and then splurge at night. You can eat very inexpensively while sightseeing during the day. My daughter went crazy for the sandwiches sold on the street, not to mention the crepes. Cans of pop and bottled water were only 1 euro on the street, much more if you sit down in a cafe. Eat in the park absorbing the beauty. With the expception of one meal, we were delighted with all the restaurants we found on our own. Skip anything that looks like a chain, there is so much better. My kids balanced out the cost because one would order escargot and duck, but the other would order french onion soup. Ordering tap water instead of bottled will also help.

Find one of the several Leons de Bruxelles and have moules et frites (Mussels and fries). There is a chicken dish on the menu for the less adventurous. The food is superb. Lots of young people there, Cost is less than €15 per person. The mussels are better than what I get in PEI (sorry Anselm).

If you walk all about the 7th, you'll find lots of inexpensive offerings. Crepes on rue Cler (wonderful), cafes serving wonderful composed salads, open faced grilled sandwiches, walk-up windows for pizza, savory tarts, sandwiches. Many shops with pre-pared items they'll heat up for you with tables and chairs for enjoying. You'll find similar places all over Paris while out and about. For better prices, it's best to wander a street or more away from the major tourist sights and attractions.

Perhaps you can balance the budget by spending less for dinner one night and then maybe going to 30 Euros the next night. For my money, I like to really economize so that I can splurge. Would rather east a sandwich one day and a good meal at a known restaurant the next. Mediocre meals everyday are not appealing to me. And there is plenty of mediocre food in Paris.

Crêperie des Canettes on Rue des Canettes in Saint Germain des Près was a fun place to eat with the family we met on the Eurostar. I wouldn't go out of my way for it, but if you're in the neighborhood, it is a nice place for dinner.

What kind of accommodations will you have? We brought food back from Gargantua (a traiteur in the 1er) to our apartment and ate a quick dinner before heading back out for an evening of shopping. (Thurs at the grands magasins) There is also great take out from the Food Hall at Bon Marche...pretty close to where you'll be staying.

If you are shopping or visiting museums in the evenings when they're open, the cafeterias offer decent food and plenty of choices. (Both restaurant and cafe at D'Orsay are good. Cafeteria at Galerie Lafayette is decent too.) There is also a food court in the Carousel du Louvre (a mall!) that has some decent food at reasonable prices. I like the chicken tagine from the Moroccan place.

None of these suggestions will get you a fabulous French Restaurant Experience, but you'll eat reasonably well and not feel heartsick over the cost. Hopefully, you'll have a chance to eat one really good meal at one of the places you've read about here. Good luck!

Maybe I've been spoiled by the mussels in Brussels , at our favorite restaurant in London and in other Paris restaurants, but Leons de Bruxelles, was mediocore and that's pushing the envelope!

Bistro du 7eme on 59 blvd. Latour Mauborg is a bit less. But as others have said, eat at the counter of a cafe at breakfast (or buy pastries), get a sandwich for lunch and eat in the park or on one of the bridges, and then eat a nice dinner. BUT you can eat at cafes at night for less than 30E.
DO NOT let your kids order Cokes in cafes. They are 8E often!! Even out of a machine they can be 2E.

The rotisserie chicken place on Rue Cler was very popular with our teenage daughters.

Rick Steves has some moderately-priced recommendations in this area, but one place we tried was not good quality. I'll try to find the name of the place that we did like----Bistrot something, I think, on a street running parallel to Rue Cler in the direction of the Eiffel Tower. It wasn't 30 euro per person.

You've gotten some good suggestions here---try street food like Croque Monsieur and crepes for lunch, and introduce them to Orangina instead of American soft drinks.

Hi bellairegirl, if you do a search on...
'Paris cheap restaurant'

you will find some good ideas. I don't think you will have trouble finding places that will have what you want. As others have said, Paris also has quite a few takeout places that you could visit (Lenotre), as well as farmer's markets that sell roasted chicken..and then plam a picnic for Champ de Mars, Arene de Lutece,etc...

Sandra Gustaffson's book Cheap Eats in Paris has also been recommended on this site.

Mike

Bistrot something? that should be easy to find!

Thanks so much for the suggestions so far. Any others?

I think it is Bistrot du 7eme I recommended. Last time we were there the menu was 19E.
There is a WONDerful restaurant in the Marais--Auberge du Jarente, that is 19E. There are actually many available.
For teenagers you might want to eat (once) on rue Hachette--have a gyro. They really are delicious.

Are you renting an apartment?
The fruits and veggies offered at local green grocers look great.
Quiche is a wonderful cheap meal in Paris.

There's a Leader Price right on the rue Cler where you can buy water/soft drinks at "normal" prices if your kids need liquids while they're out and about. You can also pick up yogurt, snacks, fruit, and sandwiches there if you don't come across street food (but of course you will, everywhere). There's also a great inexpensive Asian takeout place on the rue Cler.

If by chance your kids like Indian food, Punjab, right off the place Ecole Militaire has enormous portions for small prices. There's a great Sicilian pizza/pasta place on the Avenue Bosquet one block north of the Place Ecole Militaire on the right-hand side. Across the street and up one block is a good Chinese Restaurant. There's inexpensive Thai food on the Avenue Duquesne just past the intersection with Avenue Lowendal.

Two local places to avoid, IMO, are the Café du Marché on the rue Cler and the Bistro de Papa on the Avenue Bosquet.

With today's exchange rate, nothing is particularly cheap, but you have loads and loads of reasonable dining/eating options in that neck of the woods.

..to embroider on a theme...rather than do a lot of 15-20 euro meals either splurge (you should be able to find good all inclusive meals ("le menu&quot for 20-30 e..just don't order soda or bottled water and remember after dinner coffee is $$) every second day or make your big meal lunch. It can be half the price. Try to avoid restos with English menus..they tend to be more expensive and usually of poorer quality ie aren't worried about repeat traffic. For example was in Paris in Sept with co-workers. I had promised to show 2 of them around. They were starving so we had lunch at Cafe California (bad sign already) mediocre and about 12 e each for sald and a Coke. I chose the dinner venu- a smale place where we took advantage of the menu and with a bottle of wine the price was between 20 and 26e each.

Thanks again for all of the ideas. We'll only be in Paris for 4 nights, so we're not renting an apartment on this trip. It's during the kids' spring break and we're starting our trip in Switzerland for 4 nights visiting relatives in Lugano, and then taking the train and spending the rest of the time in Paris and taking a direct flight home from there.

But I believe our hotel has a mini-fridge in the room, so getting some drinks for them at the grocery is a good idea. They have expanded their dining repertoire fairly recently to include Thai, Chinese and Indian, so those are good options to know about.

Thanks again!

The lunch menu in a bistro during the work week can be found for less than 20 euros. Chartier might be another place to experience.

There are also the Flunch, Hippopotamus, and Bistro Romain chains all over Paris serving inexpensive "nonthreatening" food. Not exactly a venture into French culinary arts, but they certainly have cheap recognizable meals for American teenagers.

Heed St. Cirq about Cafe du Marche and Chez Papa!!!

If you are looking for an all you can eat type of place look into au Sergent Recruteur -- www.lesergentrecruteur.com on Ile Saint-Louis. Enormous portions and the food is of decent quality.