Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [168]
The ‘Vietnam Club’, with its self-proclaimed ambiance familiale (family atmosphere), might be nothing more than a long room with peeling walls and tables covered in oilcloths and plastic flowers, but everyone flocks here to feast on its hearty house specialities, ‘Saigon’ or ‘Hanoi’ soup (noodles, soya beans and pork flavoured with lemon grass, coriander and chives) included. Dishes come in medium or large portions and the price/quality ratio is astonishing. Students can fill up for €7.
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SELF-CATERING
Shop with Parisians at a trio of lively outdoor food markets, framed (as with every market), by some lovely food shops: Place Maubert, rue Mouffetard and Place Monge.
Supermarkets in the area include:
Champion (Map; 34 rue Monge, 5e; Cardinal Lemoine)
Ed (Map; 37 rue Lacépède, 5e; Place Monge)
Le Marché Franprix (Map; 82 rue Mouffetard, 5e; Place Monge)
Monoprix (Map; 24 blvd St-Michel, 5e; 9am-midnight Mon-Sat)
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ST-GERMAIN, ODÉON & LUXEMBOURG
There’s far more to this fabled pocket of Paris – effectively the 6e arrondissement – than the literary cafés (Click here) of Sartre and de Beauvoir or the prime picnicking turf of the Jardin de Luxembourg. Rue St-André des Arts and its continuation, rue du Buci, are lined with places to drink and dine as lightly or lavishly as your heart/wallet desires, as is the stretch between Église St-Sulpice and Église St-Germain des Prés (especially rue des Canettes, rue Princesse and rue Guisarde). Quintessential Parisian bistros and brasseries abound in this busy neck of the Left Bank, but if contemporary design à la Terence Conran is more your style, restaurant Alcazar is the smart choice.
LE SALON D’HÉLÈNE Map French, Contemporary €€€
01 42 22 00 11; www.helenedarroze.com; 4 rue d’Assas, 6e; menu lunch €35/45, dinner €88; lunch & dinner to 10.15pm Tue-Sat; Sèvres Babylone
While culinary star and media darling Hélène Darroze has a fine-dining Michelin-starred restaurant (called La Salle à Manger) upstairs, this more casual ‘salon’ is far more fun. The best way to experience her wonderful creations come dusk is to persuade your table to each order the tapas-sized tasting menu (€88). Five courses come in matched pairs, each dish with descriptions longer than this review. Lunch menus include a choice of two/three tapas with one/two glasses of wine.
LE PETIT ZINC Map French, Brasserie €€€
01 42 86 61 00; www.petit-zinc.com, in French; 11 rue St-Benoît, 6e; starters €8.50-19.50, mains €17.50-38, menu €35; noon-2am daily; St-Germain des Prés
Not a ‘little bar’ but a wonderful, large brasserie serving mountains of fresh seafood, traditional French cuisine and regional specialities from the southwest in true Art Nouveau splendour. The term brasserie is used loosely here; you’ll feel more like you’re in a starred restaurant, so book ahead and dress accordingly.
SENSING Map French, Contemporary €€€
01 43 27 08 80; www.restaurantsensing.com; 19 rue Bréa, 6e; starters €21-24, mains €32-37, menu lunch €25, dinner €95; dinner to 10.30pm Mon, lunch & dinner to 10.30pm Tue-Sat; Vavin
Don’t worry about arriving at this elegant address with a hair out of place or smudged lipstick – a quick preen in the mirrored door upon entering will sort it out. The swanky ‘affordable-bistro’ creation of Michelin-starred celebrity chef Guy Martin, Sensing is one of those try-hard New York–type places with an interior design so cutting edge it seriously distracts from the food (oddly, glance quickly from the outside and you could easily mistake it for a luxury jewellery shop, although another review I read mentioned a hairdresser’s…). ‘Snacking’ is the trendy name for pre-dinner nibbles.
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top picks
ST-GERMAIN LUNCH SPOTS
Ze Kitchen Galerie (below)
Huîterie Regis
Le Mâchon d’Henri
Mamie Gâteaux
Le Jacobine
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LES BOUQUINISTES Map French, Contemporary €€€
01 43 25 45 94; 53 quai des Grands Augustins,