Crepes and other Paris, France Restaurant Reviews

Restaurant Name: Street vendors

One of my all time favorite food memories is running out to find one last banana and nutella crepe before heading on the long journey back to Chicago. Every so often I have one at home, but it's not the same as strolling down Champs Elysees with chocolate smeared all over my chin!

You can't go farther than a block or two without seeing a vendor selling crepes and you will see lots of people strolling while munching on crepes. Prices range from 2E to about 6E, the closer you are to tourist attractions and high rent districts, the more you pay typically. I've never had a bad crepe in Paris and believe me, I've eaten more than my share!!!


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Theme: Street Vendor
Comparison: least expensive
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Address: Everywhere in Paris!

Restaurant Name: Leon de Bruxelles

This is a chain of restaurants throughout Paris with reasonable prices, large crowds and reasonably good food.

Favorite Dish: I tried the mussels in cream sauce and frites which was pretty good, my husband had calamari which was pretty tasty.

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Theme: Seafood
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Address: All over Paris
Website: http://www.leon-de-bruxelles.fr/

Restaurant Name: Pizza Hut

Normally I wouldn't stop at a Pizza Hut in Paris but we were in a hurry and thought a lunch buffet would be quick. For about 10E per person they have an unlimited pizza and salad bar along with a really large drink, quite unusual for Paris. It's similar to Pizza Hut in the US, the toppings are a little different but it's basically the same stuff.


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Theme: Pizza
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Directions: The one we tried was near the Opera metro
Website: http://www.pizzahut.fr

Restaurant Name: various vendors

In the area around the Cluny Sorbonne metro, there are at least a dozen storefronts selling inexpensive Greek food. They are quick and the food quite tasty.

Actually you will see Greek restaurants all around Paris, this is a very popular fast food option, but this is where we tried them.

Favorite Dish: All of the places have similar menus, I tried the Grec sandwich avec salades et frites, which is basically a gyro with a bit of lettuce and french fries. The cost is the same no matter where you try it, mine cost 4E.

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Theme: Other
Comparison: least expensive
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Address: around Cluny Sorbonne

Restaurant Name: Istanbul

Very close to Notre Dame, there is a sit down restaurant with Turkish food that was quick and pretty tasty.

Favorite Dish: The iskander kebab was quite good

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Theme: Middle Eastern
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Address: rue des petit ponts

Restaurant Name: Le Paname

We had planned on stopping by Refuge des Fondues for lunch but since it wasn't open for lunch and we had a taste for fondue, we found this place down the street, on the other side of the street. The clientele seemed like mostly locals, I think we were the only English speaking people in the place. The service was friendly and prompt.

Favorite Dish: They had several inexpensive specials for the day but we kept on course and ordered some onion soup gratinee and fondue savoyarde (cheese). Both were delicious.

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Theme: French
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Address: rue des Trois Freres
Directions: Montmartre

Restaurant Name: Various

Instead of taking the petit dejeuner (breakfast) at the hotel, usually an added 5-10E per person, I grab my breakfast at the local patisserie (bakery). My favorite is a pain au chocolat but there are many yummy baked goods to choose from not only for breakfast but also for a nice daytime snack. Large grocery stores also carry fresh pastries, usually not as good as the ones you find at patisseries but usually quite a bit cheaper.


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Theme: Bakery
Comparison: least expensive
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter

Restaurant Name: Angelina

There are many menu items on Angelina's menu, indeed we saw several people eating sandwiches and salads but my focus for my birthday splurge was two of the menu items that Angelina is famous for, the hot chocolate l'Africain and the Mont Blanc.

At around 2 pm we had to wait about 15 minutes for a table but by the time we left there was no line. You see all kinds of dress here, from the chic Parisian ladies to tourists in shorts, service is quick and efficient but certainly not friendly or pleasant. Not that I'd expect friendly or pleasant Parisian waiters....

Favorite Dish: The hot chocolat l'Africain (6.90E) is a thick dark chocolate served in a pot for one with a side of fresh whipped cream to mix in with it, not overly sweet but perfection when mixed together. Coupled with the Mont Blanc pastry (6.70E), a chestnut puree covering over cream and a meringue base, I was practically in a sugar coma by the time we left.

David ordered a pot of hot white chocolate (6.80E) which was very sweet and another pastry (6.10E), everything on the pastry trays at the entrance looked decadent and divine.

It's a bit of a splurge, 26.50E was our total bill, but totally worth it for this chocoholic on her birthday!

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Theme: Dessert
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Address: 226 rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris
Directions: Near Place de la Concord

Restaurant Name: Hellenis

I have no one to blame but myself for this awful dining experience, I was tired and hungry so we decided to eat in the Latin Quarter, more known for it's budget kebab shops than it's fine dining. I couldn't bear the thought of eating another kebab, it was way too hot for fondue or raclette so we perused the menus and found a place that had all of the things I wanted to eat. I was purposely trying to avoid the Greek restaurants but somehow we ended up at a place called Hellenis, can't get more Greek than that.

Warning bells should have started going off in my head almost immediately when they sat us down in the basement away from all the other diners, the Greece travel video playing on the TV, the goofy waiter who seemed to think we wanted to wear straw hats. But we ordered anyway and it just went downhill from there....

Favorite Dish: The onion soup was edible but an extremely small portion. I ordered entrecote, David ordered chicken, fairly simple dishes but we waited and waited, watching plate after plate of really delicious looking skewers of meat and fish and vegetables go by. We asked our waiter what the hold up was, still no food, and finally when we were just about ready to leave our "food" arrives, David's chicken the texture of shoe leather, my entrecote a fatty almost inedible lump of beef. We told the waiter we were unhappy and he didn't seem to know what to do so we asked for the manager whose solution was to offer us more food. At this point, I just wanted to leave, the manager took 5E off the bill for the dessert we refused to order and we left, stopping briefly to tell the guy luring people into the restaurant what a crappy meal they served us.

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Theme: Local
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Address: 11 Rue Xavier Privas
Directions: Latin Quarter

Restaurant Name: Amorino

I found a recommendation for Amorino while wading through posts on Berthillon, the famous ice cream parlor in Paris. Berthillon has it's many fans but those who were not so enthused about it raved over Amorino. We didn't come across Berthillon during our trip and I believe I had read it closed down during the month of August anyway but we did spot Amorino while wandering through the Latin Quarter on a hot August day and decided to stop in. The line wasn't too long and there's a small dining area if you prefer to eat your gelato while seated, not a bad idea if you get a cone.

Favorite Dish: Amorino serves gelato rather than ice cream, I like gelato better as it tend to have more flavor and is much denser than ice cream, even better it has less fat than ice cream. I ordered my two flavors in a cup rather than a cone, the gelato is scooped into flower petals when you order a cone but not in a cup, you can see an example on the website below. I don't remember what flavors I ended up with but thought it was good although not as good as gelato that I've had in other places. But it's a fine place to stop on a hot summer day.

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Theme: Dessert
Comparison: least expensive
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Address: 4 rue Vavin, Latin Quarter
Directions: Multiple locations, see the website for additional branches
Website: http://www.amorino.fr/