Paris - Eat

From Wikitravel

Dining in Paris can be a real treat, or can be surprisingly ordinary, so it's worth some effort to seek out the former rather than settling for the latter. The restaurant trade began in Paris, but some people prefer the French cooking found in little rural restaurants, closer to the farms and with their focus on freshness and regional specialties. Even amongst French cities Paris has long been considered second to Lyon for fine dining. For a complete discussion of French gastronomy see the Eat section of our article on France.

That said the Parisien restaurant trade is very much alive and well, and in fact experiencing a bit of a renaissance after having nearly been eclipsed by certain English-speaking cities such as San Francisco, Sydney, and (the shame of it!) London during the 1990s. Today you can find hundreds of beautiful restaurants with thoughtful (or just trendy) interior design and well-planned and executed cartes and menus offering a creative mélange of French and exotic foreign cuisines. It's safe to say that Paris is once again catching up to if not passing its anglophone rivals.

Of course there are also some really fantastic traditional offerings, and for the budget conscious there are hundreds if not thousands of traditional bistros, with their sidewalk terraces offering a choice fairly simple (usually meat centered) meals for reasonable prices.

Remember that many attractions are situated in upscale areas of town, and that mass tourism attracts price gougers. It is frequent to hear of people complaining of very high Parisian prices and poor service, because they always tried to eat close to major tourist magnets. Try to go eat where the locals eat.

Self catering

Those travelers on a budget will be very pleased with the range and quality of products offered both at the open air markets (eg. over the Canal St. Martin in the 11th or in any other arrondisement). If your accommodation has cooking facilities you're set, especially for wine and cheese: a decent bottle of French wine will set you back all of about 3-5€, while the very good stuff starts at around 7€. Bottles for less than 3€ are not recommended. Keep in mind, that the small épiceries which open until late are more expensive than the supermarchés (Franprix, Casino, Monoprix, etc). For wine, the price difference can be up to 2€. Recommendation: buy a baguette, some cheese and a good bottle of wine and join the Parisian youth for a pique-nique along the Seine (especially on the Île Saint Louis) or at the canal Saint Denis.

Some specialities

For seafood lovers, Paris is a great place to try moules frites (steamed mussels and French fries) (better in fall and winter), oysters, sea snails, and other delicacies. Meat specialties include venison (deer), boar, and other game (especially in the fall and winter hunting season), as well as French favorites such as lamb, veal, beef, and pork.

Vegetarian dining

For vegetarians, eating traditional French food will require some improvisation, as it is heavily meat-based. Paris has several excellent vegetarian restaurants. Look for spots such as Aquarius and Piccolo Teatro in the 4th, and Le Grenier de Notre-Dame in the 5th, or La Victoire Suprême du Coeur in the 1st just to name a few. See the arrondissement pages for more listings.

There are also lots of Italian, Thai, Indian, and Mezo-american places where you will have little problem. In Rue des Rosiers (4th arrondissement) you can get delicious falafel in the many Jewish restaurants. Another place to look for falafel is on Rue Oberkampf (11th arrondissement). Take away falafel usually goes for 4€ or less.

Morrocan and Algerian cooking is common in Paris - vegetarian cous cous is lovely. Another good option for vegetarians - are traiteurs, particularly around Ledru Rollin (down the road from Bastille) take away food where you can combine a range of different options such as pomme dauphinoise, dolmas, salads, vegetables, nice breads and cheeses and so on.

Lebanese restaurants and snack shops abound as well, offering a number of vegetarian mezze, or small plates. The stand-bys of course are hummas, falafel, and baba-ganouche (caviar d'aubergene). A good place to look for Lebanese is in the pedestrian zone around Les Halles and Beaubourg in the 1st and 4th.

Tourists and locals

When you are looking for a restaurant in Paris, be a little careful of those where the staff readily speak English. These restaurants are usually - but not always - geared towards tourists. It does make a difference in the staff's service and behaviour whether they expect you to return or not.

Sometimes the advertised fixed price tourist menus (10-15euros) are a good deal. If you're interested in the really good and more authentic stuff (and if you have learned some words of french) try one of the small bistro where the French go to during lunch time.