Where to Eat and Drink in Paris

My first day in Paris started with a text message to my cousin planning our dinner later that day. The only guidance I gave her for picking a place was “I’m in the mood for French food”. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m well aware that Paris is a foodie haven with hundreds of highly sought-after restaurants that serve other cuisines beyond French. As your run-of-the-mill foodie, I’m usually into eating wherever the best food is -- hole in the wall or multi-course tasting Michelin star and any cuisine.

At this point though, I hadn’t had French food in quite some time, and I especially hadn’t had really good French food (I probably need to try more French restaurants in San Francisco). I also like to do the local thing in the place versus doing the touristy thing, but again, in this desperation for French food, there was no looking back. French food only, please.

In our short 36 hours in Paris, we had time for a couple of sandwiches ‘emporter’, lots of pastries, one sit-down lunch, and two proper dinners. When I asked for French food, my cousin instantly included ‘writes menu on a chalkboard’ as a requirement for the true bistro experience. Beyond the criteria of French food and bistro style, the only other requirement we had was for the choices to be near the Saint Germain neighborhood where we were staying.

This is just a short list, and in most cases, no matter where you go you won’t be wrong. I’ve had some of my best meals at cafes picked along the way when hunger hits, but having a few places in mind is always helpful. Here are four places where you can guarantee a great meal . . .

Dinner in Paris: Aux Vieux Garçons

This was our first actual meal (the first bites being pastries) after arriving in Paris, and it was the perfect place to give me the French tastes I was craving. It takes reservations, has indoor and outdoor seating, and it sits right along Boulevard Saint-Germain. Sitting outside on a warm summer night, we had great seats to watch the buzzing after-work traffic go by — scooters, cars, cyclists.

We were some of the first to sit for dinner around 7:30 in the evening, but the tables continued to fill up with business partners meeting for dinner after work, solo diners enjoying the people watching, and tourist families visiting by way of a hotel recommendation. It was a great mix of patrons and gave the ‘thing in the place’ feels.

Drinks: We started the dinner off with a cocktail. I love the cocktail culture in France with its emphasis on apéritifs and digestifs. I’ve never decided on a favorite in either category, so on this trip, I got into the habit of picking something different off of the menu every time. For this choice, I went with a martini rouge, with really no insight into what I’d receive. What I got in return was a glass of sweet vermouth over ice with a slice of orange — delicious. All of our drinks were good and the wine list was even better. My cousin is the wine connoisseur between the two of us, so I let her pick us a tasty red.

Food: The menu was shown to us on a tall chalkboard resting on some chairs near our table. It had some of my favorite, standby French dishes on the menu: oeuf mayonnaise, carpaccio, artichokes, roasted meats, and steak au poivre. Yum yum yum.

Lunch in Paris: Le Carrousel

It’s one of those places that I want to return to after visiting three years before. It’s touristy, the food isn’t the best in the city, and the wait staff are what you expect from a touristy place along the Rue de Rivoli. But there’s just something about it. It’s average cafe fare with an unbeatable location. It’s the perfect lunch spot after a day at the Louvre.

With doors that open up to the outside and tables that spill out onto the sidewalk, every seat is good for people watching. The southwest facing side looks unto the thoroughfare of Rue de Rivoli with all of the pedestrians and traffic whizzing by. The east-facing side looks directly at the Statue de Jeanne d’Arc sparkling in gold with Hotel Regina in the distance. I sat on the east-facing side on my first visit, the vision of Jeanne d’Arc seared into my mind, and knew I had to sit there again. The first visit was in the middle of a rainy, cool spring, but being the charming place it is, it had covered, heated outdoor seating where a table of four of us enjoyed a memorable charcuterie plate. Now this time, visiting in the dead of summer, I knew I wouldn’t recreate the full moment, but we still enjoyed the view nonetheless.

A brief note on Croque Monsieurs: In our short 36 hours, I had to create a bucket list of must-eat foods. A Croque Monsieur was definitely near the top, and at the halfway point of our time, I knew there was no time like the present. Croque Monsieurs are finicky things. I dream of the fresh, painstakingly-made, cross between French toast and a grilled ham and cheese with freshly crisped cheese on top. More often than not though, I usually end up receiving a pre-made earlier that morning, crusty bread, reheated to melt some of the cheese type of sandwich. I’m always a little disappointed, but never truly surprised. That said, I still enjoy the flavors and I accept them (Croque Monsieurs in all shapes, sizes, and textures) for what they are. Le Carrousel is one of those places that serves the latter. As I said, it’s not a place for the food as much as it is for the location. And for a place with so many people circulating through, it makes sense for them to serve it that way.

That said, I enjoyed every moment of my Croque Monsieur with fresh greens and a lovely glass of crisp white wine. I made sure to create the perfect taste with one bite of Croque, a bite of salad, and a sip of wine, and finish it off with a look over at Jean d’Arc glistening in the sun — pure bliss. Alex went with quiche Lorraine and a glass of Fanta that cost more than my glass of wine. It was the perfect moment to sit down and refuel after spending the previous 4 hours on our feet walking around the Louvre. We could sit back, enjoy our meal, the view, and plan our next move.

Drinks in Paris: Le Village Madeline

I’m a firm believer that a long day of site seeing is only doable as long as there are breaks for a coffee or a cocktail along the way. I’m also a firm believer in cafe culture. In the US, we don’t have enough of it. When I’m traveling in Europe, I’m probably too intentional about taking cafe time that I’m almost going against the leisurely purpose of it. I get the sense that it should be unplanned, on a whim, or just a part of a regular habit. It shouldn’t require too much thought behind which is the right one and what should I have when.

Le Village Madeline is everything cafe culture should be. For us, it was a place to meet up with my cousin in her neighborhood. It’s an anytime-of-day place with a robust menu of beverages, snacks, full meals, and staff that doesn’t think twice if you want to sit for a drink a two. It’s off the touristy path enough that they don’t hesitate to bring out olives to snack on while you drink. Some sipped on beers while I opted for a drink from their creative list of spritzers (eager to try something beyond a Campari spritz) for the summer. It had green in the name, so I wasn’t surprised when I saw a luminescent green drink placed in front of me. Even better yet, it came with chewy sweets on a stir-stick to go along with it.

Dinner in Paris: Atelier Maître Albert

For our last meal in Paris, we wanted something French, very French if possible. Upon recommendation from a local and close proximity to our hotel, we decided on Atelier Maître Albert. On the fifteen minute walk over, we passed by at least five other restaurants where we stopped to view the menu, and we almost didn’t make it to our planned destination because they were all so tempting.

It’s a swanky-looking place inside. It feels fancy for a restaurant that solely focuses on roasting meat, but overall it’s a great experience. The staff is well trained and they aren’t assigned specific tables, so we were never left waiting for any reason. It had Michelin star feels with the service. The way the menu works, you pick a protein, and they’ll freshly roast it on the rotating spits visible in the back of the room. Each meat dish comes with a choice of side.

I splurged and picked a starter of ‘A Tour of Tomatoes 2019’. It basically ruined any other tomato I would have for the rest of the year because they were delicious. Alex opted for the fish special for the day and potatoes, and I went for duck with carrots. The novelty of seeing your food added to the spit made for a great experience. Even more entertaining, for bigger tables that ordered a full fish or a full chicken, the waiter would wheel it out to the table, creating a spectacle for the entire room. I might have said a few times ‘Oh look at that whole chicken over there,’ to Alex, and continued to verbalize updates as they put it on the spit.

With great food, exceptional service, and a fun experience, it was the perfect place to wrap up this leg of our trip. Atelier Maître Albert is a dream come true for roasted meats and Sunday dinner type of feels.

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