From your breakfast runs at local boulangeries to the people watching while you brunch at a Parisian cafe to the terrace dining in summers while the sun still shines bright, to your late night drink at a bar loved by a local - if you are a vegetarian, Paris does not disappoint you. If you are eggetarian or atleast open to hidden eggs in bread and desserts, you will be delighted further with what restaurants in Paris have to offer.
We have covered our trip to Paris in 9 Chapters from the lens of travelling from India, planning an Emily in Paris inspired trip, experiences to include in your itinerary, availability of vegetarian food in Paris, decoding French fashion for Indian girls, if the Paris syndrome is true and exploring French culture with takeaways for our own wellbeing.
You are reading Chapter 3.
If you are a desi traveller that is on a lookout for Indian restaurants in Paris, then we may not have the best suggestions for you. But if you are keen on the complimentary baguette bread baskets, dig into profiteroles oozing with chocolate sauce, note the difference between handcrafted and industrially produced croissants and tap into a Pistachio Creme Brulee - then you are in for a treat.
Table of contents
Best breakfast in Paris
True to the Parisian Bon Vivant lifestyle, feast on some coffee and croissants for breakfast and if you are planning to put together a meal in your bed and breakfast then don't forget to also buy a freshly baked baguette from your local boulangerie. Contrary to a leisurely lunch in Paris, breakfast is often much earlier and more of a grab and go from a boulangerie.
Since we were at Hotel Basss in the heart of Montmartre, I’d recommend the below places for your boulangerie breakfast run in Paris:
Kozy Montmartre Rue la Vieuville - If you want to enjoy a sit down breakfast or brunch then this place is unmissable! Their Very Berry Tornado smoothie was refreshing, however, the highlight was their Limited Edition French Toast with hazelnuts and a bunch of other delicious toppings. If you like eggs for breakfast then their Avocado Halloumi Benny is worth a shot. You wouldn’t require a reservation and can easily walk in especially for breakfast or brunch and a hearty meal for two would cost you around €40.
Bistrot Baguette, Montmartre - If you want to begin sightseeing earlier in the day and prefer a grab and go kind of breakfast then this boulangerie closer to the Montmartre neighbourhood has some artisanal butter croissants, pain au chocolats and hot chocolate that will you give you the much needed fuel for a long day in Paris. This place can be your €10-15 per person kind of breakfast with top notch ingredients being used. They also have a cosy little corner table for you to stop by if you’re not in a hurry.
Les Deux Magots, Saint Germaine - Although this iconic cafe is not in Montmartre, it is worth the metro ride to one of the most upscale neighbourhoods in Paris. Opt for the €14 euro Le Classique combo per person if you’re here for breakfast where you can go for the old style hot chocolate to dunk the best croissant you may have ever had in your life into along with some sliced baguette bread and butter. Opt for the terrace seating like they show in the movies or as the yesteryear intelligentsia did and people watch as you chomp off your breakfast. You may choose to reserve a table online or queue up right outside and the attendant will take you in not after that long. I must say, Paris cafes and bistros manage their queues really well.
A few other breakfast options in and around Montmartre and Trocadero that I had on my list but did not end up trying are:
Le Consulat, Montmartre
Chez Toinette, Montmartre
Carette, Montmartre
Stohrer, Le Marais (the oldest bakery in Paris)
Cafe de Flore, Saint Germaine (of Emily in Paris fame right next door to Les Deux Magots)
Cafe du Trocadero, Trocadero - This place is great for great open air Eiffel Tower views early in the morning. In case if you have a morning slot to visit the Eiffel Tower summit or are opting for a photo shoot with the Eiffel Tower backdrop then you can first have breakfast here.
Best restaurants in Paris for lunch, dinner and drinks
If you’re like us and want to explore the local cuisine or renowned restaurants as opposed to just looking up “indian restaurants in paris” online, then we have you covered. We enjoyed most of our meals in Paris, I don't remember a single place disappointing us. Listing out some of the best lunch and dinner spots spanning across multiple arrondissements in Paris, so that you can pick a place based on which neighbourhood you would be spending your day in. Most of these places require a reservation while some may have a walk-in option but you end up getting a better table if you have a reservation. Also, don't worry about you reaching the restaurant earlier or later than your time slot as that is often difficult to predict in advance when you’re sightseeing or coming back from a day trip in France. Once you have a dinner reservation, they will reserve your table and up to 60 to 90 mins sooner or later shouldn’t be a challenge. Here are some of the places j’adored:
Pink Mamma - This is one of the most coveted Italian restaurants in Paris. Stick to a vegetarian pizza and a pomodoro spaghetti along with a Limonata and you’ll be happy as a baby. We did try and get a bit experimental and called for their Chimmichurri which was an aubergine overload, I enjoyed it while the toppings lasted and then couldn't finish it. They do some nice Tiramisu, but what I would go back to this place for is their Profiteroles. This place would cost you anywhere between €50-100 for two depending on the number of courses, drinks and desserts you choose to indulge in. It is recommended to pre-book to get a nicer table and if you want to avoid sitting at the bar.
Dalmata Pizza - Another quaint little pizzeria dishing out some Neopolitan goodness that you cannot miss in Paris. We started off with some Truffle Arancini and then devoured the Puglia Mia pizza. We ended our meal with their Tiramisu and landed with a €35 bill for the two of us.
Maslow - This is an all vegetarian restaurant in Paris where a reservation is mandatory for you to be able to dine. You have to queue up outside the restaurant even with a reservation. We tried some French and Italian dishes here which are surely for a more evolved palate. We started off with the Raita Courgette and Bukni Masala and then moved onto Carpaccio Chou De Rave which you may not enjoy if you’re not into fibrous salads. The Gnochhi Romesco was nice and safe. Again, what stole the show was the Mille-Fes with Pistachio gelato on the side.
Amourette - Another place to have dinner on a balmy summer evening when the sun is still up at dinnertime taking full advantage of its terrace seating. We had their Roasted Vegetable Lasagne and their Rigatoni with tomato, basil and burrata which is flavourful but on the colder side as burrata is best had cold. (Just saying, as we Indians want our food to be piping hot and may end up complaining to the waiter.) When in Paris, the show stealer is always the dessert, in this case, the Pistachio Creme Brulee with hazelnuts. This place would cost you anywhere between €50-100 for two depending on the number of dishes, drinks and desserts your order.
Distrito Frances Mexican Restaurant - One of the most underrated Mexican restaurants in Paris, this place in Le Marais is no frills. You can make a reservation or even try walking in. We had the Mexican staple guac and chips along with some teas to keep that phlegm at bay in Paris’ whimsical summer weather. We then loved our main course of Enchilada with sweet potatoes, this is the first time I have had sweet potato as part of Mexican cuisine and it went so well. We ended our meal with Marvin’s room which was a Biscoff cheesecake. This place would cost you around €40-50 for two if you order a starter, a main dish and a dessert to share and drinks for both.
Bisou.- Just a 5 min walk away from Distrito is this bar recommended to us by our tour guide that is loved and frequented by locals. There is no menu here, the attendant will ask you for your beverage preferences and the bartender will concoct a personalised cocktail for you. The rate is a flat €14 for a cocktail and €9 for a mocktail.
Creatures (Galeries Lafayette rooftop) - This rooftop bar is 100% vegetarian and offers stunning views of the city with some fine French wine and finger food. The restaurant is only open in the summer months and they serve in vintage inspired floral crockery that would remind you of all the European grandmothers you may have read about. They served the bread basket and we called for the Labneh and tomato confites which made for some really delicious finger food to go with our white wine. Two drinks and a finger plate to share cost us around €30, which is pricey for sure but the views made up for it.
A few other restaurants in Paris that were a part of my list but I did not end up trying are:
Cafe Kitsun
Perruche
Brasserie Lipp
Cafe Marly
Chez Janou
Fauchon
Guy Savoy
Le Grand Vefour
Taillevent
Best desserts in Paris
While I had an entire list of dessert places to try in Paris, 5 days in the city including 2 day trips outside of the city were not enough for me to get to these. The only three places we could try were:
Creperie Chez Suzette - This creperie in the Latin Quarters dishes out some authentic French crepes at comparatively affordable prices. Their strawberry and nutella crepe cannot go wrong and can make for a great mid day indulgence after walking 10,000 steps by 3 PM to get some fuel to complete 20,000 steps by bedtime.
Pierre Hermes - Acclaimed to be one of the best macarons in Paris, we had their salted caramel macaron, up top the Eiffel Tower.
Paul - Much like what McDonalds is to the US, Paul is to France. On one of our day trips from Paris to the Loire Valley, we stopped by for an Eclair at Paul and we loved the texture of our dainty little morning dessert.
So I am leaving this list with you and for myself for another time in the City of Love.
La Coupole
La Fontaine Demars
Chocolate Chapon
Angelina
Laduree
L'Eclair De Genie Boulevard Haussmann, Paris, France - Pistachio Eclair
Cedric Grolet Cafe - Paris Brest and Vanilla Tarte
Things to keep in mind while dining out in Paris
Whether it's a humble boulangerie or a posh restaurant in Paris, don't forget to say Bonjour or Bonsoir as you begin your interactions to ensure you get the best service.
Most restaurants in Paris offer you a bread basket as you wait for your meal to arrive which is on the house
Ideally, waiters in Paris are paid well and not dependent on tips unlike the US or India. However, it is much appreciated if you round off your bill to the closest 0 or 5 and leave a little appreciation for the waiter.
Like most other European countries, preferably place your order in one go including dinner, entrees and main dishes at restaurants in Paris. However, I noticed Paris restaurants to have one of the better levels of service in Western Europe and are also well staffed unlike Switzerland or Germany. Ideally, only order desserts in the end but I did find most restaurants in Paris to be flexible.
Typically drinks are served first followed by your food and most places would expect atleast the same number of dishes to be ordered as the number of persons at the table.
There is no hurry for you to finish your meal in Paris as you leisurely savour each bite while people watching on a terrace. The waiter will not just drop the bill at your table, so you need to ask for it once you are done.
Opt for outdoor seating if you are in Paris during the summer months to take in the city and its people in its purest form. However, if it rains or you’re in Paris in the winters, then most restaurants have an equally big indoor seating area which may look tiny from the outside but is deceptive.
Last word
The food scene in Paris is definitely one of the best in Europe that I have come across. I haven’t stepped out disappointed from any restaurant that I have visited during my short stay and the service levels were better than other countries in Europe unlike the French stereotype of being rude and not very customer-centric. You will also find enough and more options as a vegetarian in Paris, however, if you are a vegan or a Jain then you may have to narrow down your choices or make requests to the waiter to tweak the preparations. If you are an eggetarian, then you shouldn’t worry at all in Paris, as you will be able to do justice to all the French bread, viennoiseries and desserts.
Kommentare