Check out these four great lunch spots in Paris:
L’As du Fallafel. 34, rue des Rosiers, 4th arrondissement. Métro: St-Paul.
This Jewish deli-type restaurant in the Marais is a crowd-pleaser. I like it so much for their 6-8 euro falafels (they call them “cocktail de viandes”, literally translated as “meat cocktail) washed down with an Orangina that I keep their business card tacked on my corkboard in my kitchen. A great little take-away (“emporter” in French) place or fine for a sit-down lunch (reservations not taken). I highly recommend this restaurant for a tasty, inexpensive meal.
Le Pré Verre. 8, rue Thenard, 5th arrondissement. Métro: Maubert-Mutualite.
I highly recommend this restaurant. The food and wine is of exceptional quality and the price is right. The chef creates wide ranging and imaginative dishes like veal kidneys with tamarind, hanger steak with artichokes, and poached skate wing with cranberries. It is near the Cluny, across the street from the Hôtel du College de France. The French food here is complemented with spices, especially those of the Asian/Meditteranean variety. They offer a prix fixe menu for about €30 that makes it the best dinner bargain in Paris. The lunch “formule” costs half of that. Make a reservation a day or two beforehand for the upstairs room. Website: www.lepreverre.com.
Pâtisserie Viennoise. 8, rue de l’École de Médecine, 6th arrondissement. Métro: Odéon.
What a classic pastry shop! I go out of my way to have breakfast here with the Sorbonne students. It’s not bad for lunch either. Most everything is made on the premises – from flaky croissants to cinnamon dusted apple tarts to yodel-inducing strudels. Angelina may have the reputation of having the best hot chocolate in town, but Pâtisserie Viennoise beats it by a kilometer. The creamy chocolate cup is topped with a dollop of whipped cream stiffer than the desk clerk at The Ritz. Closed weekends.
Café Constant. 139, rue St. Dominique, 7th arrondissement. Métro: École Militaire.
A casual and relatively inexpensive spot near the ET. Legendary Chef Christian Constant makes French food easy. Where else are you going to get dishes like tartare of oysters, seabass and salmon seasoned with ginger and lemon created by a Michelin-starred chef? Or how about veal cutlet from the Basque country with white Tarbais beans? I always have room for the dreamy Île Flotante for dessert. One of my top picks. About €100 for two. Website: www.cafeconstant.com.