Paris- recommended restaurant?

NNTP-Posting-Date: 24 Dec 1999 16:38:56 GMT
Xref: alexander.INS.CWRU.Edu uk.food+drink.restaurants:2325

Chez Michel up near the Gare du Nord. FF180pp (excl. wine) will get you a three course meal of a level of excellence which should cost far more. If good, traditional French cuisine, cooked with brilliance, is what you are after, this is the place. I ate there in November and the food was truly memorable.

============================================================================ Julian Barkway,            | Walk in, buy a jar. Stuttgart, Germany         |
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From [email removed] Fri Mar  3 20:12:41 EST 2000
Article: 49431 of rec.food.restaurants

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Ian H. wrote:
> Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced restaurant? (any cuisine)

I tend to like fairly robust food when I'm in France, so a late-night visit to Brasserie Lipp (bd St Germain) is a must (signature dishes are choucroute garni which is marvellous, or oysters (which I don't get on with), best appreciated with a serieuse or two of their house beer).

If you fancy somewhere bustling, but not too touristy with excellent basic food, reasonably-priced drinks and a comfy, relaxed, lived-in atmosphere, L'Insulaire on the rue Gregoire de Tours is great. You instantly feel at home there.

Les Philosophes (rue Vielle du Temple) is a bit studiedly anarchic, but the food's good and the prices aren't at all steep.

As much for the atmosphere as the food, Les Assassins (rue Jacob) is marvellous. Don't expect to be able to reserve it - they don't have a phone, they don't take reservations, you can only pay with cash, and they don't even make coffee. However, the food's robust and copious and the cabaret's just about comprehensible (you'll learn a lot of scurrilous anatomical French.). Has the feeling of being preserved in a 60s time capsule. Yeah, probably trading on its legend, but it's cheap and worth it.

There are a number of good (and pretty cheap) restaurants near the Place des Vosges -- just wander around and go wherever it smells good. There's a fun Korean Barbecue place there -- very similar to japanese Shabu Shabu style, and a massive feed for a good price.

The side-streets off the Ave de l'Opera and the streets behind the rue du Rivoli have a surprising number of affordable places too -- and even some of the upmarket restaurants in the area do good prix fixe at the right times.

I ate somewhere marvellous near St. Etienne du Mont one night on my last trip to Paris -- but I cannot for the life of me remember its name. It was painted yellow inside, just a little downhill from the church (probably on rue de la Montage de Ste. Genevieve). Great set menus, laid-back backstreet neighbourhood place, good wines... wish I could remember its name!

At the moment everyone seems to be raving about the area round the Bd Raspail, but to be honest most of what was there looked tacky and overpriced, trading on trendiness rather than food.  Nasty glitzy bar culture with overpriced African cuisine restaurants....

Hope this helps.

pete