There’re too many things to love about Paris, i.e. choosing from prix fixe menus, lining up for fresh bread in boulangerie, riding the metro and walking to everywhere, getting lost and overwhelmed by museums, relaxing in beautiful public spaces and parks, taking the splendrous cityscape for granted, strolling in historic neighborhoods that are rich with history and culture, and the feeling that people simply enjoy life and living well…in style, effortlessly.
Eating:
You always hear about how expensive Paris is, but it doesn’t really cost a fortune to eat an amazing meal. In fact it’s way more valued than LA in general with the quality and quantity you get from a Prix Fixe menu.
As for the extravagant formal gastronomical restaurants, I’d recommend to at least try their more affordable lunch prix-fix menu once, such as La Table de Joel Robuchon and Taillevent. The dress code is not as formal for lunch as well.
If you don’t want to break the bank for good food, there’re plenty of Bistronomy places as they called it. Causal inexpensive (bistro) + gourmet fine dining (gastronomy) that offers amazing fine dining quality 3 courses for 18-30 euro. Most of the places we blogged about fall into this category, such as Au Fil des Saisons and La Muse Vin.
Even though good food is everywhere, there’re plenty of tourist traps and mediocre places in Paris too. Absolutely DO NOT go into any of the restaurants that’re on Rue de la Huchette, Rue Xavier Privas and Rue st Severin in Latin Quarter. Basically just avoid eating around in that area. It’s always good to do research ahead and avoid walking into random places even they might appear authentic or charming. These are some of my sources:
Book:
– Pudlo Paris (Pudlo is a French food critic, English edition, good for addresses and opening time)
– Paris Miam Miam (recommendation from Paris locals, focus more on bistros and local eateries, text in both French and Japanese only)
Blog:
– Chez Christine
– Luxeat (she’s a model and she eats!)
– Etienne Marcel
– David Lebovitz
– Gridskipper Paris
– Chowhound
Many formal restaurants require reservations and confirmations. I got my friend who can speak French to call for me in LA, but you can also talk to them in English. It’s good to reserve at least 2 weeks prior for those famous Michelin stars rated restaurants. For many “bistronomy” places I could get a table walking in without reservations just fine. I would also walk into bistros during day time and ask for available table that night. Here’s a good website that let you make reservations online (but note: a lot of good smaller places aren’t listed:
– http://www.bestrestaurantsparis.com/en/liste.html
Most restaurants open for dinner at 7:00 pm or 8:00 pm so don’t show up too early. And lots of restaurants and shops don’t open on Sunday. Make sure you plan ahead and find ones that open. Service charge are included in the bill already, you pay exactly what it says on the menu so you don’t really have to put tips. But if you really like the service then you can put extra coins on the table, which we did on few occasions.
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Tags: Travel Report
