Richard Nahem, an ex-New Yorker living in Paris, leads private insider tours showing visitors the Paris most of them never see on their own (www.eyepreferparistours.com), and also writes a popular insider's blog www.eyepreferparis.com.
Paris is a food lover's dream come true, and many visitors choose the top restaurants to dine at regardless of cost. Smart Parisians know where to get great food at bargain prices. Top restaurants offer the best deals at lunch, usually with a prix fixe of two or three courses at about 70 to 80 euros, and some smaller, lesser known restaurants serve superb food for a lot less. Here are some great lunch bargains for under 25 euros.
Le Reminet
Le Reminet tops our list of one of the best steals in town, offering a three-course lunch for only 13 euros, practically the price of a movie these days. The small, well-appointed restaurant with crystal chandeliers, deep plum walls and velvet banquettes is off a quiet street in the Latin Quarter.
One summer menu item we liked was smoked mackerel, endive salad with little bits of Granny Smith apple, sliced chicken breast with two sauces of curry with coconut milk, and mango chutney, and for dessert bananas with caramel sauce and home-made vanilla ice cream. Service is genial and the staff goes out of its way to please.
3 rue des Grands Degrés, 5th arr.
Tel. 01 44 07 04 24
Open 7 days for lunch and dinner
www.lereminet.com
Willi’s Wine Bar
This delightful, well-respected wine bar (one of the best in the city) serves a terrific three-course meal at 25 euros that’s hard to beat. The fresh, simple food along with sumptuous desserts mostly with seasonal fruit is delicious and refreshing but hearty enough to satisfy.
You can accompany your feast with a selection of over 250 wines from the Rhone region to the Languedoc. The simple, high-ceilinged dining room has a handsome bar to enjoy wine tastings and the walls are dotted with collectible posters by artists that Willi’s commissions every year to create for their ongoing Bottle Art Collection.
13 rue des Petits Champs, 1st arr.
Tel. 01 42 61 05 09
Open Monday to Saturday for lunch and dinner
www.williswinebar.com
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Willi's Wine Bar |
142 Creperie Contemporaine
We all know that President Obama dined at Le Fontaine de Mars restaurant in Paris last year, but do you know where French President Sarkozy likes to go? He chooses a simple creperie in the quiet, middle-class residential area of the 15th arrondissement.
142 Creperie Contemporaine serves the most scrumptious crepes this side of Normandie, where the best crepes come from. The extra thin, slightly crisp Normandie style crepes are made with buckwheat flour, which is the secret to their success. The three prixe fixe menus at 10.50 euros, 14.50, and 20 euros start with a savory lunch crepe with fillings like country ham, chicken, gruyere and goat cheese, and smoked salmon.
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142 Creperie Contemporaine |
Make sure you pace yourself for the extravagant dessert crepes with fillings and toppings like Grand Marnier (they light it on fire! At the table), Nutella and two really over the top ones the Adélaïde (banana, vanilla ice cream, hot chocolate sauce, and whipped cream) or the Pénélope (mascarpone, red fruit, and vanilla ice cream). A glass of authentic apple cider is the best way to wash down the your yummy crepes.
59 rue St. Charles, 15th arr.
Open Monday to Saturday for lunch and dinner
Tel. 01 40 59 84 01
www.cc142.com
Please note the above restaurants may be closed for all or part of August, so please contact them before you arrive. Reservations are recommended.