We’re going to be in Paris Sunday night through Saturday, so I’ll make sure I have a reservation on Friday and hit up this place during the week. I was reading about Early June wine bar with visiting chefs and sounds interesting although the rotating chef thing can be a bit of a gamble. Precovid we went to a place in the third that sounded really interesting and when we got there we were told they had a guest chef making Russian food. Wasn’t my favorite dinner.
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“@ParnParis any recommendations for casual/mid tier restaurants that have outdoor dining in the 2nd, 3rd, 8th, or 9th districts or near the river seine?”
Just to say I haven’t forgotten you. I just need a delayed flight or a long train ride for the opportunity for a considered reply.
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No worries appreciate your response! Hoping to hear from you soon!
Just ate there last week w/only a passing knowledge of the place. I’d been to the Marche a bunch of times, but not for 10+ years (kids @ home!). Got in on a Friday afternoon, found 2 seats no problem. One of the more amazing meals I’ve had in quite a while. I had a spider crab salad w/blood orange, and my wife had seared foie gras and smoked eel. Yeah it was expensive, but it was worth it.
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Good to hear. I’m obsessed with blood oranges these days so that dish sounds delicious. I think I’m going to try and go on our free Wednesday night in May. We will try to get there around 6:30 or 7 which is when I eat in the US anyway.
And, they’re very nice & friendly, some interesting wines as well.
We had some nice blood oranges from Sicily on this trip. Larger than the ones we get in NY. They also a thick skin, like a sumo. Lovely.
I get fresh blood orange juice at our farmer’s market in Santa Barbara every week from a citrus ranch in Ojai. Have it every morning and then a dash with vodka, lemon and fizzy water for my Friday night drink. 
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Yes, we ate there in May 2019 and I found some pictures of a big bowl of mussels and some delicious looking pate.
“@ParnParis any recommendations for casual/mid tier restaurants that have outdoor dining in the 2nd, 3rd, 8th, or 9th districts or near the river seine?”
At last. Sorry for delay.
I usually don’t spend much time around the Grands Boulevards area in the summer… just too urban and difficult to escape the heat.
Two to 10-minute walking radius of métro Grands Boulevards:
The best or at least the largest terraces are on the main boulevard (names change frequently but it is the same street). Unfortunately, most if not all have very crappy food. Maybe ok for an emergency stop with the 2-year old in tow for a quick drink and snack but keep it simple;
For food that is worthy of Paris, there is a cluster of good to excellent restos inside the covered Passage des Panoramas just off boulevard Montmartre. Many have as many tables as they can fit outside on the relatively well-ventilated passageway. Not really terraces but close enough. Lots of office workers in the surrounding area and so often packed at lunch noon to 1:30 and much easier to snag a table after the lunch rush and less crowded in the evening. Of note: Champagne & Canard (sounds ritzy but it’s not), Astair (trad French), Adar (Israeli/ Levantine deli-type place), Coinstot Vino (wine bar with old school nosh for light meals… kids ok) and, if in the mood for Michelin-starred cuisine, Racines (modern Sardinian/ Italian with a few French twists… I’ve never experienced sauna-like conditions in summer and maybe air-conditioned as well but not sure);
Love the outside tables at A. Noste (Basque and southwest French cuisine) on rue 4 Septembre. Popular and very convivial lunch and after-work spot. The more formal restaurant upstairs is far less enjoyable. (Just BTW, French office hours are rarely 9 to 5 and more commonly 10 to 6 and even 11 to 7 with flexi-time… which also helps to explain why so many Parisians are out and about on every night of the week);
I’m usually a fan of the air-conditioned restaurant (French-Italian) of the Hotel des Grands Boulevards on boulevard Poissonnière because one of my chef crushes, Giovanni Passerini, is the supervising chef (his protégé does the cooking). No terrace but a lovely setting in a “jardin d’hiver”/ covered courtyard… and excellent price/ quality ratio (25€ for a 2-course lunch). There is also a very cool and relaxed rooftop bar with finger food but not great views;
I find the cuisine and vibe at Dune (pan-Med but predominately Tunisian flavours/ inspirations… perfect for summer) on rue Jeuneurs in the 2nd very enjoyable… a few tables outside but interior is also air-conditioned;
Another winner in my book is the rather elegant Liza (Lebanese) on rue Banque (closer to the Palais Royal than to the Grands Boulevards… quite a good thing considering how pleasant the hidden gardens of the Palais Royal can be in summer) in the 2nd… impeccably done and presented cuisine worthy of any good restaurant in Beirut… well-priced for the quality… they had a parklet terrace last summer but not sure about this summer and, in any case, the resto itself is very light and airy;
The restaurant of Hotel Edgar on rue d’Alexandrie (Sentier/ 2nd)…Not only is the restaurant air-conditioned but it also spills out onto the very atmospheric adjacent square… I usually order fish because they do it perfectly here (i.e. undercooked by American standards);
Although I have not yet tested it in summer, the nearby and very cool Hotel Sentier on place du Caire has a continuous-hours resto that has outside tables in good weather… very atmospheric setting… and the façade of the hotel itself is very instagrammable;
Terrasse love in the Sentier quartier/2nd, Brasserie Dubillot on rue St Denis…. Typical brasserie fare but authentic and honest, very appealing and very Parisian vibe. Clientele tends to be under-40s Parisians attracted by the vibe and great price/quality ratio… The immediate area used to be one of the last street-walker neighbourhoods in Paris, now largely cleaned up, but still echos (which add to the local colour);
Willette Café on rue Trevisé/ 9th… delightful neighbourhoodly bistrot with superior bistronomique cuisine and amazing price/ quality ratio… some outside tables on the street in summer… but sigh, closed Sat + Sun;
No terrasse but air-conditioned in the 2nd, Pantagruel… A Michelin 1-star and therefore not in your mid-tier category but a great bargain for the quality;
Near the Seine:
Maison Maison on the lower quai of the Quai du Louvre near the Pont Neuf… stairs down just across from place de l’Ecole (small side street off Quai du Louvre)… with a stroller, there’s a ramp down on the other side of the Pont Neuf near Chatelet/ Pont au Change (bridge) that could be easier for you but a bit of a detour if coming from the Louvre……Seine-side, mostly outside, continuous hours 7/7, shareable small plates/ tapas resto… I’m not usually a beer drinker but really like their local artisanal beer on tap in summer… despite being smack dab in the middle of tourist Paris a stone’s throw from the Louvre, clientele tends to be more under-50s Parisians than tourists. Reservations essential in the summer for normal meal times (noon to 1:30 and 7:30 to 9pm but, after checking the weather forecast, I usually make them (by phone) the day before or the day of. But it’s continuous hours and probably easy to get a table as a walk-in after 2pm and before 6pm. https://www.maisonmaison.fr/
BTW, the lower quais of the Rive Droite/ Right Bank used to be an expressway but a few years ago the cars were banned and a riverside park stretching from the Pont Neuf to the Arsenal was created. Dotted with barge bars, a few restos like Les Maquereaux (not bad), snack bars/ buvettes, picnic areas, play areas for kids, etc… best cluster is the section facing the Ile St-Louis… It can be very crowded during heat waves but, strangely, it doesn’t yet seem to have been discovered by tourists…. Or maybe they just haven’t figured out how to access it (very few access points at street level)…. From 15 July to the end of August, it’s transformed into Paris Plages, an artificial beach and there could therefore be some construction work going on when you are there;
If you find the Parc des Rives de Seine too crowded, there’s a lovely little park and stairs down to the Seine on the eastern tip of Ile Saint-Louis for a more quiet picnic… kid will love it because it’s also the turnaround point for the river cruises;
Baltard au Louvre on rue Coquillière in the quieter, more classy western fringes of often trashy Les Halles/ 1st & 2nd….Although the food (modern French/ bistronomie) was (last summer) far less good than when the original chef was helming the kitchen, the glorious terrace overlooking the Eglise Saint-Eustache and the Bourse de Commerce (18th century chamber of commerce building now turned into a spiffy museum housing the Pinault collection of modern art) is still a huge draw for me in summer… I should add that, after musical chairs in the kitchen for most of the last two years, the very new chef(fe) has much improved the quality of the cuisine… Or so I have been told by friends but am waiting for better weather to verify.
Montmartre 18th/ Sud Pigalle 9th:
Just a BTW, no need to walk all the way to Montmartre from the Grands Boulevards. The #40 bus from Le Peletier stop on rue Lafayette will get you there quicker than walking and a mini-sightseeing tour on the way. If the kid is in a stroller, even better: the #40 stop at “Norvins-Place du Tertre” (all bus stops are named) is a short and relatively flat walk to Sacré Coeur and Fisherman’s Wharf-like place du Tertre (loaded with tourists and pickpockets).
In summer, the outside seating (in an adjacent square) of Café de Luce on rue Trois Frères in Montmartre/ 18th is exceptionally pleasant…It’s owned and supervised by celebrity chef Amandine Chaignot (one of my cheffe crushes) and, although the food is very good, it’s more one-size-fits-all and less “foodie” fab than her main restaurant Pouliche in the 10th;
The rue Véron (between rues Audran and Lepic) is an excellent non-touristy summer restaurant street… best of the bunch for me: Le Matré, bistronomique cuisine, trendy clientele, great vibe but too new to have been tested by me in summer;
Chez Plumeau on place Calvaire just off place du Tertre, a continuous hours café-restaurant, the usual tourist fodder on the menu but fine and well-priced for a snack or drink pitstop in an area notorious for its overpriced tourist traps, absolutely charming terrace (the only draw for me) but, judging from my last visit while waiting for some English friends to do the place-du-Tertre tourist ritual, regularly patrolled from the street by shady characters looking, presumably, for purse or phone snatching opportunities;
Air-conditioned restaurant but a separate roof-top bar for a before or after, Hotel Rochechouart in the Pigalle/ 9th… restaurant is surprisingly good (and trendy) for a hotel restaurant and the rooftop bar (May to October) has a stunning view of Sacré-Coeur;’
Courtyard setting I, Hotel Amour on rue Navarin in trendy Sud-Pigalle/ 9tth… The restaurant and bar are long-established “cool-kids” hangouts and therefore not a one-size-fits-all kinda place… It’s owned by the Costes groupe and, despite their reputation for emphasizing style over quality, I find the food surprisingly good and the courtyard setting (bar and light meals) very enjoyable (except for Sunday brunch, way too crowded and noisy);
Marais/ 4th:
Courtyard setting II and a reluctant recommendation, Grandcoeur on rue Temple in the Marais/ 4th… on the face of it, a delightful courtyard setting with usually good, occasionally very good but somewhat overpriced food with a lot of hits and a few misses, and a very seasonal menu… best to heed the waiter’s suggestions on what’s a standout on that particular day… if the waiters take a fancy to you, expect a very enjoyable flirty meal….if they don’t, expect to feel ignored.
The Haut Marais/ upper 3rd:
Tends to have narrow streets that don’t allow much outdoor seating. Of course, the Marché des Enfants Rouges on rue Bretagne, although covered, is relatively open with tables/ chairs scattered here and there and including a little courtyard near the rue de Beauce entrance. The charming Square du Temple is just a few minutes away for a picnic (some grassy areas around the duck pond are, however, off-limits) and play-time for the kid in the “aire de jeux”/ playground. Rôtisserie Stévenot on rue Bretagne also has some great value takeout items for a picnic.
I find the rue Corderie in the very charming Temple mini-quartier just north of the Square du Temple particularly enjoyable in summer: L’Ilot wine bar with mostly seafood small plates and Crêperie Gigi are both very likeable foodwise and both have some outside tables in summer (but you won’t be the only ones who want to sit outside… it takes luck to snag a table on the terrace).
The Haut Marais is also popular hangout neighbourhood for under-50 Parisians and the café culture flourishes. Usually, café grub is pretty dire these days but the food at the prime hangout café Le Charlot on rue Bretagne is way above the usual (low) café standard and fine for a light lunch or brunch. It does have tables outside in the summer but very difficult to snag because of the very strategic people-watching location.
The 8th:
Probably the worst arrondissement for GOOD well-priced, mid-tier, casual restaurants in Paris. Finding just one of the good ones with a terrace is a challenge. Stumbling onto bad restaurants with a terrace is a much easier task. Le Drugstore probably has the best (or least better) cuisine (“multicultural”) on the Champs and an excellent terrace with stunning views of the Arc de Triomphe) … but hardly a bargain. If you don’t mind a triumph of style over substrance, L’Avenue on the very chic avenue Montaigne is very see-and-be-seen, very international, not remarkable food by Paris standards but good enough when desperate for a sit-down. I must admit that the outside terrace can be enjoyable for the people-watching. But, typical for the area, overpriced for the quality.
Popular (because of the relatively low prices rather than the quality of the drinks or food) as an after-work watering hole, continuous-hours (from 7am to midnight) Le Comptoir de l’Arc brasserie on avenue Marceau has a lovely terrace in summer, even a few tables with partial views of the Arc de Triomphe.
FWIW, my go-to in summer in this area is air-conditioned Le Boudoir on rue Colisée just off the Champs… but no terrace. There are a few tourist-type cafés with outside seating neighbouring Le Boudoir but instincts tell me low quality/ tourists only. The area north of the Arc de Triomphe (in the 17th) also has some possibilities for summer noshing. Here, my favourite mid-tier resto is Gabylou on rue d’Armaillé… some outside tables but restaurant also has great ventilation and avoids becoming a sweatbox during heatwaves. Although it’s in the 16th rather than the 8th, I’ll also add Les Petites Mains, an outdoor seasonal small-plates restaurant in the grounds of the Palais Galliera (free fashion museum)… accessed from the Palais Galliera or the garden entrance on the avenue Président Wilson… fab settling and view of the Tour Eiffel… and across from the very visitable Palais de Tokyo (somehow missed by most tourists despite its uniqueness) which has its own restaurants.
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Makes me want to contact Air France as we speak.
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Your Paris request is far too broad. Not knowing anything about your tastes makes it very difficult. There are literally thousands of places to choose from. Near Biarritz though, Les Freres Ibarboure in Bedart is wonderful. It’s been quite a few years since our lunch there but I still remember it well and it still gets great reviews.
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Well if you have a couple of favorites feel free to drop their names, probably takes as long to do that as write your former response lol.
