My husband and I will be in Paris for 5 days starting next week. For a host of reasons, I haven't been able to spend a lot of time doing too much research even though this is our first visit to Paris and I'm a planner by nature! We have a sense of sights that we want to visit, but desperately need restaurant suggestions. I was just told by someone that reservations are necessary in most restaurants. We are looking for dinner suggestions in bistro type restaurants, casual, they don't need to be Michelin rated. Good food & wine! We are staying in the St. Germain area so would like some recommendations in that area, but we plan on visiting throughout Paris and very open to other neighborhoods.. We have opera tickets at Palais Garnier one evening and would like to have a nice lunch that day. Thank you in advance for your suggestions.

Good luck ! Of course, the grands restaurants will be good and require reservations, but regular ones have gone downhill in the last number of years because of serving factory food. See NYT and other articles on the subject. But, hey, "Paris will always be Paris, the most beautiful city in the world" (a song). Enjoy yourselves. There is nowhere like it !

This is a good place to look for restaurants: parisbymouth.com/restaurants/

I'll tell you, I don't stay in the center but even in the neighborhood where I stay, the best, most popular restaurants DO sometimes get booked up and you won't get a seat, at least on weekends. others do not, I certainly do not make reservations for most of my evening meals (I never do for any other meal, but I don't care about foodie stuff). but sometimes I do.

I don't stay in St Germain so can't recommend restaurants there too much. That is a VERY popular area with tourists, though, so maybe reservations are a good idea. I know it is difficult to get into some of the most-cited restaurants there.

like this one, so I guess I'm suggesting it
[ café-restaurant Les Éditeurs - café littéraire au carrefour Odéon / Saint Germain des Prés - Paris 75006 ]

I've eaten in Brasserie Balzar down that way and it is good and fits your description, but it isn't in St Germain. Not far, though. Balzar - Traditional Brasserie in Paris

as far as the Opera, I've only eaten lunch in the famous Cafe de la Paix, which is good but pricey. I've had dinner in nearby Le Grand Cafe Capucines which is beautiful. They have good steak. It would work, but isn't really a small casual bistro (it is casual enough). Cafe de la Paix isn't a small casual bistro, either.
Le Grand Café Capucines - Paris - Restaurant

I thought Bouillon Racine was pretty darn charming and fits your casual, bistro, good food requests.
Welcome ? Bouillon Racine

Awesome......my husband and I will be in Paris next week staying in the St Germain area too!!! (staying at St Germain Hotel on Rue de Bac). I should absolutely say that I have not first hand experienced these places. However, these places near St Germain I have researched and they have come by the recommendation on someone on this thread (yes, I scoured through them) or the hotel......

-Le Petite Chaise
-Les Papilles
-Le P'tit Troquet
-Patrick Roger- chocolate
-Barthelemy- cheese
-Gerard Mulot- bakery
-Pasa Luna- Sandwiches
-L'Avant Comptoir- tapas style but stand up only kind of place

We were in Paris last September. I did extensive restaurant research near our hotel in the 5th, plus a few others. The places we used and a list of others we didn't have time for can be located by clicking my screen name and checking out my trip report. (If that doesn't work, post and I'll cut and paste for you.) Other sources for useful restaurant info are Chowhound (but they tend to look at high end and rarely consider cost) and John Talbott's blog
John Talbott's Paris
As for reservations, The Fork (La Fourchette) will make them for you online or via smart phone, includes reviews, and often gets you a nice discount. Reservations, even those made same day, are very helpful in avoiding wandering hungry looking for a spot.

I just got back from Paris, where I stayed a few nights in the 5th arrondissement, not that far from St. Germain. I heartily recommend AJPeabody’s list, which I used extensively. (Thank you!) These places are mostly very small, so should be reserved ahead, although I seldom made reservations more than a day or two ahead.

Places I especially enjoyed:

In the 5th:

Le Cosi
Le Pie Noir
Lilane

in Montparnasse:

La Cerisaie

Places I have enjoyed on other trips, and on the right bank:

Philou
Neva Cuisine

You do not have to settle for factory food in Paris. There are plenty of wonderful small bistros that prepare their own food, and it pays to seek them out.

Don't miss the 'street food' and bakeries. Some of my favorites in Paris were casual places like the "hot dog" from a sidewalk window - an amazing sausage on a fresh baguette with incredible cheese melted on it. Or a chicken salad sandwich ready-made in a bakery, eat on a park bench. Like that.

Thank you all. Has anyone eaten at Semilla -- if so, thoughts on the menu and price? I'm having difficulty finding a menu but reviews are all very positive.

Semilla (Paris 6e) - Coup de fourchette blog guide des restaurants à Paris from 2014

How's your French? Look for "carte" which is in English "menu" while in French "menu" is a set meal.

Add me to NIkki's La Cerisaie recco: Restaurant La Cerisaie - Restaurant de cuisine du sud Ouest à Paris

I had 2 nice meals at Cafe Louise: Café Louise - St GErmain des pres - paris

As noted above, La fourchette/The Fork provides an easy reservation service on-line:
https://www.thefork.com/city/paris/415144
In my experience it is efficient and even sometimes follows up to see how the reservation worked out. It will sort by location or type of cuisine. The advantage for non-French speakers is that it functions in English. You can provide the phone number of your hotel if requested. A couple of times I have held reservations for small places which did phone me in advance to confirm the reservation (they need to fill every seat.) I would be cautious about reviews, however. The service started independently but is now part of TripAdvisor.

We had dinner at Semilla in December and loved it. I think the bill was around $80 per person. If you go, be sure to go to Freddie's Wine Bar which is adjacent to the restaurant. Same owners.

I love staying in the 6/7th...check out parisbymouth as suggested, I also use David Lebovitz's blog for ideas. Try Fish La Boissonnerie, (you may need to make a reservation a day or two ahead) and though many turn down their nose, I do enjoy LeRelais d'Entrecote, I always go on my first night in town because they open at 7pm, I arrive 10 minutes early to stand in line and I love their frites (only thing they serve is steak frites)- any other time you can expect a good 30 minute wait. And as others mentioned the street food can be great, find a busy crepe stand and try a nice warm ham and cheese crepe... enjoy!

Let me cofirm the L’Entrecote suggestion. There are several in Paris but my favorite is on the rue Benoit near the Cafe de Flore.

The best meal we had in Paris last year was at Desi Road in the 6th on Rue Dauphine near the Pont Neuf-we ate lunch there before taking the Seine cruise with my cousin. It is modern small plate Indian and super yummy. Pretty sure I reserved either on their site or la Fourchette:

Desi Road

They have a sister restaurant called MG Road in the 3rd near the Pompidou

One of our favorite cous cous places is in the 5th, Au P'tit Cahoua 39 Boulevard Saint-Marcel, 75013 It is small and gets crowded so be sure to reserve (la fourchette). We live part time kind of out in the country in France near the Atlantic, where we get better cheaper French food and we are always looking for good ethnic food in Paris, so that is why I don't have good suggestions for those kind of restaurants in Paris, but I have eaten at many of the ones listed and had good meals.

I am repeating what some others have listed here but here our the blogs I follow pretty regularly (and others that our links from those sites):
(ex-Chez Panisse pastry chef) https://www.davidlebovitz.com/

(ex Gourmet restaurant writer and food critic) https://www.alexanderlobrano.com https://lefooding.com/en
https://www.eater.com/2016/10/19/132...guide-to-paris

Unless you are absolute foodies willing to spend a bundle, I cannot imagine needing to do any research to find appropriate places to eat in Paris. I have lived here for 44 years and have had very few bad experiences in restaurants. I always look at the menus posted outside (obligatory) showing the dishes and prices, and I also look at what people are eating. I do not pay attention to that ridiculous common wisdom about not going into an empty restaurant and only going to the full ones.

Since most food in Paris is "not bad" even though it is not "always wonderful," one of my joys over the years has been precisely the ability not to plan ahead when I am wandering around the city and to just choose a place at random after observing the rather weak rules listed above. There is nothing worse for me than being locked into a reservation when my mood or geography has changed during the day.