When we asked our Paris expert friends to tell us their Paris best bars and restaurants, the most authentic and fabulous Paris haunts for a drink or a meal we were amazed at the fantastic response we got. Paris is a big city with a huge choice of places to eat or drink so we’re sharing this fantastic inside knowledge with you – bon appétit and santé!
Kim Petyt, the Paris wedding planner and author of The Paris Wedding says “Eating and people watching on Rue Montergeuil” in the Châtelet-Les Halles district (2nd arrondissement). A vibrant and dynamic street which is lined with restaurants, cafés, artisan bakeries, fish and cheese shops, wine merchants and fabulous florists. Painted by Monet in June 1878 and chosen for its colour and vivacity it remains a favourite meeting place for Parisians to socialise and shop. At one end you will find the Centre Georges Pompidou (Museum of Contemporary Art, also named Beaubourg Museum) and Les Halles, where the largest indoor shopping mall in central Paris is located and the at the other end are the Grand Boulevards.
Daisy de Plume, Paris expert from THATLou Paris treasure hunts says “I’m particularly partial to Café Blanc (10, rue Croix des Petits Champs 75001 Paris). The owners Damien and Jennifer have been wonderfully accommodating and lent out their airy upstairs room to THATLou-ers thirsty for a good drink while they talk smack to the competition. It’s a corner resto, so when it’s too hot there’s a lovely cross-draft in their typically Parisian tile and bevelled mirrored room.
Other clients have chosen Café Marly (93 rue de Rivoli) and Le Fumoir (6 rue de l’Amiral Coligny)for the prize-giving ceremony drinks, both of which I’m fond of. But for the first Sunday of the month public hunts I always go to Café Blanc, and feel very much at home there thanks largely to Damien’s friendly staff”.
Lynn Leger, an American living in Paris and blogging at 93 days to Paris says that her “favorite restaurant experience so far has to be “Chez Moi” (translates to “My House”). It’s a tiny little place in the 11th district (1 rue St Ambroise Paris 75011). It would be one of those places that you stumble upon and wouldn’t know what you found as it doesn’t have any big sign stating what it is. During normal weekday hours they offer a variety of quiche and salad options. We went there for a private lunch with friends. The space is set up like a big family table (seating about 12-15 people) with the kitchen open to the dining space. So we all were able to enjoy our lunch while the meal was being created right next to us. The bonus is that the food we shared was really amazing”.
Colin Hathaway from the UK says “Wherever you go, finish at Harrys bar with a bloody Mary and a walk to l’Opera after dark” – sounds romantic! In 1911, Harry’s was a New York bar but it was dismantled and rebuilt at 5 Rue Daunou in the 2nd arrondissement, just a short walk from the Louvre. Ever since it has attracted the great and the good and customers have included George Gershwin who wrote “An American in Paris” here and Ernest Hemingway was a fan. Harry’s Bar in Paris continues to hold onto its American origins and each time there is a US presidential election, customers who provide proof of US citizenship can vote in a straw poll. Since the start of this tradition in 1924, the results have mirrored every election – except in 1976 and 2004!
Fish restaurant La Boissonerie (69 rue du Seine) with it’s warm and cosy atmosphere got a huge thumbs up from Sue Sharp an expat Londoner in France and Jacqueline from France.
American Melissa McCrea Seritella says she couldn’t visit Paris without at least one visit to Angelina’s Team Room at 226 Rue de Rivoli – we have to agree, not much beats their famous Mont Blanc pastry and delicious hot chocolate!
The jazz clubs on the Left Bank were a popular choice and top tip from travel writer Travolution is the Caveau de la Huchette “For something authentic and off the beaten track there’s a great local jazz scene here”. Held in the cellars of a 16th Century building at 5 rue de la Huchette this venue has seen many of the jazz greats like Count Basie and Lionel Hampton and continues to be an important part of Paris nightlife for all ages.
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