Cafes, Paris

The culinary attractions in Paris match anything else the city has to offer, and you don’t have to spend a fortune to enjoy them. Street markets are in every neighborhood and contain as fine a selection of cheese and charcuterie as any high-priced restaurant. Gleaming pastry shops beckon you with croissants, tarts, éclairs, and elaborate cakes. If you travel to Paris, you’ll see that even a humble sandwich becomes a Parisian specialty when it’s made with a crusty baguette or the dense, chewy Pain Pôilaine.

Of course, you will also want to sample the offerings of the local chefs, and – with a little planning – it is possible to be a gourmet without breaking the bank. The key to fine dining on a modest budget is to eat where the Parisians eat and stay away from restaurants surrounding major tourist attractions. You’ll find few bargains around the Eiffel Tower or along the Champs-Elysées. Leave the mediocre cafes, Paris on the place du Tertre to the milling crowds of sightseers. Opt instead for restaurants in neighborhoods where people live and work , which are forced to keep their prices and quality competitive and make certain discounts from time to time.

 

The list of best Cafes, Paris that may satisfy the most deliberate taste:

•  Au Chien Qui Fume

Cuisine
Cafes

Au Chien Qui Fume, open until 2 AM, is filled with witty paintings (in the style of old masters) of smoking dogs. Traditional French cuisine and seafood platters are served.

Metro: Les Halles.

 

•  Au Sauvignon
80 rue des Sts-Pères
Paris, France
Phone: 01-45-48-49-02

Cuisine
Cafes

A stylish but jolly Left Bank crowd frequents this homey, friendly spot with an ideally placed terrace. Delicious tartines (open-face sandwiches) are served.

Metro: Sèvres Babylone.

 

•  Au Père Tranquille
16 rue Pierre Lescot
Paris, France
Phone: 01-45-08-00-34

One of the best places in Paris for people-watching, this cafe also offers free entertainment from street artists and local performers.

Metro: Les Halles.

 

•  Bernardaud
11 rue Royale
Paris, France
Phone: 01-42-66-22-55

Decorated by interior-design star Olivier Gagnère, this quiet spot in a covered atrium serves good snacks on the company’s own china.

Metro: Concorde.

 

•  Cafe Verlet
256 rue St-Honore
Paris, France
Phone: 01-42-60-67-39

Many Parisians think this compact spot serves the best coffee in town. You can also get sandwiches and delicious tarts.

Metro: Tuileries.

 

•  Cafe du Dôme
108 bd. Montparnasse
Paris, France
Phone: 01-43-35-25-81

Now a fancy brasserie – though you can still just have a cup of coffee or a drink here – this place began as a dingy meeting place for exiled artists and intellectuals such as Lenin, Picasso, and Chaim Soutine.

Metro: Vavin.

 

•  L’Etoile Manquante
34 rue Vieille-du-Temple
Paris, France
Phone: 01-42-72-48-34

Owned by Xavier Denamur, who runs several stylish cafes, Paris in this street, the “Missing Star” is a great spot for people-watching, but the real attraction is the rest rooms: an electric train is just one of the surprises in store.

Metro: Hôtel de Ville, St-Paul.v

 

•  Le Comptoir
5 rue Monsieur-Le-Prince
Paris, France
Phone: 01-43-29-12-05

Glasses of Burgundy and Bordeaux, as well as more unusual selections such as wines from Corsica, are served.

Metro: Odeon.

 

•  Le Flore en l’Ile
42 quai d’Orleans
Paris, France
Phone: 01-43-29-88-27

At this cafe on the Ile St-Louis you can find renowned Berthillon ice cream and a magnificent view of the Seine.

Metro: Pont Marie.

 

•  Le Fumoir
Pl. du Louvre
6 rue de l’Amiral-Coligny
Paris, France
Phone: 01-42-92-00-24

From the same team that made the China Club one of the more enduringly hip addresses in Paris, this cafe-restaurant has passed over the curve of red-hot chic to become permanent and useful. So if you ever travel to Paris, visit this place to feel the combination of posh meeting place and nice cozy café. Its location just across from the Louvre helps, but ultimately what makes it work is that the fashionable folks – press attaches with cell phones, sulky tattooed model-artists, and so on – actually like this place, with its salons that seem variously inspired by Vienna, Edward Hopper, and Scandinavia. The most intimate room is the book-lined library, where book exchanges take place. The modern bistro food is quite tasty and, of the (too) many brunches in Paris, this is one of the best.

Metro: Louvre.

 

•  Le Sancerre
35 rue des Abbesses
Paris, France
Phone: 01-45-58-08-20

Sit on the terrace sipping a coffee or a beer and watch the artists, hipsters, and tourists all pass by on their way through Montmartre.

Metro: Abbesses.

 

•  Ma Bourgogne
19 pl. des Vosges
Paris, France
Phone: 01-42-78-44-64

On the exquisite place des Vosges, this is a calm oasis for a coffee or a light lunch away from the noisy streets. The specialty is steak tartare.

Metro: St-Paul.

•  Pause Cafe
41 rue de Charonne
Paris, France
Phone: 01-48-06-80-33

This hip Bastille spot attracts a chic, artsy crowd for coffee, cheap beer, and tasty, inexpensive chili and quiche at its red-and-yellow Formica tables.

Metro: Ledru-Rollin

 

•  Petit Fer à Cheval
30 rue Vieille-du-Temple
Paris, France
Phone: 01-42-72-47-47

Great coffee is served in the perfect setting for watching the fashionable Marais locals saunter by; food such as a leathery bavette (beef skirt steak) however, leaves something to be desired.

Metro: St-Paul.

 

If you can discard the “touristy” habit of choosing establishments by their listings in a guidebook, or driving for miles to visit a “fashionable” place, you’ll be more likely to experience eating as the natives do: eat where and when you like, and partake in as many regional specialties as you can. The Golden Rule here is that the only good restaurants are busy restaurants.

 

A few tips are in order, which will help to make your experience in cafes, Paris and Paris tour, even more delightful:

When walking into a cafe without a reservation, you will be treated more seriously if you always ask for a number of couverts (covers), rather than places: “Vous avez deux couverts?”

If you ask for water, keep in mind that you’ll usually be brought bottled mineral water, priced like other drinks, unless you specify “une carafe d’eau” (a free pitcher or carafe of tap water).

You may encounter several different types of menus , offering varying degrees of selection and price, which it is helpful to understand:

Menu prix-fixe: Every French café must offer a fixed-price meal, which usually consists of four courses (with a choice of dishes at each course), and may include wine (but not coffee). Better than à la carte , quality is invariably good, and tax and service are included. Many cafes, Paris, offer several set menus at different price levels, with more expensive ones including extra courses, pricier ingredients, or a superior vintage of wine. Look for a menu du jour (a set menu of the day), which will generally be freshest and best and provide special discoounts, and check out what those around you have ordered.

Menu dégustation/menu surprise: A tasting menu, presenting you with a procession of small servings (chosen by the chef if it is the surprise menu). The simple restriction: everyone at the table must have the same menu.

La carte: If you intend to travel there, you should know that everything offered which is not on the special menu – these dishes will be more expensive . Main courses arrive with a garnish of vegetables. Usually there will be a plat du jour (dish of the day).

Table d’hôte : These words posted outside a farmhouse once meant that anyone was invited to join the family at a single sitting and at a fixed price. Nowadays, the idea has caught on at a number of country restaurants and cafes offering a chance to try real home cooking inexpensively.

Menu touristique: Usually dull Eurofare aimed at the tourists, not generally recommended, though some do try.