Where to eat on the cheap in Paris?
 

Trying to scout locations to eat around the Hotel where my daughter will be staying in Paris. (near the Louvre) Any recommendations?

Guidebooks like Rough Guide and Lonely Planet will have listings for inexpensive places to eat, so will Time Out Paris. Besides cafes and restaurants, there are plenty of crepe stands and sandwich shops in all the central, heavily touristed areas.

I sincerely don't mean to sound rude, but if your daughter is old enough to travel to Paris, surely she's old enough to research restaurants on her own?

Several years ago Paris Eiffel Tower News
http://paris-eiffel-tower-news.com/en/
published a list of "Eighty Inexpensive and Good Restaurants," sorted by arrondisement. In the 1st at that time, they recommended Aux Trois Oliviers, 37 bis rue de Montpensier, Tel: 01 40 20 03 20; Chez Stella, 3 rue Thérèse, Tel: 01 42 96 22 15; La Fermette du Sud-Ouest, 31 rue Coquillère, Tel: 01 42 36 73 55; and L’Incroyable, 26 rue Richelieu, Tel: 01 42 96 24 64. Don't know the current status of any of these.

There is also a fast food chain called Cojean's, which has a location on Place du Louvre, and there is a McDonald's near Les Halles.

Bon appétit!

the <i>plat du jour</i> is usually a good deal.

Tell her to try Le Bouquet St Paul on rue st Antoine and the corner of Rue St Paul. Rue St Antoine turns into Rue de Rivoli. Good 2 or 3 course meals at a friendly neighborhood local place

Hi, in the business districts in particular, you can get excellent midday menus that will keep you going for the rest of the day, but if you look around, you'll find them in most small restaurants considered by the local employees to their "canteen". Some suggestions for the 1st arrondissement on http://www.aussieinfrance.com/restaurants.

Cheap can mean almost anything, so you will receive only vague answers until you (and your daughter) put some effort into defining what you want to know. My tip is that she can find Southeast Asian carry-outs that are certainly cheaper than conventional sit-down cafes.

Agree with Michael: you can get an excellent 3 course meal for under $20 by eating the "Menu", which is a set course meal offered by most restaurants. Ask for the "menu' which is NOT the menu (that's 'carte'). DON'T eat in Chinese restaurants near the Louvre. But she can check out African and arab places too.
Near the Louvre is a tough for food. It didn't give me the feeling of being a neighborhood. She could eat one big meal per day and then buy stuff like bread, cheese, meats and fruit for her evening meal.
She won't starve, believe me.

What do you consider cheap?

I wouldn't say you can get an "excellent" 3 course meal for under $20, which is only around 15 euro. Besides, if this is around the hotel, the OP likely won't be there at lunch, but is looking for dinner. Sometimes you can get 2 courses for 15 euro that (you have a choice of which), and it is often called le "formule".


I don't agree that one should buy bread, cheese, meats etc for dinner. That would likely be more expensive and wasteful than just going to a cheap place to eat, not to mention not very much fun (where would one eat this, not the hotel room, I hope, or sitting on a park bench). Cheese and meats are not cheap.

I think just going to the Bastille area or something would be the best solution rather than staying around the Louvre. Or the Latin Quarter, I don't see any reason why she can't move around, that is only across the river. Both those places are full of young people.

Take metro line #4 and get off at St. Michel. Walk over and take a look at Notre Dame, a block away, and then there are several strreets filled with bistros that, yes are quite touristy and do cater to tourists although you do get some locals. All of these places have blackboards outside with a person who looks like a bouncer trying to entice you inside (or eat outside)...most of the places have 3 menus listed. A cheap one. A moderate one and an expensive one. I have several favorite there where the food is good (not great, absolutely not great but good) but the daveat is the way they get you is with the drinks. A small glass of beer. 4 euro. A large one? 7 euro.....house wine isn't bad but bottled win, forgetaboutit (thank you Eli Manning).

Just walking down the streets there is an experience in itself (it's quite safe)...really sort of different and very bourgeois French like. Gpurmet? No. Cheap? Yes.

Dave_Ohio's full list is no longer available on-line, but for a pdf copy, and our own experiences with the list, just email me at [email protected]