Finding a good snack in Paris is not so easy, most of them being just like one another, with classic kebabs, panini, and crêpes, and, in some areas, really abusive prices.

Thankfully, Kaza Maza is an exception. Located in the very popular area near the Panthéon and Rue de la Montagne Sainte-Geneviève, where many local students and young tourists have nights out, Kaza Maza offers excellent Lebanese sandwiches at attractive prices (even if they recently raised), considering their quality and the area.

The sandwich list is divided in three clear sections: meat sandwiches; cheese sandwiches; vegetarian sandwiches (all cheese sandwiches are vegetarian too), each category having a choice of 4/5 options. It’s also possible to have, as an appetizer, just a falafel or a meatball and obviously, oriental pastries, like baklavas, are also available.

The few chairs and a counter are for those who just aim to have a food break between two pints in neighbouring pubs. But the place is mostly for take away, and sandwiches are always delivered in a thin plastic bag in order to eat them comfortably and not pour all the hummus over one’s clothes while eating on the run to catch the last metro.

In the daytime, and only during the weekends, I recommend enjoying the food in the Jardin Carré, the garden of the Ministry of Research, one minute walk along Rue Descartes (entrance at number 11 of this street).

Note: there’s another Kaza Maza (same menu, same prices) at 16 rue d’Odessa, in Montparnasse area.

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Kaza Maza | Snacks | Sandwich from € 4.40
1 rue de l’Ecole Polytechnique | Quartier Latin
11:00 – 00:00 daily (later on weekends)

With its two screens showing only “Latin” films (ie films from Spain, Portugal, Italy, Latin America, and more rarely Romania), and its dance-floor upstairs hosting Latin dances classes, Le Latina cinema has become over the years an inevitable place for Latin cultures’ enthusiasts wishing to watch an Almodovar film downstairs while hearing the noise of High Heels on the floor above…

In 2009, Le Latina was slightly renamed in Le Nouveau Latina (The New Latina), and it slightly changed too, even if it keeps its strong Latin identity. Most of the films are still from Latin countries, but the programming is broader now, and also includes international auteur cinema (with a preference for films about homosexuality: we’re in the deep heart of the Marais).

The first floor has been renovated and is now Le Salon Rouge, a very cozy tea salon (open from 14:00 – 21:00) which also hosts a small store selling DVDs, film posters and books about cinema. If you add photography / drawing exhibitions and tango classes on Monday evenings (beginner / intermediate / free practice), it makes Le Nouveau Latina the perfect multidisciplinary space for modern “Latin lovers”…

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Le Nouveau Latina | Art & culture, Cinemas, Coffee & tea, Snacks
20 rue du Temple | Marais/Bastille | +33142466271
11:30 – 00:00 daily

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 getting 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 € 10, 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.

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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

These 2 cafés one across the other are one of the most popular local coffee shop around Bastille.

They have an interesting mixture of artefacts and pictures, as well as tranquil ambiance during the day makes it a place you feel good at.

Sometimes too boboish and a bit pretentious, nevertheless it has a charm.

When I came to Paris, at the beginning I was surprised that if you are by chance hungry at 16:00. it’s difficult to find a restaurant with kitchen opened. With time I saw that Parisians really respect the eating time table, so do the restaurants. With Le cafe de l’Industrie, it’s not the case. The kitchen is open all day around and the food is really good. The menu is bistro-range, with mainly French dishes.

In the right Industrie, a cat who is a household institution, will convince you, you have chosen well.

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Le Café de l’Industrie | Coffee & tea, Snacks | Brunch € 20.00
16/17 rue Saint Sabin | Marais/Bastille | +33147001353
09:30 – 02:00 daily

Salle à Manger is a pleasant place to stop if you are in the Rue Mouffetard.

Want to contemplate the historic or symbolic significance of the area or just to eat well, Salle à Manger gives you both.

Rue Mouffetard, where Salle à Manger is located, dates back to Roman times when Paris was called Lutetia. Later it became a commercial thoroughfare and today it is a mix of tourist attractions, restaurants and small food shops. When not overcrowded it is amusing, though my advice would be to take your time when choosing a restaurant.

Salle à Manger is a budget-friendly restaurant with two terraces, the second of which is the most interesting with a view of the St. Médard church (whose oldest parts date from the 15th century, though the church has stood in the same place since the 11th), situated in the middle of an open-air food market. The scenery is reminiscent of the Middle Ages when markets were often found in front of religious edifices. Street artists sometimes add to the experience.

“The Dining Room” is a brunch-oriented restaurant, with large and delicious salads that are prepared with care. The apple crumble is especially good, also available to take away. With a mild ginger flavour it is worth trying.

If you prefer to eat inside, the atmosphere is exactly as its name suggests – as cosy as a dining room.

And if the sun should make an appearance, the second terrace is bathed in sunshine during the morning and the early afternoon.

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La Salle à Manger | Coffee & tea, Snacks | Brunch € 15.00
138 rue Mouffetard | Quartier Latin | +33155439199
08:30 – 19:30 daily

If passing nearby, you can not walk away without perceiving Boulangerie Monge. The line, specially on the weekends will attract your attention and curiosity. When you get nearer and see the glass window it will be decided, the dilemma of waiting or not will be resolved.

There a lots of different cakes, that taste amazing (ex. tarte au chocolat-praliné) although it is primarily a bakery and not patisserie.

The stars are however in the form of bread products – different sort of baguettes and breads let you experiment with the variety. The owner announces that they use 100 % pure flour and cocoa and for the health food minded there is a choice of Bio products.

The chocolate rolls (escargot), lemon, almond and pistachio rolls are speciality of this place, if you ask me. Fair amounts of chocolate in a roll, make it a delightful bakery-cookie hybrid.

One of the attractive details about Boulangerie Monge is that you can see, the bakers making bread through the shop window . When you see them during the day you can buy it immediately, but if you pass early at the morning, you’ll be obliged just to watch and buy at the opening time which can be a difficult wait.

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Le Boulanger de Monge | Snacks | Escargot € 1.35
123, rue Monge | Quartier Latin | +33143375420
Tue – Sun 07:00 – 20:30

I love a second-hand book shop. I’m not sure whether it’s the musty smell, the odd-looking man lurking as if he has nowhere else to go (and more than likely he doesn’t), or the weird and very wonderful things you can pick up on the cheap (cookery book where everything looks as if its coated in slime, DIY book in which every piece of advice is now illegal or extremely dangerous, calendar from 1990… to name just some of the treats I’ve come across).

Also, these places always make me feel (smugly) like I’m cheating the system somehow. Like when you find exactly what you want and its on sale, but not like a normal shop sale, more like 90 per cent off. And it’s a book, so somehow just a little bit better. Glorious.

Anyway, in Paris, second-hand book shops are both better and worse than the ones at home (mine’s the UK). Better as there are so few of them and English/US literature is such a treat when you live abroad, worse because the books can be so shockingly expensive and the selection is often poor.

Hurrah then for Tea and Tattered Pages which has both a wide and varied selection of stock, all at reasonable prices.

Its a little off the usual tourist track out in residential Montparnasse but well worth the journey. What’s more, the lovely American lady who runs the shop will serve you English tea, scones and carrot cake in the tiny tea-room at the back. Fab.

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Tea and Tattered Pages | Coffee & tea, Shopping, Snacks
24 rue Mayet | Montparnasse | +33140659435
Mon – Sat 11:00 – 19:00, Sun 12:00 – 18:00

Venturing out to the rue des Rigoles may seem like a lot of effort but don’t be put off by the location, Les Trois Arts is truly a gem. With Balkan troupes, jazz quintets, chanson française as well as literary soirées and story telling, its about as eclectic as it gets.

The venue attracts a happy mix of people. Plus, the musicians (often quite weird and wacky types) usually hang around after the concerts drinking with the audience. Simple food is available too, from shareable stuff like cheese plates, salads and a plat du jour for the bargain price of € 8.

Many of the concerts are free. If not, entrance is never more than € 5.00 and its a good idea to arrive early as the basement room fills up quickly making it difficult to get a seat. Their website contains information concerning concerts, location and so on.

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Les Trois Arts | Bars, Music, Snacks, Restaurants (French) | Beer (demi) € 3.00
21 Rue des Rigoles | Belleville/Nation | +33143493627
Tue – Sat 17:00 – 00:00, Sun 17:00 – 21:00

I love a terrace-pavement, by which I mean a pavement with a few chairs on it outside a bar. There’s something marvelous about the constant risk of falling in the road and the necessity to sit almost uncomfortably close to your own and other people’s friends. Anyone would think I crave attention…

Anyway, unlike some of Montmartre and the nearby Sacre Coeur, the Rendez-vous is scarcely tainted by the hoards of tourists. At first glance, the cool air of the place and almost exclusively French crowd can seem a little intimidating, persist though and you’ll find the atmosphere rather more relaxed and friendly.

Happy Hour (20:00 – 22:00) sees beers (pint) at € 5 and a bottle of house wine (50cl) at € 10. Baguettes as long as your arm packed with meat, cheese or paté cost € 5, salads are around € 10 as are charcuterie/cheese boards.

On weekends bands play (anything from chanson to jazz-funk or rock) in the low ceilinged back-room – entrance is usually free. To sum up, Au Rendez-Vous des Amis is just that, a low-key venue, a lovely spot to have a drink with friends and a likely place to make some new ones.

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Au RDV des Amis | Bars, Music, Snacks | Baguette € 3.50
23 rue Gabrielle | Montmartre/Clichy | +33146060160
08:30 – 02:00 daily

The Faitout is a cozy, ramshackle sort of place popular with Belleville types who return time and again for the laid-back atmosphere and the great food (not to mention the free Internet).

The staff are young and friendly – the café I-Pod is usually handed round for the customers to choose the music, and free popcorn circulates in the late afternoon.

The menu’s varied and not expensive, including classic French elements such as blanquette de veau (veal stew), mixed charcuterie and salads as well as more worldly dishes like Thai curry and Moroccan couscous. All are consistently well prepared and presented. There is also a good selection of wines.

A book shelf along one wall contains novels, guide books and odd miscellany in a selection of languages (mainly French and English) as well as board games. The attraction of the Faitout is easy to conceive, and for me this really lies in the comfort of the large leather booths where many happy hours can be spent reading, eating, drinking…indeed if it’s lazing about you seek, then the Faitout is just the place.

The bar and terrace fill up later on with an artsy local crowd. Blankets on the terrace ensure smokers may take their time on cold evenings.

They have a new website/blog with details of what’s going, though its not exactly up-to-date right now!

P.S. Try the syrup with coffee.

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Le Faitout | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (Intern.) | Hibiscus tea € 3.50
23 Avenue Simon Bolivar | Belleville/Nation | +33142080709
08:00 – 01:00 daily