My husband and I and another couple are going to Paris the end of Aug. and will have 4 evening meals there; theother couple have not been to Paris for many years. I have some "tried and true" restaurants that I've been to more than once and like, but I'd like to try some new ones that we'd all enjoy.

These are the top contenders:

Le Reminet
Le Pamphlet
Le Cameleon (or is it Au?)
Baracane
La Bastide d'Odeon--is it large, more of a brasserie than a bistro?
Fish La Boissonerie--same question
Chez Fernand, rue Christine
Au Petit Marguery

I'd appreciate any comments about the type of food, ambiance, etc.? Also, 3 of our nights (Mon, Tues, and Wed.) will be in Aug., and the last night (a Wed.) when we return from Annecy will be in Sept. so the Aug. evenings may be somewhat dictated by what's open. Any must do's (bistros, "comfort food" as opposed to cutting edge, prefer traditional decor rather than minimalist) that I'm missing?

Merci mille fois!

We really love Au Petit Marguery! It has old-Paris charm, and every time we've dined there the atmosphere has been happy, possibly because it's a favorite for family celebrations. Food is traditional bistro done beautifully--unfortunately you'll miss the game and the incredibly wonderful sautéed wood mushrooms, as they're on the menu only in the fall and winter.

At Au Petit Marguery the prix-fixe carte runs about 38 Euros for 3 courses, with a few supplements for special items. Desserts include an excellent soufflé. I am salivating as I write this!

Le Caméleon is a long-time favorite of regular posters on the onjourparis.com site.

Baracane is very good. It's a small place with casual decor.

Bastide d'Odeon is a rather nice bistrot with good food. I believe there are two floors. Not a brasserie at all. Nicely dressed Parisians when I was there. A bit dressier than Baracane.

Fish la Boisonnerie is small, has very good food, and is casual. Bright southern decor.

All three are good choices, IMO, and I would return to each of them.

I became a fan of Le Reminet based on recommendations here. I went in May for lunch and was absolutely thrilled with my experience. It is quite small, less than a dozen tables and had one very busy waiter who was so attentive and very friendly. My meal was excellent, pork chop with glazed onions and potatoes and a mixed salad. I am not a fan of pork, but this converted me. There were a few things on the menu that day but I felt like a hearty hot meal and this fit the bill. The best creme brulee ever topped it off. I highly recommend Le Reminet, would most definitely make reservations for dinner since it would be well worth the effort. Of all the restaurants I went to in May, this and Il Caveau d'Ile would be the two I return to, and I fully plan to revisit them both when I go back next year.

Petit Marguery, Baracane, and Le Reminet are kind of at the top of my list even before I received your helpful replies, but I think that PM and LR are both closed in Aug., is that correct?
I will have one night for dinner in Sept., so I can at least get to one.

Make it Au Petit Marguery! You won't be sorry.

Hi Sue

I wasn't even paying attention to the OP when I posted earlier. I will add that all 3 places I recommended to you will need reservations. I am not sure about Bastide d'Odeon being open in August, but I know that Baracane is, for we went there in Aug. I think FlB is also open in August.

Someone posted earlier this year that le Cameleon had closed. There is another business name at that address on PagesJaunes.fr now...

That's right; I was thinking of Le Vaudeville, an excellent and popular brasserie.

Too late for Cameleon (Le or AU). Fermé au clef a couple of months ago without warning.

Bastide I also would call a Bistro. But don't confuse a Brasserie by size. It can be small with café type hours and their specific type of cartes.

Fish is small with a bar type counter taking up a side of the space and plain tables in the balance of the space.

I agree with Underhill about Au PM. Save it for Sept. I don't agree with her about game food (I can live without it) but many times they have their famous mushroom entrée with a different assortment than the mid-winter ones and still good.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions, folks! I think Au Petit Marguery will be the place for the Sept. evening, and I will make reservations for the others as soon as we arrive in Paris. Suppose I can't make reservations for Petit M. until Sept.1, if they are closed all during Aug. Perhaps our hotel, which we are returning to for the last night in Paris, will do it for us while we are in Burgundy.

I read somewhere that Le Reminet is closed for 3 weeks in Aug., so perhaps we can get there after all, also.

You can reserve Au Petit Marguery at www.reservethebest.com

I've had Le Reminet on our list the last 2 trips and haven't been able to find it!Maybe next time we'll take a cab!

Fish is small as someone else said
but of your list our favorite is Chez Fernand. We eat there several times each trip. I think the food is better than Fish and the service has always been very good..though not much English is spoken.

Sorry to hear LE Cameleon has losed as it was also a favorite.

We've been hearing good things about Cinq Mars ,on rue de Verneuil, so that is on our Nov list.

Re Au Petit Marguery: last time around I had a steak with mushroom sauce, and the combination was terrific.

I have been to the following four, in my order of preference:

1.I had one of the best restaurant meals I can remember at Le Pamphlet. The dishes were creative southern French and beautiful, planned around particular ingredients available that day. There was for instance some kind of fruit on the dessert plate that I had never seen before, and the explanation was that it was a particular thing only available in a particular place and happened to be at the market that day. Of course I don't remember what it actually was. Everything tasted wonderful. I'm remembering some particularly beautiful steak dish that my daughter ordered. We tried to go the next year but it was booked up, so reserve ahead.

2.I also loved Au Petit Marguery, and the scallops there have spoiled my husband, who said after eating them that he couldn't ever order them anywhere else (although he has since broken that vow). By the time the souffles came out for dessert, we were done in, but all was terrific. It has a lovely traditional atmosphere.

3. Bastide d'Odeon was wonderful when I visited it, but that was six years ago. We sat on the second floor. It is large but pleasant, not a brasserie. The food is southern French.

4. Le Reminet was very good as well when I visited four years ago. We sat in the old stone cellar.

You can map Le Reminet (or any address in Paris) at www.pagesjaunes.fr

If you can find Shakespeare & Co on rue de la Bucherie, just continue east. The next cross street is rue de l'Hotel-Colbert, then the street bends and crosses rue de Haut-Pave and the name changes to rue des Grand-Degres. Le Reminet is a few doors down on the right. You can't miss the purple facade.

Or, from Quai de la Tournelle, go south on rue Maitre-Albert, and rue des Grand-Degres in the first street on the right. Go right and it's on the left.

the
Coquille St.Jacques (scallops)are super but while in that item you can't ignore the entrée of Raviole stuffed with scallops with a fantastic mushroom sauce.

Of course I was referring to Au Petit Marguary.

Jody, I think we might try Chez Fernand b/c it is so close to our hotel, Le Regent on rue Dauphine, and more important, you have always spoken well of it. Is it popular with locals, tourists, or a bit of both? I never see it mentioned here except for you, but it looks great online!

Jean, is the online menu for Au P M just a sample one; I don't see any of the dishes you and others have talked about. I don't like rascasse!

Amyb, I will hope that Le Reminet is open the last week in Aug.

Nikki, Le Pamphlet is still in the running for us, also. Just gotta find out which of these restaurants are open in Aug.

Bigal and others, www.reservethebest is not working for the month of Aug. either, I just discovered when clicking on it a few min. ago. Guess I will have to get real busy on the phone when we arrive.

Thanks, everybody; I know we'll find great places among my little list or others for our meals, and I do appreciate the input from all of you. I will report on this when we return.

In the meantime, the heat wave seems to have ended in Europe, and that's a good thing!

I'm sure the on-line menu is just a sample, as the dishes change with the seasons. The carte usually offers about ten choices for each course.