Please help us find nice cafes which are centrally located in Paris and won't take the skin off your bum (if you'll pardon my French).

Dude, check out Sofia1's post about Le Coup de Torchon. Sounds like it'll fit the bill!

Dude - take a look at David Lebovitz' restaurant list, and the links to other sites that might help.

Happy eating/drinking/people watching!

Judy

OK, we also had lunch at La Fourmi Ailee, a cute tea house in the Latin Quarter just across from Notre Dame. It's on 8, rue du Fouarre. My sister and I each had quiche that came with a nice side salad - 9 euros each, plus small pots of tea that were 4.50 euros each. The quiche was very tasty - I had one with blue cheese, nuts and raisins. My sister had ham and cheese, or something like that.

In her trip blog, Chris mentioned Auberge de la Reine Blanche on the Isle St Louis as a good place. We walked by and it looked cute.

A few people recommended Cafe Metro at Maubert Mututalite Maubert metro in the 5th for salads and croque monsier. It has a large terrace area.

OK, so I know this is totally touristy, but we also ate at Auberge de Notre Dame, again in the 5th along Quai Montebello. I had my doubts, but it was our last night, it was gorgeous out, so we sat on the outside patio and had the 20E tasting menu. We both had the steak, which was the smallest piece I've ever been served in a restaurant, but it was tasty, came with a creamy peppercorn sauce and the potatoes au gratin were really yummy. The bread was delicious, the dessert good. The onion soup was a large serving but a bit bland for me. It was a lovely evening sitting out looking at Notre Dame all lit up -priceless!

It looked like the pizza place adjoining was owned by the same people, so that was probably cheaper and you could still eat outside. The pizza looked good. They have a very large menu. The lady in charge was very gracious!

Welcome home, Sofia. So you had another great time with your sister - I'm sooo jealous

Chez Pim has a list on her blog Paris pas cher. Unfortunately, it is from 2004 but might still be useful.

Thanks, Margaret - we had a blast!

Normandy Dude, if you mean a café in the French sense, there are so many in Paris that it would be just about impossible to answer your question. If you mean a restaurant, there are not as many but still plenty. Did you mean a place just to have coffée or a glass of wine? Ken

I always recommend our favorite spot -
Taverne Henry IV, on the Pont Neuf, tip of Ile de Cite. Great friendly spot for a glass of wine and a snack.
And its true that there are so many places. You'll find your own. Just pick one that feels right, with the right combination of location, seating, food/drink and ambience. It's kind of nice to find one that you can go to on a daily basis for coffee/drink, as it makes you feel more connected to a neighborhood.
Enjoy!
Linda

I agree with Ken. How to avoid any café may merit explaining. With so many cafés to choose from on every street, just wander and let your nose follow the vibes.

Given that so many cafés are reasonable is it possible to give general advice on how to avoid the UNreasonable ones: are there places (streets, squares, etc) where one should avoid sitting down in a café because the prices are bound to be extortionate (like anyone on a budget knows to avoid the cafés in St Mark's Square in Venice, for example)?

I don't know if you like wine but here are some of the best wine bars in Paris and some of them like le Baron Rouge are really cheap.
For ordinary cafés, usually they aren't to pricey in the non-touristic neighborhoods.

quote:

Originally posted by WestSussexBird:
Given that so many cafés are reasonable is it possible to give general advice on how to avoid the UNreasonable ones: are there places (streets, squares, etc) where one should avoid sitting down in a café because the prices are bound to be extortionate (like anyone on a budget knows to avoid the cafés in St Mark's Square in Venice, for example)?

The famous, very touristy cafés on Blvd. St. Germain are exhorbitant and full of my fellow Americans and Japanese trying to commune with Sartre, Hemingway; specifically Le Flore and les Deux Magots. This is not to say they don't serve good product, but you will pay.

If you go to rue Mouffetard Cave La Bougogne is nice, good food. Is at the south side near rue monge.

The menus are always posted outside, so you can browse and avoid the exorbitant ones. But there are so many good places in Paris! One issue is to know what you can get where and when- some places only expect to serve drinks except at certain times. I'm not an expert on this- I travel with someone who knows the routine and keeps me from wandering into the wrong places. Maybe someone can be more specific on the difference between a cafe, a bistro, and a restaurant?