Will be going to Paris next week with 2 kids in tow. Where can we find a place to eat on a budget?

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monteil m

Hello,

Tips are included in the prices.
Buffalo Grill are restaurants that are not expensive for a family, and the prices are quite the same as Mac Do.
Menu Pony Express is at 8,70 euro for adults, coffee included, and Menu Petits Indiens for children at 4,90 euro.
Going around Paris you will have a large choice of restaurants.
We must pay attention to the price of wine: you have to ask for " un pichet de vin" rather than a bottle of wine. Similarly, you must pay attention to the prices in bars. If you want a coffee or eat something take it at the counter, this is cheaper.

Rillifane

While its true that restaurant meals can be somewhat more expensive in Paris than in many other big cites around the world the prices are not as outrageous as all the previous answers seem to suggest. Nor is it neccessary to confine yourself to McDo's to find affordable food.

To begin with, there are hundreds of little crepe stands and sandwich shops all over Paris. The further away you are from heavy foot traffic the lower the prices will be. Even in the tourist filled 5th and 6th arrondissments you can find relatively inexpensive places down side streets. Buy your kids bottles of soda or fruit juice at a grocery and pick up a nice ham and cheese filled crepe and you have a very nice little meal.

Check out grocery stores, many carried prepared foods, sandwichs, chips at reasonable prices. A picnic if the weather is nice or a meal in your room is a good cost saver. (NB:Paris apartments tend to have very small kitchens and a lot of local people buy prepared foods to take away)

There are many inexpensive restaurants along the rue Mouffetarde in the 5th arrondissement where 3 course meals can be found for as little as 8 â‚¬.

Look for cafes off the tourist path and check out the blackboard for daily specials, which are almost always good value for the money.

(In general its usually a good idea to eat your big meal of the day at the noon hour when prices are lower).

Asian restaurants often have very good prices. One of my favorite places is a Vietnamese cafeteria by the Pantheon (5th arr.) on the rue St. Jacques just north of the rue Souflot on the right hand side of the street as you walk south (away from the Seine).

Just up the street is a place that sells great choucroute garni to go and just beyond that another Asian cafeteria.

If you really feel a need to do hamburgers then at least patronize Quick, the local (well ok...actually Belgian) burger chain.

There's also Flunch ( http://www.flunch.fr/Flunch/Flunch_Bienvenue.aspx ) a chain that has a childrens meal for 3.95 â‚¬. You can get Coq au vin for 6.90 â‚¬

As for tipping, a service charge is included in almost all restaurant meals and is indicated by the words "servis compris." on the menu or on the bill. No further tipping is required although people will often leave small change.

karxbear190

I went there once. There are little cafes with food. The one were most people are at and the nicest, are the most expensive. As we continued to walk down the street of cafes, the pricing was cheaper. Not bad food, just cost less. So I would suggest keep looking, dont settle for a place if you think it is too much. Usually the places you go to will be filled with tourists, so the French will most likely be helpful because they are used to this.

dude_from_cali

http://www.paris.org/Restaurants/

hop this helps...

kgsgolf

Remember it's Royale w/ cheese not a Quarter Pounder, Le Big Mac not Big Mac and Pom Frites not French Fries.
Bakeries (Patisseries) are generally good and cheap for breakfast and a lot of cafes have price fixed meals for dinner that are usually reasonable.
FYI sodas cost a fortune almost everywhere and refills are NOT included

MickeyMouse

It really helps if you know some French. Quick is a great, reasonably priced hamburger restaurant. McDonald's is not a bad choice and one of the pleasures of going to McDonalds in other countries is that you will find interesting items not on the menu in the US or Canada (e.g. banana shakes in Austria). Buying groceries instead of eating out every meal can save $ and you'll still have a nice time trying out different kinds of breads, cheese, pates (spreads), sausages, etc.

Tipping? It seems that only tourists tip. A service charge of about 18% is added to many restaurant tabs and many tricky waiters hope that you will add still another 15% (no need to do this-- the service charge is essentially the tip). "Service compris" literally means tip included so no need to tip at these restaurants.

By law (in France)menus must be posted at the entrance of the restaurant and if you order food, the waiter must bring you a carafe of tap water (une carafe d'eau, s'il vous plait) if you ask for it.

Lucie D

McDonalds!! They also have small coffee shops dotted around the place that do food fairly cheap. There are usually atleast 1 member of staff that speaks english. This is what i experienced anyway. Hope this helps :)

Jacob P

get a big mac they are 4.28 and a big mac meal is: 6.99 in Candad

john a

stick to the american mcdonald's since that's what you're used to

str8

A rule: don't jump from the Eiffel tower without a parachute :D

If you know French, it will be great yes. Have a nice holiday

Sidney A

PFK

JayB

McDonalds.

wilkiesmooth6

good luck finding cheap eats in Paris. there are a variety of good cafe's on Blvd. St. Germaine.

Tipping in France is pretty much leaving about 5%... it's not common there.

They are not helpful to non-French speaking tourist... the stereotype is proven, through and through.

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