How to choose restaurants in Paris???

I%26#39;m trying to figure out how in the world to choose restaurants in Paris for an upcoming vacation (10/3-10/10). My wife and I are both foodies, but given the current economic conditions, we are looking more for local/authentic/romantic/cozy restaurants than say your Michelin 3 star experience (as much I%26#39;d love to visit those). We are also interested in restaurants owned and/or operated by up-and-coming chefs that are putting a twist on old classics (I%26#39;ve read there are some good values and exciting culinary experiences at these types of places right now).

Our dilemma is how do we narrow down our research to five or six really good choices out of the thousands in Paris? Currently, we are using tripadvisor.com, zagat.com, two different food guidebooks, the collector%26#39;s edition Gourmet magazine from last year that featured Paris and on and on. It just seems so overwhelming to figure out which places are going to be great experiences and which places are going to be over-hyped, touristy, etc.

Thanks!

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There is a fairly new restaurant book out (within maybe a year) called Pudlo. I like it better than Zagat. Give it a go

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Forget about the books. Get a couple of blocks away from any major tourist attraction, and just wander. As you pass each restaurant, look at the carte and menus posted outside. Smell the aromas of the food. Listen for lots of French being spoken by the diners.

Very soon, you will find a really good meal, which will be all the more special because you have found it yourselves.

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Hi -

Nick is absolutely right. Once a restaurant or cafe appears here on the forum, it ceases to be what it was and becomes a tourist attraction. There are thousands a people reading these posts who will be in Paris soon, and will be ahead of you in line to get in.

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I second both previous posts. I have never ever used a guidebook or restaurant guide in Paris or anywhere else and have had good food in many places. It does help to understand French well enough to read the menus posted outside each place. Going by the look is hard to explain also but it helps. You have to understand that, as long as the price is reasonable, even if the meal is only so-so it isn%26#39;t the end of the world, it is only one meal, unlike buying clothes then finding out back home that you don%26#39;t look good at all in them.

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I would suggest you post your question on a foodie site like Chowhound. Their Paris group is particularly well-informed and helpful. Personally I disagree with the comment that posting the name of a restaurant on TA will result in it becoming infested by tourists (the implication being that it will then lose whatever good qualities it had), this is a sweeping generalisation which like all sweeping generalisations is flawed. Just one example: Le Florimond has been named many times, I have been there and so have a lot of other people I know, and it doesn%26#39;t seem to have suffered from the kiss of death of TA.

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if you read a bit of french, have a look on www.lesrestos.com, www.cityvox.fr. and http://scope.lefigaro.fr/restaurants/

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I think a good way for a %26#39;foodie%26#39; to find recommended restaurants is to troll other %26#39;foodie%26#39; blogs:

chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/cat_restau…

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/paris/

parisrestaurantreviewsandbeyond.blogspot.com/

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I hope it is OK with TA to suggest this.

egullet.com has a France forum with a lot of good recommendations for Paris restaurants.

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I think the best tips on good restaurants, hidden gems et new young chefs would be found in the French magazines, if you read French.

As mentionned, Le Figaro, l%26#39;Express etc. offer god advice in their %26quot;lifestyle%26quot; pages. I am a great fan of JP Géné chroniques in Le Monde 2, but not sure if they are available online? I%26#39;ll look into this.