Un 'tasty meal' s'il vous plaît

May 7, 2010 12:02 AM

Where is a good place in Paris for a solo dinner?

I'd prefer somewhere in the Marais, the 5e or St Germain, but I'm happy to take the metro elsewhere if it's worth the trip. I'm happy to spend about 30 euros, and would prefer not to have to make a reservation.

posted by sien to Travel & Transportation around Paris, France (13 answers total)

Best answer: You might find some helpful suggestions in this thread. I recommended Chez Marianne, which is in the Marais and does not require reservations. Would definitely be under 30 euros.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:47 AM on May 7, 2010

In my experience, every place is great for a solo dinner in Paris (because it's not all that unusual to have dinner solo there).

I generally stay in the Montparnasse arrondisement, so I prefer La Rotonde. Good atmosphere, decent food, great outdoor seating. If you're a total gourmand and want something uber fancy then it might not be your place, but they have great escargots. Also, love their millefeuille desserts. No reservation needed, and I always have dinner there for under 30 E including a glass of wine.
posted by 1000monkeys at 12:57 AM on May 7, 2010

You might enjoy l'A.O.C. in the 5th, just across from the Jussieu campus of Paris 7. Their shtick is to have as much of the menu as possible made up of A.O.C. foods (wiki). I've probably eaten here five times and always enjoyed the food. The terrine starter (which is served with an excellent onion jam) is do-it-yourself, that is, they bring the big terrines to your table and you slice off however much you want to eat. I think the cheese course is like this too, they leave you with a tray containing a selection of cheese and you eat what you wish. The menu is fairly meat-focused, and there's also offal if you're into that kind of thing. The service is incredibly friendly and it's not overly bustling or noisy. I've always been able to get a table by calling on the same day, for a group as large as six, so I imagine you would be able to go in as a solo diner and be seated without a reservation.
posted by tractorfeed at 4:47 AM on May 7, 2010

Also, if you have time to plan and will be in Paris for a while, consider getting hold of a copy of Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris. It has never steered me wrong, and I've found many places I return to again and again.
posted by tractorfeed at 4:51 AM on May 7, 2010

Depending on what you're looking for, L'as du Falafel is the best falafel sandwich I've had outside of the Middle East, hands down. It'll run you about €10.
posted by proj at 5:57 AM on May 7, 2010

I don't know if you're looking specifically for French food or not, but Aki is a place where I enjoy eating alone. The food is fantastic and inexpensive, and by going alone you don't have to wait in the 30+ min long queue; they can usually seat one person instantly at the counter. It's near the métro Pyramides (line 7,14).
posted by helios at 6:48 AM on May 7, 2010

Best answer: Recommendations for general dining from Paris Notes and users of Fodor's forum, including here, here, and here:

Le Pamphlet
Le Gaigne
Bofinger
La Regalade
Cafe des Musees
Chez Janou
La Guirlande de Julie
Cafe Hugo at Place des Vosges
Les Papilles
Violon d'Ingres
Christophe
L'Ami Jean
posted by cranberryskies at 9:53 AM on May 7, 2010

My experience has been that it's best to make a reservation everywhere but brasseries and the chain places....I've walked into several completely empty spots and been told they're full.
posted by brujita at 10:55 PM on May 7, 2010

I've had a lot of solo-dinners in Paris (sucks to be me?), and
1) I have never had brujita's experience re reservations, and if I did, would expect it to happen when a tourist bus is coming through
2) I have to recommend to you

Quoico Kim Lien
www.kimlien.fr
29 Place Maubert
75005 Paris, France
01 44 07 05 55

where you can get some great pho, rice-and-meat-in-banana-leaf, and more.

Though I encourage you to enjoy all of France's various foods (especially galettes and crepes), no trip through Paris would be complete without enjoying the cuisines of some of its major immigrant populations, specifically I would consider Vietnamese, North African, and West African.
posted by whatzit at 11:50 PM on May 7, 2010

Also, the internet recently directed me to a website called La Fourchette, which has various restaurant promotions. Maybe it would bring something into your price-range that otherwise wouldn't be.
posted by whatzit at 11:53 PM on May 7, 2010

Le Coude Fou - in the Marais, cozy, fairly friendly, excellent wines.

But I have to agree with 1000monkeys: in Paris, you can eat solo pretty much anywhere without feeling out of place.

And though Robuchon may be beyond your budget, you might enjoy this article by Doug Saunders about dining alone in Paris.

Bon appetit !
posted by Paris Elk at 1:39 PM on May 8, 2010

Response by poster: The restaurant eaten at was Chartier.

It was grand. Thanks for the answers.
posted by sien at 4:07 AM on May 9, 2010

Whatzit, not tourist-bus places: a Russian place listed in Pariscope, a smallish regional (can't remember which one) with another branch (where I DID make the reservation and was seated without incident) in the city. At one Thai place I arrived before the restaurant opened and was first told I could wait and be seated when it did, then informed I had to leave . At another, I had to put my name down for a table which wasn't ready for an hour.

These are not complaints, just observations.
posted by brujita at 12:35 AM on May 11, 2010