We went to AG St.G last Friday for lunch and it was superb. Not packed and just right. Also went to Georges (top of Pompidou Center - separate entrance which is good way to avoid queues for museum) and had good burger / salad / pea soup. Verre Volee in 10th for black pudding was also delicious. Atelier Vivanda in 3rd for steak, and potatoes 5 ways was also great with superb Oeuf Mollet starter (€36 for 3 courses). Bought weekly Navigo pass for transport from CDG to town and unlimited metro/bus (€5 for initial card and €21.25 for 7 day pass which always runs Monday morning to sundae night). Considering RER from airport is €10 each way, good deal for us.
2 weeks ago, we had a very good dinner at La Bourse et La Vie, a newish bistro in the 2nd arrondissement. It’s run by the same team at the very popular Spring restaurant, but I like this bistro a lot more.
The Pot au Feu and the steak frittes are classic French bistro menu items that these guys do exceptionally and creatively very well.
I agree with Ramon. I like La Bourse et La Vie and I don’t like Spring. We are compiling our Paris restaurant list for the fall and will return.
I loved the wine list at Spring but had very variable food.
I absolutely loved Spring the first two times I went, was disappointed the third time. At the time (last November), I wondered whether it was because La Bourse et La Vie was where Daniel Rose was spending his time.
Is it the concept that you like better at La Bourse et La Vie, or better value, or could it be which chef was where when?
ETA: I see the concept is decidedly different, but still curious whether Rose was in the house when you didn’t like your meal.
Lunch at Papillon is highly recommended by me, others in this thread, and of course Talbott.
Thinking about a 3rd visit to Paris in 2016 somehow same way after reading this…
The wine list at Bourse et La Vie was not as good as Spring’s. But I would return to Bourse et La Vie at the next opportunity.
Just back from a week in Paris from spending some time with the better half who has been there for a few months for work.
We are both fluent in French so checked out the local press and sources for restaurant choices and managed to get a few nights out in spite of her crazy hours and I did a couple of solo lunch spots. Will try to get some pictures up and more details over the next few days.
Best lunch spot - a relatively new bistrot called Les Arlots up near the Gare du Nord. Very small place and limited menu of classic French bistrot cooking. Only 3 main courses and lucnch which expands to 5 at dinner. It totally lives up to the commentary running in the Paris food circles. A liver mousseline to start, followed by a perfectly cooked calf’s liver (given a choice between saignant and à point) and a rhubarb crumble with normandy cream for dessert. All for 20 euros. Run to this place if you are in Paris.
We had two really great dinners. One was again relatively new called Restaurant Elmer (stop snickering…after the elephant, not Fudd). Reviewed as the best new table for 2016 by Le Parisen. Stunning food and the place was packed on a Wednesday night. Veal tartare with kimchi, heirloom tomatoes as only the French can do and some roasted piggy sourced from down near the Mt Ventoux area perfectly cooked to a nice pink.
And the dinner that slightly topped Elmer was at the Le Bon Saint Pourçain in St Germain. The chef at Les Arlots gave me a tour of his kitchen and we got to talking about different restaurants over a glass of wine he offered since service was over. I asked him what he thought would be a good place to visit and the first restaurant out of his mouth was Le Bon without any hesitation (which I had reserved the day before). Again this is a small place so reservations are a must.
Six day visit recently. Although most places were closed and many we went to were closing the next day, we ate exceptionally well. Here is a summary:
Le Bon Georges - thanks to Jeremy for this recommendation. We did lunch. Bright and personable young owner is sourcing great food and wines. Specialty is beef (excellent) but the veggies and fish stole the show.
L’Assiette - hearty food so better in the colder weather. Except for a disappointing pork chop, all was very good to excellent. Rabbit rillettes and pork with octopus were standouts. Very gracious service.
Semilla - a fun place doing a mix of family style meat platters and some interesting riffs like clam and cauliflower salad. A couple of days later we enjoyed the affiliated and adjacent Freddy’s wine bar.
Le Villaret - another good steer from Jeremy. Always heard the wine list was great but this slightly out of the way place fed us exceptionally well. The cheese was a standout. More attractive and comfortable than many bistros.
Les Arlots - mostly agree with the previous post, though I was not quite as enthusiastic. Food was fine. Seems to be a hangout for wine pros. Really good Landes chicken.
Lagniappe:
Terrific crepes at Breizh Cafe, great viennoiseries at des Gateaux et du Pain, excellent coffee at K&B in the 9th.
Finally, we did an afternoon tea at Jacques Genin. The whole experience was lovely. The made to order pastries (we ordered one of everything on offer), caramels, fruit jellies and chocolates were all astoundingly great.
Good to hear about L’Assiette.
Although, I didn’t mind the casssoulet (one of the best I’ve had in the city) when I had it on a warm April day last year.
A thoughtful compact wine list, too.
Agreed the cassoulet is special as is the tete de veau (the brains in particular)
There were 5 of us so we explored much of the menu. Generous portions. A 2014 Thierry Germain Saumur was enjoyable even if too primary. Is there a better traditional bistro in Paris?
Looks just like my cassoulet.
Great to hear about the reinvention of Au Bon Saint Pourcain, a place I had a soft spot for in its old, more homely, incarnation. Is the old school pissoir still in effect or has that been upgraded along with the rest of the joint?
Good also to see l’assiette getting some props.
Thanks
Peter
What are folks’ opinions on the best time of year to go to Paris? We are thinking of either spring or fall next year, to hopefully get decent weather without being in the middle of peak summer season. But we don’t have any major constraints (other than it needing to be after March). If you could go any time, when would it be?
Hi Sean,
We’ve never been in winter, but have visited often in spring, summer, and fall. Fall is our preference, between middle/late Sept through October. We are leaving Thurs for a week in London followed October in Paris. Love October in Paris.
After spending last weekend in Paris I would agree middle/late September would be better than early September as it was still summery weather in a city with only minimal A/C. I have greatly enjoyed April/May when gardens are starting to bloom.
I agree- late September and early October- best time to go!
We loved April. On the other hand we had a great time in November a few years ago and will be going back in November this year just because there’s an antiques fair at the beginning of the month that we want to revisit. But April was better 
Right on! I leave 25 Sept. until 4 October. As I prefer to walk, I explore much on foot and with great weather, it makes it so much easier.
What Jay said. We also enjoy May and New Year’s Eve.