how do you decide on one without any prior recommendations? Someone posted you go where the locals go. How does one know who the locals are? Are there any "bad" restaurants in Paris?

Hi lucky,

There might be bad restaurants in Paris, but they don't last long.

How to know where the locals go: If it doesn't have a menu in English, it's pretty safe.

If I am just looking for a pleasant, reasonably priced meal, I just wander about and pick a place that looks nice. I haven't gone (very) wrong yet.

If I want a 'dining experience' I seek recommendations.

I don't usually plan meals that much and stop into restaurants around where I either happen to be or around the neighborhood I'm staying in that look good. I choose my the menu and look of the restaurant, that's all. Before I go, I do review guidebooks or some online sources to see if any restaurants are particularly mentioned near where I'm staying. I use Cheap Eats in Paris, Zagat's, Patricia Wells' A Food Lover's Guide to Paris, and a couple books I have specializing in bistros or cafes. Also, I may use more regular guidebooks such as Access.

Yes, there are bad restaurants in Paris, of course. There are bad restaurants in any city. The worst ones I've been in are in the highly touristed area near the Seine on both sides of bd St-Michel--this is obvious, of course, but I was hungry and in the area. I think I've had some less than memorable meals in some cheap cafes in out-of-the-way areas, also. Every Parisian cafe/restaurant is not going to be great.

I don't stay in the heavy touristed areas in the dead center very much, so there are mostly locals in the neighborhood restaurants around where I stay. I can tell who the locals are by looking at the clientele pretty much. A lot of restaurants that are good will have menus in English, though, that's not a guarantee.

christina, do you happen to have a list of good restaurants that you have compiled over the years? I always seem to lose my little lists after a trip and hate having to start over at square one for research. Guess I'm lazy on the test searches.

Paris restaurants must post their menu outside. If you can't decipher the nationalities of the the patrons, you'll at least see the type of food.

Personally, I'd suggest you spend $12 and pick up a copy of the Paris edition of Zagat's. I found it to be very accurate and given that most of the ratings were based on reviews of locals, a good way to avoid toursit traps.

We make lists with friends personal recommendations, from articles in the paper or some publication and from our past trips. Then more times than not, we will just walk into a place that looks good.
Yes-there are bad restaurants in Paris!
Usually, the ones that cater to tourists. The only bad restaurant we ate in last trip was in the First, right behind the Buddha Bar.
I find the best small excellent places to eat are farther away from hotels and tourists haunts, with French only menus and although we muddle along with our French, it is almost always a delight to discover something new by accident.

HI
I agree that there are bad restaurants, but if I eat in one I blame only myself.
Not great is one thing, bad is another imo. The worst place I ever ate in Paris was on my first trip, on the Champs Elysees. Surprise.

I also think the Zagat guide is a good investment, even if you're on a budget, but it by no means lists every cafe or bistro. My rule of thumb these days is beware of anyplace that touts a "tourist menu", sometimes with a sign or menu in several languages-you get what you pay for.

I have a file on Paris; if you'd like to see it, email me at
[email protected]