Image by Carmen De Falco

Like Japanese restaurants in Paris, which are divided into those for locals or tourists (generally run by non-Japanese people and serving mostly sushi) and the ones frequented by Japanese, with better quality and range of food, there are plenty of Indian restaurants in Paris, but not all can boast real Indians in their clientele.

Located in the heart of the Indian and Sri Lankan area in Paris near metro station La Chapelle, Krishna Bhavan is a vegetarian Indian restaurant, with still one of the greatest quality/price ratio in Paris (even if they recently raised their prices).

Unlike most Indian restaurants in Paris, where you’ll eat dishes from Northern India or Pakistan, the specialities of Krishna Bhavan are from South India and Sri Lanka, and are of Tamil tradition. For example, the dosa, a kind of long “crêpe” filled with different vegetables, or the thali, a full meal with several dishes and sauces. As in the Krishna spirituality, alcohol is not served, which makes the bill cheaper, wine or beer is substituted by lassi or milk-shakes (or simply tap water). The starters are not the best dishes, and a reader mentioned that the food was microwaved (see comments below). But after going there several times recently, I still highly recommend the main full dishes.

The restaurant being small, the atmosphere is convivial, and it’s not rare to chat with neighbouring tables. It’s also possible to buy food to take away in the Krishna Bhavan tearoom, on the other side of the street.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Krishna Bhavan | Restaurants (Indian) | Full thali € 10.00
24 rue Cail | La Villette | +33142057843
11:00 – 23:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris

Image by Pierre BISMUTH

Kei is a  restaurant in Paris located 5 rue du Coq Héron in the first district of Paris and is promised to a bright future. Indeed, the chef succeeds to reinvent French cuisine but with a Japanese sauce. The funny trick in this restaurant is that the menu-carte indicates only the prices but not what you will eat.

I’ve been there during lunch time and you have a choice between a 4 course menu or a 5 course menu. The difference is that you’ll be served a fish and a meat for the second menu, which can be worthwhile as the portion are not so large, but delicious.

The decor is completely up to date, the room being painted in light grey and with not many tables. Therefore, you’ll have to book a table before you come. By the way, it is a perfect place to have a romantic dinner.

Let’s talk about the food now: it is just a miracle! And lots of my friends think that as soon as the famous guides will have tried this restaurant, Kei will be awarded a star as the delicateness and the taste of what it is served is exquisite. When I ate there, I tested a really good “foie gras” (you can believe me, I’m not a big fan), and delicious tempura of gambas, among other dishes. Last but not least, the service is impeccable, as you would expect in this kind of restaurant.

I hope you enjoy it!

Details about this spot (Show on map)
KEI | Restaurants (Franco-Japanese) | Main meal from € 38
5 rue du Coq Héron | Montmartre/Clichy | +33142331474
Tue – Sat 12:30 – 15:00 & 19:30 – 23:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris

Image by Pierre BISMUTH

I live in the 14th district of Paris, down in the south, between Porte d’Orléans ans Denfert Rochereau, where you can see a beautiful copy of Bartholdi’s Belfort Lion, Bartholdi is the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty and this is a copy because the original is, of course, in Belfort, in France!

And when I come back from a walk with my family in the Montsouris Park, or if I want to share a good moment with some neighbors-friends, I like to go and have a brunch (on Sundays only for €18) or dinner in a bistrot called “Le Verre Siffleur”, located rue d’alésia, very close to the eponymous underground station.

This place is relatively new, less than three years old, but it brought a sort of fresh air in the quarter, with the rehabilitation of a very affordable bistrot spiritt. Besides, this concept has already been copied with the opening of a new “Bouquet d’Alésia” just near the cinema Gaumon Alesia.

But “le Verre Siffleur” is never empty, and even if you come to eat Burgers, Salads or pastas, the place is so nice that it is recommended to book a table, otherwise you will be “obliged” to have an “apero” at the wonderful bar, just in the center of the room.

Besides, it is also a French café with a small terrace, where you can have a coffee or a tea in the afternoon.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Le Verre siffleur | Bars, Coffee & tea, Restaurants (French Bistrot) | Main Meal € 20
73, rue d’Alésia | Chinatown/Denfert | +33140470834
Mon – Sat 08:00 – 23:15, Sun 09:00 – 23:15

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris

Image by Pierre BISMUTH

La Cuisine is one of the the three restaurants of the Palace Hotel Royal Monceau, located in the Avenue Hoche near Place de l’Etoile in the 8th district of Paris. This restaurant, as the entire hotel, has been redesigned by the famous designer Philippe Stark, just to give you an idea of the decor of this place !

In France, and of course in Paris, you can book your table in a lot of restaurants via the website lafourchette.com, so you can profit from special offers when you eat in some places. Try to get a discount for the restaurant before booking, because it is really expensive, as a glass of champagne can cost you 33 euros.

But, in spite of the price of beverages, La Cuisine is definitely worth the try. Indeed, the price of the food can seem expensive, but becomes reasonable if you have the discount, and the dishes are excellent: vegetables perfectly cooked, grilled fishes not dry, but still soft and tasty, wonderful beef fillet and desserts performed by the famous French pastry chef Pierre Hermé (you’ll find boutiques either in the 6th district, M° St Sulpice, or in the 15th district, M° Pasteur, if you want to taste Hermé’s creations).

Try to find offers on www.lafourchette.com to taste this restaurant !

Details about this spot (Show on map)
La Cuisine | Restaurants (Intern.) | Main meal € 100
35 Avenue Hoche | Quartiers Chics
Till 22:30 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris

Image by Pierre BISMUTH

Zen is a Japanese restaurant located rue de l’Echelle in the first district of Paris, practically at the exit of Pyramides Metro, on line 14. Let’s start with the environment : you are just close to Place Colette, where you can assist to a Comedie Française play if you speak French, at 2 steps from le Louvre Museum and and also from Rue St Honoré, one of the most expensive and fashionable street of the capital ! And if you need to breathe, there is the magnificent garden of Tuileries just nearby.

But let’s talk about Zen : this Japanese restaurant is run by Japanese people, and you can find some Japanese girls eating there, which is a good sign for food! Indeed, a lot of Parisian Japanese restaurants are in fact held by Chinese people.

The decor is cheerful, with touches of yellow on the wall, and really is the atmosphere zen, except for the service, very professional and very rapid.

Of course, in this restaurant, you’ll be able to drink miso soup and to eat gyozas, sushis, sashimis and rolls, like Californian, but you’ll be surprised by the freshness of the fish or meat and by the delicateness of your plate. And the desserts are, for once, quite surprising for European people, as you can go for a cheese cake with black sesame.

A good address, very affordable and good to know if you want to eat good food rather quickly.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Zen | Restaurants (Japanese) | Main meal € 15
8, rue de l’echelle | Louvre/Les Halles | +33142619399
12:00 – 15:00 & 19:00 – 22:30 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris

Image by Pierre BISMUTH

Le Jardin des Pâtes is a place I have been liking for 15 years now, and it is still open! Indeed, the quality is there and lots of people know it.

To arrive at this restaurant located just outside the Lutece Arenas (Lutece is the former and latin name of Paris), arenas built by Romans, you have several nice itineraries, and two are worth the try.

The first one is to arrive at Luxembourg Garden, take the Rue Soufflot, with the Pantheon just right in the middle of the view, pass by the very famous high School Henri IV, take the Rue Mouffetard, arrive at Place de la Contrescarpe and finally find this restaurant rue Lacépède.

The second one is beginning at the Seine, in front of Austerlitz Station, go through the Plants Garden, walk by the Paris Mosque, and then reach the restaurant . Both are quite great and you will not regret following my advices.

In this restaurant, you will eat pastas, and only pastas, and everything is organic, even the wine, which by the way is really good, and not expensive. You can try rice pasta, or rye patas, depending on the sauce you want, either with fresh tomatoes and eggplants, salmon or ham and zucchinis.

As a dessert, you can have a goat cheese or simply a coffee, and you will find yourself satiated for less than 20€. There is another “Jardins des Pâtes” in the Gobelins quarter, which serves the same meals. 

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Le Jardin des Pâtes | Restaurants (Pastas) | Main meal € 20
4, rue Lacépède | Quartier Latin | +33143315071
12:00 – 14:30 & 19:00 – 23:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris

Image by Pierre BISMUTH

If you go to Paris, you’ll be obliged to visit the Opera district, not the one in Bastille, but the Garnier Opera, the original, just because it is at a footstep from the famous Department Stores, Galeries Lafayette and Printemps.

And, when exhausted by the kilometers you will walk, trying to find the perfect suit or the right skirt, you will end up to get very hungry! Unfortunately, in this area of Paris, there are plenty of restaurants, but often very expensive, and often very bad! I know it, as I worked in the neighborhood for some time.

So, if you want to have a real good lunch from Brittany, or just a snack, you can try this “creperie”, run by the wife of a friend of mine, who of course comes from Brittany !

With 2 menus, starting at 9.50 euros, you will have some really good French pancakes, very tasty and very fresh as your meal is made right in front of you.The salted pancakes are crispy, light and not dry, but the sugared ones are soft and tasty, just as we like them!

You have the choice to be seated or to take away, if you just want a snack. Surely a good place to know if you want to eat good and well cooked pancakes, cheap and in the heart of the shopping district of the City.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
KREP | Snacks, Restaurants (Pancakes) | 2 pancakes & drink € 11
11, rue Lafayette | Grands Boulevards | +33148783987
Mon – Fri 9:00 – 19:30, Sat 11:00 – 19:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris

Image by Pierre BISMUTH

I’ve already told you about a quarter I’m very fond of, La Butte aux Cailles. And if, just like me, you fall in love with this street, you can try a lot of restaurants, like “Les Cailloux”, but you can also decide to go to “Le Temps des Cerises”. This restaurant, which is also a cooperative, is very different and cool as you will never hear someone talking to you with a “vous”, cause they only use the “tu” – so truly Parisian !

Inside, when Paris is not on holidays, you will have to join the queue and give your name at the cashier so he will tell you as soon as a table is free (I’m pretty sure you cannot book a table but you can always try).

Most of the things you’ll eat here are fresh and cooked by the team, and it is quite enjoyable : very nice meat, veal stew in winter or goat cheese as a starter, you will equally enjoy some very tasty little wine, not too expensive, so very helpful if you get really thirsty.

For dessert, you can try the strawberry tiramisu, in season, not so common and very good.

And don’t forget to visit the bars around this spot after and /or before your dinner, you will even be able to dance if you feel like it.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Le Temps des Cerises | Restaurants (French) | Main Meal € 25
18, rue de la Butte aux Cailles | Chinatown/Denfert | +33145896948
Mon – Fri 11:45 – 14:30 & 19:30 – 23:45, Sat 19:30 – 23:45

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris

Image by Pierre BISMUTH

Sancho is a restaurant I discovered when we went to the Point Virgule Café Theâtre (check the Point Virgule article), because I wanted to go and have dinner with my wife after the show. And, when I want to try a new restaurant, I always go to www.lafourchette.com and research a restaurant which offers big discounts (this one, 40%) so we can try better places for less money. So I decided to choose Sancho, which was very close to the theater.

If you want to go there, you can obviously walk from the Cityhall, one of my favorite buildings in the city from the architects Theodore Ballu and Etienne Delperthes, inspired by the Italian artist from the Renaissance Boccador. Take the Rue du Temple, get lost in the incredibly well preserved from the Baron Haussmann destruction lanes, and finally arrive at Rue François Miron for dinner at Sancho.

This restaurant opened 1 year ago, but let’s first talk about the wine we ordered : for €18.50 a bottle, you can have a wine produced by a winegrower we met this summer during our holidays in Amboise, and that wine means quality (we brought 18 bottles back from this man).

For food, we ordered excellent shrimp tempura and unknown soft shell crabs, perfect salmon with amazing spinach puree (I have to cook that !) and a real fresh fruit salad: honestly, it was really good, and we enjoyed it a lot. 

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Sancho | Restaurants (Gastronomic japanese) | Full meal € 30
7, rue François Miron | Marais/Bastille | +33144611350
Mon – Sat 12:00 – 15:00 1& 19:00 – 22:30

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris

Image by Pierre BISMUTH

This brand new restaurant is part of the Palace Hotel Bristol located practically in front of the residence of the French president, Elysée Palace. The Chef, Eric Desbordes, was chosen by the 3 michelin star Chef Eric Frechon, who runs the Bristol Kitchen, which is a reference in French Cuisine.

The most wonderful thing when you eat at a palace, is that you can order dishes even if there are not on the menu ! And, of course, the service is perfect, like everything in this restaurant. The decor is splendid, and the food incredible.

Last time I went there, I ordered “King Crab” Eggs with gingered mayonnaise, which was a total success, followed by the grilled sole perfectly cooked and, as dessert, an amazing “Fraisier”, which is a French cake with pastry cream and fresh strawberries. As always, in this kind of expensive restaurants, you can always eat for a much lower price when you come during lunchtime from Monday to Friday : for example, at 114 Faubourg, you can eat for “only” €46 instead of more than €100 if you choose your dishes individually.

This is definitely a place to know if you want to test french cuisine or if you want a romantic place to eat.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
114 Faubourg | Restaurants (French) | Main meal € 100
114 Faubourg St-Honoré | Quartiers Chics | +33153434444
Mon – Fri 12:00 – 14:30 & 19:00 – 22:30, Sat – Sun 19:00 – 22:30

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris