I have been hesitant to post since this is a "land cruise" - but here goes. Do you have any suggestions for restaurants in Paris? (Bistros, fine dining, quaint, or non-touristy finds?) We are leaving for London on the 19th for a few days and then taking the Eurostar to Paris for 1 week. We have an apartment in the 6th. Just looking for your favorites and perhaps a suggestion for our anniversary (15 yrs and counting day by day). With the dollar so low, we may need to take a guitar to sing for our supper. (A sure way to starve to death! :ohmy: )

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. "Merci" in advance.

Miriam

One of our favorites in Paris is Brasserie Bofinger on Rue de la Bastille. It's a very old very charming Brasserie. Decor is over the top, food is outstanding and prices are almost reasonable! Have fun! Bonnie

Christine is excellent. If you are staying at a four star hotel, do ask your concierge for recommendations. They will steer you to excellent neighborhood restaurants. Stay away from tourist restaurants.

Thank you, gracias, danke, merci, for the suggestions. Since we are at an apartment, no concierge - although we could "borrow" their services at a hotel.

We will stop by Brasserie Bofinger & Christine. It is officially "on the list!"

Merci beaucoup!
:p

Another restaurant is Georges on top of the George Pompideau Modern Art Museum. It is a must for a beautiful view. The restaurant at the top of the Eiffel Tower is excellent as well.

Thanks, Andi! I had read about both of these. Glad that a "real" person recommended them.
Appreciate all your suggestions. You are the best!
M

On our trip to Paris a few years ago our favorites were L'Astrance which gets consistently great reveiws and a small restaurant called Hiramtsu, which had fallen a bit from favor last time I looked, but we thought it was wonderful.

A good source for Pars restaurant reviews is Patricia Wells:
http://www.patriciawells.com/reviews/iht/iht.htm

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Leslie

We have many favorites.. so depends what you are looking for..this one is pricey but for that special occasion the best!
"Le Pre Catelan" which is in the 16th in the Bois de Boulogne forest. It used to be Napoleons hunting lodge)..besides being excellent it is beautiful. Take a taxi.

Le Pre Catelan

Bois de Boulogne - route de Suresne - Paris 75016
Tel : 01 44 14 41 14 - Fax : 01 45 24 43 25
Subway : Porte Dauphine
Closing days :
Lunch : Monday
Dinner : Monday, Sunday
pricey.. reservations a must and jacket/tie for men required
Click on this for virtual tour
http://tinyurl.com/e3crg

also for reservations this is a great site for Paris restaurants.
http://www.reservethebest.com

Thanks again for sharing your wealth of knowledge. The Patricia Wells and reservethebest link will be very useful.

One thing is for sure, we will not go hungry! I will check out L'Astrance and Hiramtsu. The Bois de Boulogne looks fabulous.

Thank you! Thank you! :lct:

Claudia: You are one girl "in the know" - thanks for some much info -

Don't take the metro at night. It is dangerous.

Oh oh oh.. here is my other favorite for just a great brasserie type restaurant.. but it may need reservations..
fabulous trays of seafood ( shrimp, oysters coming at ya.. if you like fresh wonderful seafood..aand a great atmosphere this is the place)..

Le Bouef sur le Tout
34, rue du Colisee'
in Paris 3 53 93 65 55
open everyday 12 to 3 and then 7 to 1 am
(Champs Ellysees/ Franklin D Roosevelt).

Joanna .. Al and I have been to Paris and many cities, of France and all of Switzerland for at least 20 years.. we love both of these countries and have so many special places we don't mind sharing.. Switzerland esp. for us is almo ;) st a home away.. so if you need any info ask.. or reservations at special restaurants in either country we know many of the people from going so often.

My cup runneth over! Thank you, Thank you for all you restaurant suggestions and advise in general. I appreciate the willingness of everyone on this board to share.
Merci beaucoup!
Miriam

You may also try www.reservethebest.com. It's organized in a logical fashion and allows you to make online reservations. We've had good luck with it. I've found calling ahead & speaking to the maitre d' is generally easy and gives me a better sense as to whether I'd like to dine in a given restaurant.

May means white asparagus season & frais du bois (wild strawberries). If at all possible, try both of them. They are delicious as they are at their peak this time of year.

Angelique's for a snack/light lunch and a cup of their Chocolat Afrique. Like warm chocolate pudding - mmmm - and great pastries to boot. On Rue Royale just around the corner from the Hotel Intercontinental.

Fauchon's for macaroons and coffee.

The Bertillon ice cream is out of this world delicious. I've been known to stop overnight in Paris just to get a Bertillon fix. There were three carts (the marais area, champs elysee and just behind Notre Dame Cathedral) last time I visited. The easiest to find, by far, is the one behind Notre Dame. Go behind the church and take the footbridge over to the Ile St. Louis. There are two stands - the one on the left had a red awning and the one on the right had the green awning. The Bertillon was at the green awning. This time of year they make the frais du bois (wild strawberry) sorbet that has an incredible perfume. Their chocolate is deep, rich and amazing. Lots of other great flavors, too, but those two are standouts.

We liked CARRé DES FEUILLANTS a lot. We also visited in May (2003) and had an outstanding seasonal menu with superb service. It's in the same general price category as Le Pre Catalan (read: SPLURGE AND WORTH IT IF YOU CAN SWING IT) and is across the street from the Hotel Intercontinental near the Place de Vendome. Both restaurants are great; IMHO, the food was slightly better than Le Pre Catalan (we visited last summer) and the service was definitely better.

Details follow:
14, rue de Castiglione
75001 Paris
Tél : 01 42 86 82 82 (from the US it's 011-33-14-286-8282)
Fax : 01 42 86 07 71 (from the US it's 011-33-14-286-0771)
Email : carre.des.feuillants@wanadoo.fr

Metro Tuileries
Carre de Feuillante

On another note, you'll be there for the early part of the French Open grand slam tennis tournament. If you're so inclined, you can take the metro out there. A bunch of ticket scalpers were waiting outside the metro and had good choices at or below face. It's a pretty park with the red clay courts if the weather cooperates. The Roland Garros tennis center is not far from the Bois du Bologne and so may be convenient if you're planning a lunch at Le Pre Catalan.

If I weren't already so looking forward to PIP, I'd show you around in person! :D

Bon appetit, Anne

Anne,
Merci! Adding this Wonderful and yummy information the folder. I think we will skip sightseeing and eat our way through Paris. Also appreciate the tips.

The PIPsters look like they will be having loads of fun. If we didn't already have this trip in the hopper, we would have joined the group. I look forward to hearing about all the adventures. The revised plan is to do the New Years Cruise on the PG.

Thanks again to everyone!

A bientot,
Miriam

Did anyone write about Apicius???? The 2 Star Michelin Chef restaurant in Paris??? Jean Pierre Vigato, the Chef, is also the same Chef that inspired the Paul Gauguin Menus as well as trains the Chefs on the PG for Apicius at Sea. I have been to Apicius (Paris) and it was AMAZING! Try it!

Miriam,

I got to this thread late and realize that you've already left. I got to Paris about twice a year and sorry that I didn't get to share some of my favorites with you.

So when you read this, it'll be a "Welcome Home" hope your teip was great. Now, let's hear where you ate! What did you love? What wasn't so great?
L'Astrance is one of my favorite high end places, I hope you got to go there.
I also like Christine that someone suggested.

I know the 6th arrondisement very well and there are a lot of great places there. I hope you stumbled on some of my favorites like Allard and Lou Pescadou.

CJ

Bonjour! Merci for all your recommendations. Per your request, here is a brief update. Unfortunately, we didn't go to all the restaurants but did go to the following:

Brasserie Bofinger - recommended by Bonnie: We ate there for our anniversary. Food was great and we ate next to the domed stain glass ceiling. I called to make reservations. My french was rusty but I gave it a shot. Upon answering, I asked (in French) if they spoke English. He told me (in French) that he only spoke Japanese. He was funny - we continued the reservation process in French. Upon our arrival, he greated us and I asked if he was the one who spoke Japanese. When we left, I told him Arigato and Sayonara. Everyone laughed - it was a great evening.

Anne, We took your recommendations and had wonderful white asparagus and frais du bois at Brasserie Bofinger.

Andi, we had a lovely lunch at Georges. Great views and friendly staff. Another adventure there: When we entered the elevator on the ground floor, just as the doors were closing, the security guard handed me a baguette sandwich and asked me if I could deliver it to the guard on the next floor - where we pass through the metal detector. It was funny. I then had a great chat with the guards on our way up and down. Thanks for recommendation.

CJ, Our apartment had internet access and I was able to get your recommendations. We ate at Lou Pescadou and it was lovely and delicious.

Leslie, Claudia and Todd: Great recommendations! They are on our list for the next visit. Thank you so much for responding to my request!

LCT is the best! :lct:

Merci beaucoup!
Miriam