Paris, Normandy, Cote d’Azur

Regional Dining Discussions France
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Well, I happened to find my own post from 3 years ago asking for suggestions in the Marais and I have to say I enjoyed rereading the discussion🤣

I am heading to France at the end of the month with my husband this time, he is far pickier than my daughter! And more cost conscious. I’d love authentic places where locals go but recognize that sometimes touristy spots are good too.

Les Deux Magots The Bouillions. All the famous spots some people tout: any of them worth the meal? Or just cocktails? On one hand I’m happy to see them, on another,€€€ for mediocre food doesn’t sit well with me.

I appreciate any comments/suggestions!

Paris: We will be staying in the Latin Quarter and have a few meals (lunches and dinners) free. We’d like traditional French cafe or bistro where the food is actually good! Ideally around €50-60 pp without wine for dinner, less for lunch. NOT looking for stars, just reliably good flavor and quality. Not bringing fancy clothes so anywhere we’d feel off in jeans is pretty much a pass for us.

We are looking for a light dinner for Saturday, & lunch Sunday, hoping to picnic at Lux Garden at some point that day (and hitting CityPharma for some skincare goodies).
We have an open lunch in Montmartre on a Monday, and a space for a late quick bite near the Eiffel Tower where we are yes, going up for sunset. Doing a cooking class Tuesday for lunch, a lovely dinner spot would be perfect…off the beaten path or right in LatinQtr/St Germain we’re easy about locations.

Normandy: we stop in Honfleur en route to Bayeaux, have a free lunch slot there. We are staying in Bayeaux and our touring schedule is somewhat tight. I have a dinner res at Le Pommier which is walkable from our hotel (Lion d’Or). And need one more dinner.

We have big full day history tour and a slot for lunch in Saint Mere Eglise.

Heading back to Paris with a stop at Giverny, lunch there….is it worth trying to eat AT the Monet restaurant or someplace better?

One more open dinner in Paris and then training south.

Marseille: we have one lunch in Marseille with not a ton of time before we head out to a concert at the Velodrome. I really want to have a decent bouillabaisse there, can one be found for lunch? It looks incredibly expensive, would we be frowned at for sharing and adding an additional item?

We have a slot for lunch at L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. Any hidden gems? We have open dinner that night and the next in Aix-en-Provence, ideally walkable from our lodging at Hotel Cezanne. We’ll need lunch in Avignon. Is there a regional specialty there? I’m not aware of one.

Nice: we’ll have a few dinners, I have one reservation at Olives & Artichokes., one at La Plongeoir but I’m not sold on that one.

Lunches are scattered with our touring: lunch in Grasse, lunch in Menton,

Oh mighty France experts, please lend me your guidance in making good choices! I have a history of being spontaneous and then selecting THE single worst choice so I relish all advice from true foodies.

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One of our favorite places last May was L’Aubergeade, recommended by a NYC friend. Scroll down to post 25 or so on this thread [Paris] Traditional in 11th - #29 by SteveR to read his posts/photos and my follow up post and pics. It’s a local place & might fit the bill.
We also really like Amarante for quality/price ratio.

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I’ll chime in with responses to your Cote d’Azur questions. In Nice, Olive et Artichaut is a fine. Another alternative in the old town is FIne Guele or Bistrot d’Antoine. In the Carre d’Or, for more modern French l’Achimie has a very good set menu, and la Cantine de Meme has a lot of creativity. None of these are quite “all in” in Nicoise cuisine, say like La Merenda or Chez Davia. Regarding le Plongeoir – it is a great experience to dine on the platform but the food is just OK (and a little pricer than most). I do encourage though a dining experience on the beach or upon the water sometime in our Cote d’Azur journey…

Are you taking a tour bus to Grasses for perfumes or are you driving independently? There are a number of hill villages that are quite beautiful.

Regarding western Provence, in Avignon you will often see a Grand Aoili on the carte for Friday lunch (plat du jour) or find an occasional daube avignonnaise (made with lamb, not beef). You will see other typical Provencal specialities on some menus as well.

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Thank you! I so appreciate you taking the time to respond.

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Any specific restaurants you might recommend in provenance?

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What do you think about Chez FonFon in Marseille?

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Gooster, we will have a driver taking us to Grasse. So we maybe have a drop of flexibility in our schedule.

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@SueFH – I mention it only because there are some great villages along the way. Some take the route through St. Paul de Vence (Fondation Maeght, La Colombe d’O), Vence (Matisse Chapel), Tourettes-sur-Loup (a couple of good dining choices there) and Gourdon (perched village, viewpoints over the Gorge du Loup). The direct route via the Autoroute to Grasse passes by Mougins (art, a couple of good choices there) and Biot (known for its glassware and a couple of good restaurants).

@hungryhungryhippos — that is a broad area with many dining choices… from starred down to secret finds. Perhaps if you list the towns or bases you are considering.

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@Gooster st remy and gordes.

We are looking for more casual places and not starred destiniations. Something that would be appropriate for a small child in tow. We have a car and will be driving around also, so any recommendations would be welcome!

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Fonfon - I believe it is known for bouillabaisse.
We had bouillabaisse at Le Miramar in the old port. It was good but I preferred bouillabaisse we had in Chez Gilbert in Cassis.

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Appreciate your Nice suggestions!
Have you been to Les Deux Canailles in Nice?

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I’m using Lefooding(https://lefooding.com/en) guide which was recommended by @ParnParis a couple of years back. Their food and restauarants match our dining preferences and tastes a lot more than the michelin guide.

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I like Le Fooding for Paris quite a bit and likewise prefer it to Michelin. I like it less for Provence/Cote d’Azur because it is more limited and less updated in my opinion.

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That’s great to know. Do you use any guides or other information?

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For France, Hungry Onion. A bit of Michelin.

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Blockquote Appreciate your Nice suggestions!
Have you been to Les Deux Canailles in Nice?

No, I’ve been by it many times before but have not had the chance.

Le Fooding is a good resource and less stuffy and bound by tradition than the rest. Gault et Millau and Michelin have even a bigger lag to what is going on in the CdA and western Provence. Le Blog de Gilles Pudlowski (“les pieds dans le plat”) can have some interesting profiles, but the local affiliate often seems overly solicitous to the restaurants featured. In the same vein, I sometimes view a local CdA vlog that covers restaurants and related shops, but without a critical view about anything (everything is great, nothing is ordinary or bad even though the camera clearly shows a less than compelling dish). The main value is looking at the plates and hearing the chefs/owners talk about their food. For all of these, I end up comparing these external views to word of mouth from locals.

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Unfortunately, I don’t have anything for Gordes other than what I posted above. We are based in the CdA. St. Remy nothing we went to is worth mentioning as far as I can recall (isn’t that sad!)

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Ok thanks for the info! Appreciate the additional blogs and vlogs I will venture out and report back!

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What are your general thoughts about the Bouillon spots. They are heavily promoted and the decor sounds cool, and fun but it’s looks like there are lines to get in like DisneyWorld, doesn’t sound so good to me.

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Not worth the wait IMO. Subpar products turned into average dishes, why should one wait for this when one’s not a famished young Parisian attracted by the low prices? (For, regrettably, that’s what seems to make up the crowd that flocks to these restaurants.) People who come to Paris as visitors generally can afford better stuff. So what’s the point? The Parisian atmosphere? How could it be present in these recent, heavily marketed eating factories?
At least, go to Chartier —it is a traditional bouillon, the atmosphere is there, and the food quality is acceptable. Even if most of it comes from Metro (I’m not totally anti-Metro, it’s all about how the shopping is done).
When Parisians want to eat cheap, they usually go to local Chinese, Vietnamese, or couscous restaurants. Aside from Chartier, bouillons are a recent trend.

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