Val and I have been friends since we were 10 and have traveled together for decades, including a few prior trips to Paris. We’d been longing to return to France since March 2020, when our apartment rental in Cannes was cancelled-due-to-Covid; during those stay-at-home months, we had fun planning our return to Paris. We decided that it would be safe by October and booked flights for a three-week stay. I arranged for a few fine-dining and Michelin-star experiences, (and will feature them in a separate article); Val suggested some of the trendy restaurants, which happen to be located in – or near – major sights.

Except for the few occasions when star chefs served us their set menus, we ordered very simply and, after bountiful buffet breakfasts at our five-star hotels, we were often happy ordering less, except at the most beautiful places: wine, or cappuccino, an appetizer, sometimes two, and dessert. Happily, we found attentive servers, fabulous breads and well-executed French favorites even as walk-ins.

Before You Go: Check current Covid requirements; we had to show proof of vaccination, or a French Passe Sanitaire (Sanitary Pass) everywhere; someone on staff scans the QR code, either from the piece of paper or from a phone. I got my pass on-line, before leaving home; Val paid for the test at a pharmacy (they all have big, neon, red crosses outside), where they supplied the pass within 20 minutes, after negative tests. And, everyone must prove a recent negative Covid test before flying home to the USA. These websites are informative: https://us.france.fr/en; atout-france.fr; en.parisinfo.com; fr.usembassy.gov.

Champs Elysées
After overnight flights – and a two-hour ride from the airport – we checked into our hotel, Prince de Galles; before long, we were ready for lunch and noticed an enclosed terrace directly across Avenue George V. We were lucky: Renoma Café Gallery is a warm, and welcoming café where I ordered my first terrine of Foie Gras in almost two years and tasted Val’s grilled eggplant, tomato and burrata dish. That night (after spa treatments at the hotel’s Olivier LeCocq Wellness Suite), we stayed in the golden triangle and shared an extra crisp Pizza Margherita at Vesuvio Paris. (Pizza is one of our popular, inexpensive, perennials; yet, even at the very casual Pizza Pino, just a block from our hotel, Maison Albar le Vendome, on Blvd. des Italiens, (near the Opera Garnier), the woman at the next table was dressed head-to-toe by Chanel!

Musée d’Orsay: Café Campana 
After viewing the impressionists, we passed through the café just before noon. There were no crowds in the brightly-furnished café, and were seated in full view of the huge clock on the riverside wall that dates to when the Beaux Arts building was a railroad terminal. After cappuccino, I enjoyed a bacon-rich quiche Lorraine with a salad. Val nibbled through the smoked meats on a charcuterie platter and dessert. When I was last at my favorite museum, in 2018, I ate at the more formal Le Restaurant, where I admired the gilded walls, painted ceilings, glorious chandeliers and view of Sacré Coeur, atop Montmartre. That evening, after a dish of smoked salmon, I ordered the cheese platter, a high-calorie treat that I usually skip during a dinner when I’d rather eat dessert.

Musée des Arts Décoratifs: LouLou
This is an enticing, uber-chic Italian restaurant inside the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, which is at the far end of the Louvre palace, not far from Palais Royal (where I once dined remarkably well at Le Grand Véfour). We loved the exotic clothes at the Thierry Mugler exhibit and, by the time we had seen it all, we were ready to eat before heading to see the Cartier jewelry. The host, surprisingly, found us a table without a reservation and during a busy Sunday brunch. The second pleasant surprise was the wonderful Italian meal by chef Diego Compagno – eggplant Parmagiana, linguine and double espresso.

Opera Garnier: Coco
This stunningly beautiful restaurant is located inside the opera house, a classified historic monument, which we toured earlier in the week. The exciting space houses a curvilinear mezzanine, decorated with hanging plants, that floats above the dining room; enormous windows are the backdrop for the patterned carpet, upholstered banquettes and fringed lamps. We arrived Saturday night at 10pm, in time to see the weekend cabaret show; Val insisted on a better table and they found us one smack in the middle of the oh-so-chic date-night scene. Tables are so close together that we met folks on both sides; everyone was chatting, clapping and singing along – even dancing in the aisles  – with the musicians. We drank Chablis, ate delicious king crab appetizers and île flottante – “floating island,” white merengue with sprinkles. It was such fun, we made a reservation for the following Saturday night.

Palais de Chaillot: Girafe
If you saw Emily on an outdoor terrace, within touching views of the Eiffel Tower, (Season 1; Episode 2 of Emily in Paris), she was at Girafe, a high-style seafood brasserie with raw bar plateau and grilled fish specialties served within a chic 1930s décor. The entry is through the Cité de l’Architecture museum at the Palais de Chaillot, which hosted the United Nations, and also houses the National Dance Theatre, Maritime Museum and Aquarium. We dined late, on a Saturday, next to a couple who drank dinner (she held her successive drinks wearing finger-free, elbow-length black gloves). The crab salad dish topped with beautifully arranged avocado slices was scrumptious and so was the baba au rhum.

Pont Neuf: Le Tout-Paris
Le Tout-Paris is the destination-dining, all-day restaurant on the 7th floor of the most popular new luxe hotel, Cheval Blanc. Getting dinner reservations on line was an effort in stick-to-itiveness; a concierge booked a better one for a Sunday at 10pm. We said: “Merci mille fois!” Designer Peter Marino created a colorful décor with hand-painted, Fauve-style floor tiles and raised banquettes that provide breathtaking river views, even from the back, though the views from the terrace are incomparable: you see Pont Neuf, the city’s oldest bridge below, and the vista extends from Notre Dame to the Eiffel Tower. From Chef William Béquin’s array of grilled, roasted or steamed main dishes, we shared crispy country bread and steak with “Pont-Neuf” fries followed by a chocolate soufflé.

Hungry for more? Read about the Salade Nicoise experience in France.

Where to Eat in Paris: Cafes, Bistros and Brasseries in, or near, popular Paris places

For most of our catch-as-catch-can meals, we chose whatever café, bistro, or brasserie was convenient, especially if we spotted an empty table on the terrace and these little meals rarely cost more than $20 Euro each. (Even triple vaxxed, we prefer to eat outside!)

Paris Tourist Office 
The Paris Tourist Office inside city hall, Hôtel de Ville, is where we bought our museum tickets, mostly for mid-week mornings, from a very helpful staff. Afterwards, we crossed the street and stepped inside Le Bistrot Marguerite, a charming spot with a pink chandelier and giant teddy bear, where we ate the first – and best – sugar-topped crèpes of our trip.

Louvre
We left the Louvre through the underground shopping mall; it felt like the 2010 film Exit through the Gift Shop; when we arrived, outside, we were some distance from Café Marly, a chic Costes brothers’ café facing the museum’s famous IM Pei glass Pyramide; so, we walked across Rue de Rivoli to Le Royal Paris, where I had a “Croque,” a saucy-topped grilled ham and cheese sandwich, with a salad; Val finished with a crème brulée.

Place de la Bastille 
You don’t have to be a history buff tracing the start of the French Revolution to visit the Place de la Bastille, near the Opéra de la Bastille and the covered market, Marché d’Aligre. We taxied to the 12th Arrondissement early to walk around and see Canal Saint Martin; we even had time for un verre at Café de la Presse, before meeting my foodie-friend, Stephanie, for dinner at Amarante. She wanted us to taste “super-delicious” food by well-regarded chef/owner Christophe Philippe. Amarante is a tiny and unfussy bistro, where we ordered typical French dishes: garlicky escargots served with croutons; smooth, silky foie gras with country bread; and sardines served on top of sliced potatoes.

Faubourg Saint Honoré 
We were planning to browse the uber-chic designer boutiques on rue St. Honore, when it started to pour. We ducked inside Le Boissy d’Anglas. We dried out with a shared a platter of sliced tomatoes with burrata and hot chocolate served with a bowl of whipped cream. (Angelina’s, on rue de Rivoli near the Louvre, serves hot chocolate and whipped cream, and beautiful pastries – AFTER a long wait on line!) On another rainy afternoon, we popped into the fashionably-chic Hotel Costes, where we sat under the glass-topped atrium, drank wine, ate appetizers (I had a sliced avocado dish), and decadent desserts: pavlova (merengue) with strawberries and an éclair caramel.

Rive Gauche-Boulevard Saint Germain
Autumn in Paris was decidedly onion soup weather and we ate it often; the best was at Les Antiquaires, on rue du Bac, just a short walk from our Hotel Montalembert. Its sister hotel, Hotel Bel Ami is located in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, mere footsteps from the throngs who were waiting to get into the famous Left Bank literary cafes, Les Deux Magots, Café de Flore and Brasserie Lipp. When Ernest Hemingway, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Simone de Beauvoir frequented the cafes, there were no lines. Once, we walked in the other direction, to Le Pré aux Clercs for steak aux poivres and sautéed foie gras. I had also stayed at Bel Ami, in 2018, (I love it!) and had noticed then, and this year, that every noon and evening there was a very long line waiting across the street from the hotel to get into Le Relais de l’Entrecôte. On our fourth night, there was no line (yet!) and we impulsively jumped in wondering: “Why are so many folks willing to wait?” At dinner it was obvious: their fixed-price formule dates to 1959: owner-produced Château de Saurs wine; a walnut-studded salad; tender, sliced steak with a mustardy cream sauce; hot matchstick fries; and choice of desserts. Plus, the waitstaff offers complementary second and third portions.

Lady Luck lasted until our final meal in Paris; it was hard to leave the luxurious Saint James Paris, so we tasted the bartender’s creative cocktail and ate our second cheeseburgers, there, at the beautiful Bar/Bibliothèque (Library/Bar), seated on comfy leather chairs at a table under a coffered ceiling and looking at a book-lined wall. After dinner, the taxi drove us to Charles de Gaulle (CDG), after commuter traffic; it was a stress-free way to get to the airport, spend our last night at Sheraton Paris Roissy, where the front door opens directly into Terminal 2!

For sure, you’re bound to eat well in Paris, even – or especially – at or near places that attract tourists.

Publication: www.realfoodtraveler.com

Date: January 13, 2022

Title: Where to Eat in Paris Near Popular Sites

Hotels: Prince de Galles; Maison Albar le Vendome, Saint James Paris, Montalembert, Bel Ami, Hotel Costes, Cheval Blanc, Sheraton Roissy Paris Airport

Restaurants: Coco, Renoma Cafe, Girafe, Le Tout-Paris, Lou Lou, Cafe Campagna, Le Restaurant, Cafe Marly, Amarante, Cafe de la Presse, Le Bistrot Marguerite, Boissy d’Anglas, Angelina, Les Deux Magots, Cafe de Flore, Le Relais de l’Entrecote, Le Pre aux Clercs, Bar/Bibliotheque St James,

Vesuvio Paris, Pizza Pino, Le Royal Paris

Places: Palais de Chaillot, Eiffel Tower, Opera Garnier, Louvre, Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Musee d’Orsay, Champs Elysees, Saint Germain des Pres, Faubourg St Honore, Place de la Bastille, Notre Dame, Pont Neuf, Palais Royale, Hotel de Ville, Paris Tourist Office,