Dining Reviews > Articles > Choosing Where to Eat
"Paris has more than its fair share of the world’s top restaurants, but that doesn’t mean they’re all good. Some are even downright terrible. So when you’re wandering around in a jet-lagged fug and all of the restaurants start looking the same, how do you choose? Fortunately, French law requires restaurant to post their menus outside, so visitors have a chance to check the type of food served, specials of the day, prices, and whether there’s anything on the menu that Junior or the vegetarian in the group can eat. If the menu posted outside is translated into four languages and has accompanying photos, then that gives you an idea already of what you’re getting into." From The Adventure Guide: Paris & Ile-de-France.
I don't do a lot of restaurant reviews for work, so the reviews here on my site are simply the places where I've eaten as a "regular client" (ie on my own dime). I tend to equally weigh the food, service and atmosphere (decor and mood). And I'm always looking for a good deal! I believe you can eat well for under €20, and fabulously for less than €50 (that's including wine), so most of the places I frequent are in these price ranges.
Guides
So how do I pick a place to eat in a city spoilt for choice? It's not easy, I admit. I've eaten a lot of bad meals! I go by recommendations, either from friends or trusted guides. On my bookshelf:
The Time Out Paris: Eating & Drinking Guide is updated annually, and is written in an irreverent, fresh voice by Paris-based journalists who know what they're talking about.
The Michelin Guide Rouge, as a reference only, because it's not very detailed in the descriptions. The guide is also online (free registration).
The Parigramme booklet, A Chacun son Resto is cute and has some original ideas (like dining at culinary schools).
The Guide Zurban Resto & Bistrots, which is one of my favorite Paris dining guides, written by local journalists (from the weekly Zurban magazine), with 400 addresses by neighborhood.
Online, I read Le Fooding Guide, a movement for alternative dining that focuses on good food and good atmosphere without the "rules" of traditional French cuisine.
If you don't have your own friends in Paris to recommend their favorite restaurants, borrow mine: Dessert cookbook author and chocolate guide David Lebovitz has a great foodie website/blog where he shares all of his favorite Paris dining addresses.
There are many, many other guides. I would choose yours based on who's doing the reviewing. Paris-based writers are more likely to have visited places several times to get a better idea of consistency, like Patricia Wells, the Paris food journalist for L’Express and the International Herald Tribune) and author of the Food Lover’s Guide to Paris.
I'm always wary of print or online guides where the reviews are anonymous. I think it's just to easy to "fix" these by friends of restaurant owners or even skewed by one unhappy reviewer who has blown the experience out of proportion.
What’s What?
In the United States the terms bistro, brasserie and café seem to be interchangeable terms for any place serving food, but in France these titles mean something, and knowing these meanings will make it a lot easier to now what kind of dining experience you should expect.
- Bistro
The typical bistro is a simple, family-run affair specializing in honest, home-style cooking. They tend to be open only on weekdays, and only for a few hours at lunch and dinner. There are many stylish "neo-bistros" on the market now, with contemporary or kitsch retro décor and chic clientele, but the focus is still on traditional cuisine made with the highest quality, seasonal ingredients. The average Parisian bistro is an excellent value, with budget lunch menus and wine by the pichet or glass.
- Brasserie
Brasseries are bigger, with non-stop service throughout the day (sometimes 24-hours). They have a larger, flexible menu to suit small or large appetites, from salads and open-faced sandwiches to hearty meals of meat and potatoes. They’re usually set in beautiful, late19th-century dining rooms, yet have an informal, sometimes noisy atmosphere, with no dress code. The first brasseries were opened in Paris by Alsatians who fled their German-occupied region after the Franco-Prussian War, bringing with them their specialty beers and pork-based dishes such as choucroute (sauerkraut and sausages). Other typical brasserie fare includes fresh seafood platters, cassoulet and onion soup.
- Cafés & Salons du Thé
Cafés are a bit more difficult to define. They're generally casual places to have a drink, with light snacks such as croque-monsieurs or salads available throughout the day. They’re the kind of places where you can spend the day people-watching or reading a book. Regulars tend to congregate at the bar, where coffee and drinks are cheaper than at tables. Sometimes a bistro or a restaurant will also call itself a café if it has seating for those just stopping in for a drink. The tables set for eating (placemat, silverware, etc.) are not meant for clients just having a drink. The waiter will usually ask, when you arrive, if you're eating or drinking, and direct you to the proper area.
Tearooms have become very popular in the past few years. Some serve only tea and pastries throughout the day, others have full lunch menus with tea service limited to the afternoon. Tearoom cooking is typically a choice of light but refined salads, quiches and tartes. Tearooms usually close before dinner.
- Restaurant
Whether formal or low-key, a restaurant is where you go to have a lingering, three-course (or more) meal, typically with wine, cheese and coffee at the end. Go to a restaurant when you have the time and the appetite to enjoy the entire experience. Sometimes an establishment is called a restaurant if it doesn’t fit into any other category. For dinner, almost all restaurants expect a bit more formality in dress code than during the day, even if in the more casual establishments that means no tank tops, shorts and mucky sneakers. Only the most formal restaurants will actually turn you away for improper clothing; the rest will just seat you in the corner where the other guests won't see you.
- Wine Bar
A wine-lover's paradise, it's hard to go wrong in Paris's bistrots à vin (wine bistros). They're typically informal, and offer a limited selection of charcuterie (cold meats and cheeses) and tartines (open sandwiches) to accompany the carefully-chosen wines. You usually can't just drink wine without eating anything (unless the establishment has a bar license).