Jill

My husband and I will be in Paris for 5 days in early December, and we're looking for some recommendations for good, farily casual, not-too-expensive restaurants. We're staying at the Manoir St. Germain, so given the chilly temperatures we're expecting, any recommendations in the area are appreciated. Thanks! <BR>

Lori

See my posting Just back from Paris - a few tips. I mentioned two restaurants in the area - La Trufferie and Brasserie Balzar. Also, get you hands on the Cheap Eats in Paris book. Never steered us wrong. have a great time!!!!

Ann Drury

Jill - <BR> <BR>Just returned from Paris in September and also stayed in the St. Germain area - it was wonderful! On a Sunday evening we ate at Les Bookinstes between the 5th and 6th. It is on a corner, but faces Rue des Grands Augustins (sp?). Delicious food, great price fixed menu (don't know if that's only on Sundays), but would probably not want to wear jeans. I also suggest making reservations through your hotel. Have a great time! <BR> <BR>

elaine

Hi Jill <BR>If you do a Search on this forum for <BR>Paris restaurants you will find many <BR>recommendations, mostly in budget price range. I also agree that Gustafson's <BR>Cheap Eats in Paris book is a valuable <BR>resource. <BR>Good luck. <BR>

MarkJ

Le Petit Nicois on rue Amelie in the 7th. This is a wonderful resturant somewhat near the Eiffel Tower (though we took a very round about way of getting there). I don't know if it's near where your staying but it's onlt a metro ride away. The food is wonderful and it is not teribly expensive (I believe the fixed menu was about 178FF). When we return to Paris in the spring we'll definatly go back to this resturant. <BR> <BR>Have a good trip. <BR> <BR>MarkJ

Bob

Hi Jill, <BR>My wife and I were in Paris for ten days the first of this month. We can thank Fodor's BB and many of the regular posters here for some invaluable advice and recommendations. We also found the Gustafson book (Cheap Eats in Paris) to be an excellent source. Two of the best that she guided us to are Chanteraille (in the 5th near the Pantheon) and Au Petit Tonneau (in the 7th). We discovered one on our own -- Il Fiorentino (3 rue Mouffetard in the 5th -- just off the place de la Contrescarpe). Angelo and Corinne will give you a friendly welcome and great Italian food. The prices are good, especially the prix fixe (about 110ff). The next time I might just order three of the entrees (appetizers). The polenta with mushroom sauce is addictive...the risotto marvelous...the pasta Bolognese excellent! Be careful of a place next door named the Mouffetard...it's not the same as the one listed by Gustafson, which is at the other end of Mouffetard. <BR>Have a great trip! <BR>Bob <BR>

Lori

A second vote for Chanteraille. We ate there in May, and tried this last trip but they were closed for a private party. It's a little tricky to find, but worth it. Funny story, the first time we went we were having trouble reading the menu (it was in French). The owner spoke limited English and I speak limited French. She took to drawing pictures of each dish (frog legs) or acting out the animal. Imagine the grown woman walking around quacking like a duck for canard. Now I'll never forget that canard is French for duck.

Rex

At the risk of stating the obvious, try restaurants for lunch as your main meal to get (often) the same food (as dinner) for a much lower price, and have sandwiches or other light fare for supper. And there is no better place to have a nice lunch (and not slow down your tourism agenda too much) than the main dining room of the Musee d'Orsay. <BR> <BR>Decent food, fair prices, and such an elegant setting. <BR> <BR>I recently stumbled on a site which seems to be somewhat new while I was trying to find something else; although they are trying to sell you something (a guidebook to restaurants), they do give three example suggestions. I can't vouch for any of these though. <BR> <BR>The site is: www.wfi.fr/leeds - - reports back here will surely be appreciated if you go to any of this person's suggested restaurants. <BR> <BR>And last of all, here is a site that seems to be reasonably up-to-date: www.montmartrenet.com - - it currently lists 19 restaurants; for any day you feel like ignoring my "lunch-main-meal" advice, Montmartre is a nice place to finish up a day. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex

Donna

Here's another recommendation for Leed's. Well worth the price of the download! Excellent places, low, low prices, and most are not in all the tour guides.

Frank

Jill, my wife and I just got back from France and Italy and loved it all. The first 3 nights were spent in the Manoir St. Germain and I thought it was a lot of money for the small, cramped rooms and I looked at three of them. After returning from Italy we stayed just down the street, one block at the Madison. Slightly cheaper but much better rooms, breakfast and English speaking help. That would be your best bet. We had a great dinner at Le Petit Zinc just a block down the street from Cafe de Flore (which is right across the street from Manoir). We liked it so much we decided not to go back a second time so we wouldn't spoil it. Really you can't go wrong in that area, just pick one that looks good to you. Have a great trip.

Mat

Hello, <BR> <BR>Les Bookinistes is great if you can get a table. Go for lunch, there is a prix fixe menu at 190FF. And btw, it's famous Chef Guy Savoy "annexe". Address is 53, quai des Grands-Augustins. Dinner is "à la carte" only (about 300FF probably). Another nice place (great decor) is the Bistrot de la Grille (14 rue Mabillon): but i don't think they speak English, this is a real parisian address! <BR>www.paris-anglo.com has a nice list of restaurants. And Zagat now has a Paris edition! <BR>Have a great trip! <BR>Paris is all about food, so <BR>

Carol

Here's my vote for Leeds--I think the download cost $10--recommendations were very personal and excellent--and another vote for Le Petit Nicois. It's off the Rue Saint Dominique in the 7me and a very short cab ride from the 6th. It's a tiny, family-run restaurant and very French and local. They're famous for their bouillebaise and I can vouch for the avocado beignets as a starter. Fabulous!!

Bob Brown

For a decent "cheap eats" place we found the Bistro de la Gare to be acceptable. Not the best in the world, but for the price it would be hard to beat. Our average expense for two, including dessert but no wine, was under $40.00, total. (converted at 6.23) It is located on Boulevard Montparnasse, to the right as you walk along Rue de Rennes to Montparnsse. There are several places clustered together in that location. <BR>I second the vote for the dining room at Musee d'Orsay. On our trip, the food was excellent. <BR>

Mary

When we were in Paris in April of '97, we had a great dinner at the Petit Bofinger (across the street from the Bofinger Restaurant). There were four of us and the bill with a few glasses of wine/beer was about $120. The place was full of locals. The restaurant is near the Place de la Bastille.

Jill

Thank you everyone for your wonderful suggestions! I'll definitely check out some of these restaurants and get my hands on a copy of "cheap eats!" <BR>-- Jill <BR> <BR>

bill

Definitely liked the ideas in "cheap eats in Paris" but some not cheap but always a good spot. <BR>The following are our favorites: <BR>L'Argenteuil young owners close to the <BR>rue de opera. Castafiore and Pastevin <BR>both on Ile St. Louis, good alot of food <BR>and prices quite good. Two good veggies <BR>Ciel and Terre and Le Grenier de Notre <BR>Dame good prices and quality was there. <BR>L'Avant Gout very good, crowded may or may get a reservation, we got a ten p.m. <BR>and they were still coming in, very little english spoken but very friendly and great food. La Bastide Odeon was <BR>over by Luxembourg gardens, great for <BR>lunch and probably just as goodfor dinner. Petit Tonneau I think is is the <BR>cheap eats book, good food and prices <BR>if they have the apple tart available <BR>don't pass it up. We went out to the <BR>west of Paris to see Musee Marmatton, a <BR>home of Monet's son with alot of the <BR>masters paintings and we have lunch at <BR>La Petit Tour, not inexpensive but great <BR>service, food and ambiance. <BR>Hard to go wrong in Paris for food and we had a wonderful time as you probably <BR>can tell. Enjoy. <BR>

Jim

Jill - <BR>Here's another vote for Bofinger as well as Petit Bofinger. Both were reasonable and good. One of our favorites is on the Isle St Louis at 41 Rue St Louis-en-l'Isle. It's "La Taverne du Sergent Recruteur" - price-fixed full dinners, old (17th cent) tavern with fun waiters and plenty of atmosphere. Have been there several times and have always had a great evening. Save room for their ice cream for dessert - it's the best in Paris. Enjoy!

Lori

I posted earlier in this thread, however, I didn't mention Brasserie Bofinger since I thought you wanted things closer to where you are staying. however, Brasserie Bofinger is wonderful. 189FF will get you their price fixed menu, appetizer, main course, dessert and coffee. Also, a bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal champagne 1993 is 590FF about $98.

TC

Just back from spending Thanksgiving week in Paris. Cheap Eats is THE guide to have. We found ChantAirelle (our favorite), Le P'tit Troquet (very quaint and romantic - an easy afterdinner walk to the Eifel Tower from here),Le Grenier de Notre-Dame (a beautiful nighttime view of Notre-Dame on the walk to this great veggie restaurant) and La Bastide Odeon all with this book. Don't let the name fool you. You will not feel like you're doing anything "on the cheap" with her suggestions. Our most romantic dinners were found in it. Have a wonderful time.

Cher

If you are staying at Au Manoir St. Germain, you will have no trouble finding what your looking for. Next to your hotel on one side is Tavern St. Germain, on the other side is Brasserie Lipp. Directly across the street is Le Cafe de Flore, next to that is Les Deux Maggots. 1/2 block towards the Seine is Cafe Bonaparte, and next to that, (well I don't remember), but another, and another, and after a very short walk you've seen at least 4 famous Paris cafes, in which you can order anything from a club sandwich to ?. I was only staying at Manoir St. Germain for 3 nights, 2 days. We only ate at Les Maggots and Taverne St. Germain, so maybe I'm not the best to ask. But, because of the limited time we had, we walked and toured frantically by day, took a late afternoon break, whirlpooled shortly, had a beer on our rooftop porch, headed to a nearby restaurant, and got on with our evening plans. With the limited time we had to spend in Paris, we were not concerned about making dining an issue. It was fun to know that some of the most famous restuarants in Paris where right across the street. <BR>Cher