Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [151]
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MARAIS & BASTILLE
The Marais, filled with small restaurants of every imaginable type, is one of Paris’ premier neighbourhoods for eating out. Make sure to book ahead at the weekend.
Towards République there’s a decent selection of ethnic places. If you’re after authentic Chinese food but can’t be bothered going to the larger Chinatown in the 13e (Click here), check out the small noodle shops and restaurants along rue Au Maire, 3e (Map). The kosher and kosher-style restaurants along rue des Rosiers (Map), the so-called Pletzl area, serve specialities from North Africa, Central Europe and Israel. Be aware: many are closed on Friday evening, Saturday and Jewish holidays. Takeaway falafel and shwarma (kebabs) are available at several places along the street.
Bastille is another area chock-a-block with restaurants, some of which have added a star or two to their epaulets in recent years. Narrow rue de Lappe and rue de la Roquette (11e), just east of place de la Bastille, may not be as hip as they were a dozen years ago, but they remain popular streets for nightlife and attract a young, alternative crowd.
BEL CANTO Map French €€€
01 42 78 30 18; www.lebelcanto.com; 72 quai de l’Hôtel de Ville, 4e; menu €72; dinner to midnight; Hôtel de Ville or Pont Marie
If London, New York and even Budapest can have one – a restaurant where the waiters sing (arias) for their supper – why can’t Paris have one too? So if you fancy Rossini with your roast, Verdi with your veg and Puccini with your pud, this place and its dîners lyriques is the place for you.
LE DÔME DU MARAIS Map French €€€
01 42 74 54 17; 53bis rue des Francs Bourgeois, 4e; starters €17-33, mains €25-35, 2-/3-course menus €19/25 (lunch only), dinner menu €36; lunch & dinner to 11pm Tue-Sat; Rambuteau
This place serves classic French dishes such as joues de bœuf (beef cheeks) as well as hare and lighter fare – often shellfish and fish. The location is sublime: a pre-Revolution building and former auction room with a glassed-in courtyard just down from the Archives Nationales. The octagonal-shaped dining room is a knockout.
LE VILLARET Map French €€€
01 43 57 89 76; 13 rue Ternaux, 11e; starters €8.50-20, mains €18-35, menu €23 & €28 (lunch only); lunch Mon-Fri, dinner to 11.30pm Mon-Sat; Parmentier
An excellent neighbourhood bistro serving very rich food, Le Villaret has diners coming from across Paris to sample the house specialities. The velouté de cèpes à la mousse de foie gras (cep mushroom soup with foie-gras mousse) and the gigot d’agneau de Lozère rôti et son gratin de topinambours (roast lamb with Jerusalem artichoke gratin) are all recommended, but only the chef knows what will be available as he changes the menu daily. Tasting menus start at €50.
L’ÉCAILLER DU BISTROT Map French, Seafood €€€
01 43 72 76 77; 22 rue Paul Bert, 11e; starters €10-22, mains €18-35, menu €16 (lunch only); lunch & dinner to 11.30pm Tue-Sat; Faidherbe Chaligny
Oyster lovers should make a beeline for ‘The Bistro Shucker’, a neighbourhood resto done up in nautical kitsch that serves up to a dozen varieties of fresh bivalves, freshly shucked and accompanied by a little lemon juice. Other delights are platters of seafood for between one and four people (€34 to €130), a half-dozen oursins (sea urchins; €14), minute-cooked tuna steak with sesame oil and the extravagant lobster menu (€45).
BOFINGER Map French, Brasserie €€€
01 42 72 87 82; www.bofingerparis.com; 5-7 rue de la Bastille, 4e; starters €8-18.50, mains €15.50-31.50, menus €24 (lunch only) & €31.50; lunch & dinner to 12.30am daily; Bastille
Founded in 1864, Bofinger is reputedly the oldest brasserie in Paris, though its polished Art Nouveau brass, glass and mirrors throughout suggest a redecoration a few decades later. As at most Parisian brasseries, specialities include Alsatian-inspired dishes