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Paris Bistros on a Budget

The Affordable Petits Bistros of Paris

L'Auberge D'chez Eux in Paris
L'Auberge D'chez Eux in Paris does a great blanquette de veau

Fall is the season to rediscover the bistros and small eateries where you can eat like you would at home (at least at a Parisian home) – and oftentimes even better. We're referring to dining on simple dishes such as carefully simmered soups, lamb legs and stewed apple compote for a reasonable price.

Here is our autumnal round-up of Parisian "sympathiques," good and affordable tables:

L'Auberge D'chez Eux
2, av. Lowendal
75007 Paris
01 47 05 52 25
www.chezeux.com
Open daily Lunch & Dinner
€€
12/20
This is the place to experience what it would be like to dine at the table of a Parisian bourgeois family. Chef Bertrand serves the typical, well prepared blanquette de veau, the gratin Dauphinois and classic pastry Paris-Brest at very reasonable prices.

Le Bistral
80, rue Lemercier
75017 Paris
01 42 63 59 61
Lunch & Dinner (closed Sat.-Sun.)
€€
12/20
Chef Alexandre Mathieu's cooking follows the seasons. Fall, for instance, is the time for panned scallops with delicious cèpes mushrooms in a parsley coulis and barely cooked oysters.

Au Bouchon et l'Assiette
127, rue Cardinet
75017 Paris
01 42 27 83 93
Lunch & Dinner (closed Sun.-Mon.)
€€
12/20
Clément Vidalon presents a country soup with smoked lard and a blood pudding sausage from the Bruel farm in the Cantal (Central France), among other robust farm-style dishes.

Chez Marie
118, bd du Montparnasse
750014 Paris
01 43 27 22 00
Lunch & Dinner (closed Sun.)

12/20
Chef Jean-Charles favors the cuisine of the Basque country. He offers a garbure (a hearty country soup) that you can buy on the sidewalk and take away for 3 €. A tasty Basque pizza (p'axoa), tapas and a memorable Basque cake for dessert are also available.

Le Bar à Huitres
112, bd du Montparnasse 75014 Paris 01 43 20 71 01
33, rue Saint-Jacques 75005 Paris 01 44 07 27 37
33, bd Beaumarchais 75003 Paris 01 48 87 98 92
69, av. de Wagram 750017 Paris 01 43 80 63 54
www.lebarahuitres.com
Open daily Lunch & Dinner
€€€
12/20
In these four locations, the young Garry Dorr, the new owner, has gathered the most spectacular and comprehensive oyster menu in town, including the rare rose oyster of Tarbouriech from the Mediterranean Sea.

Le Bar à Huitres Montparnasse in Paris
Le Bar à Huitres (Montparnasse) offers delicious seafood

Le Grand 8
8, rue Lamarck
75018 Paris
01 42 55 04 55
Lunch Sat.-Sun., Dinner Wed.-Sun.
€€
12/20
A simple but tasty cuisine is served at Le Grand 8, often based on bio ingredients and accompanied by "natural" wines. One night is devoted to offal. Cheerful ambience.

Sébillon
20, av. Charles de Gaulle
92200 Neuilly sur Seine
01 46 24 71 31
www.sebillon.com
€€
13/20
Valet parking
The Joulies, an old French family, have owned this restaurant for quite some time. Their forte is and has always been the lamb leg, cut on demand and accompanied by melt-in-the-mouth lingots (white beans). The restaurant also serves fresh seafood.

L'Assiette
181, rue du Château
75014 Paris France
01 43 22 64 86

€€€€
13/20
Here the ingredients are magnificent and the portions huge. David Rathgeber specializes in South Western cuisine and his cassoulet has acquired quite a reputation.

Le Vaudeville
29, rue Vivienne
75002 Paris France
01 40 20 04 62
€€€

13/20
Le Vaudeville is a very Parisian choice for a late bite after the theater. One should not miss the calf’s head cooked on the bone, the ideal brasserie dish.

Bofinger
5-7, rue de la Bastille
75004 Paris France
01 42 72 87 82
€€€
13/20
Bofinger has long been a landmark in the Bastille quarter. Parisians, provincials, tourists and celebrities throng in for generous assortments of extra-fresh shellfish and hearty choucroute garni.

Emporio Armani Caffè
149, bd Saint-Germain
75006 Paris France
01 45 48 62 15
€€
13/20
The Emporio Armani Caffè features a sleek space and fine cooking. The Italian-style aperitif hour offers freshly prepared specialties served in mini-portions that make for an excellent pre-cinema snack.



PSG111010
(Updated: BLS 11/11/10)


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