In this new episode of my “How to Eat Like a Parisian” series, I’m taking you through five real Parisian bistrots, from the most affordable to the most high-end.
From a 28€ full meal to a 68€ one, I compare the food, the atmosphere, the service, and—of course—the value for money.
Here are the five bistrots featured in the video:
🇫🇷 Bistrot Victoires – budget-friendly and truly Parisian
🇫🇷 Bistrot Verdeau – local vibe inside the beautiful Passage Verdeau
🇫🇷 Au Vieux Comptoir – my best bistrot discovery in 3 years!
🇫🇷 Au Moulin à Vent – traditional Parisian bistrot in the Latin Quarter
🇫🇷 Chez Georges – iconic, pricier, but excellent
I’ll walk you through each meal, give you my honest impressions, and reveal my final ranking.
If you’re coming to Paris and want to eat like a real Parisian, this guide will help you find the bistrot that fits your taste and your budget.
Chapters
00:00 – Intro
01:24 – Bistrot Victoires
07:41 – Bistrot Verdeau
11:29 – Au Vieux Comptoir
17:36 – Au Vieux Moulin
23:33 – Chez Georges (2nd Arrondissement)
28:11 – Conclusion
👇 Let me know in the comments which bistrot you would try!
33 Comments
Haha, I'm glad I'm not the only one who sometimes has her escargot shell flip out of the tool!
Five great spots — Merci Alain!
Thank you again, I love your wonderful and interesting videos! 😍🍾 regards from Cologne
Le Bistrot Verdeau, one of these places where I drink a last pastis of the trip ( or two) on the terrace in the passageway before taking the train at Gare du Nord. It's very cheap, very local, no tourists.
The best pig snout in Paris?
U don't use the snail tool on the rigth side , il faut tourner la pince à escargot 😂
This is an excellent series. What a lovely video. Such a relaxing vibe and very informative. You're a wonderful host. I love French culture. Merci beaucoup.
No matter what else is on the menu, I can't ever resist œuf mayo, confit de canard and île flottante. Drooling!
The Chinese do not waste their dining money on decor. When they dine out of the home, the quality of the food is everythinh.
Thank you. Your videos make me miss Paris.
This is heavy food. The Plat, in most cases, would be sufficient for me.
Thank you for reviewing le Bistrot Victoires, a spot my family and I were introduced to in 2021 by an ex-pat American friend who met us there for lunch. Tho' crowded with working folks from the Banque de France and the Nat'l Library nearby, he had recommended it for the quality of the fare, great prices and the friendly service. It may not have the ambience of Le Grand Colbert, but what a bang for your Euro! Can't wait to check out the other spots as well🤙🏽
This was really great. We actually have a Chez Georges in the small town I live in here in South Carolina. They are a bit expensive – Escargot, $18. Poulet, $39. Boef Bourguignon, $48. I actually have not had the Bourguignon yet. I make Julia's recipe and I don't think it can be beat! It is worth it, everything we have had there is excellent and a wonderful atmosphere.
The red bread purse is funny. What a surprise for a pick pocket who thinks there is money within. I first thought it was a ladies purse.
Chicken in mushroom sauce at the Windmill. Simple things that the French make sounding divine just by their names. But Windmill should be up at Montmartre.
Wonderful little places.
Chez Georges is worth it for a special time and would be very memorable as it looks to have that classic French bistro ambiance.
wow.. I was in paris last year and was just walking around randomly around the 1st and I just randomly picked Bistro Victoires for lunch as I walked past it and it happened to be lunch time.
I felt it was a great place with good prices
I would be interested in your opinion of Au Petite Riche, a classic bistro where we had an excellent meal in October. I wonder if it is consistently good.
Bonjour. My husband is coeliac. Do menus have gluten free options marked? If not, how does one ask? Sauces can be problematic. Thank you from 🇦🇺
Thanks for focusing on the food and keeping you reviews understandable 😊
Au-Vieux-Comptoir is definitely one of the best bistros in Paris, I like it as much as the smaller La Charrette in the 6th.
I was hoping I’d run into you when I was in Paris last week, enjoying my steak-frites at L’entrecôte de Paris. And today I laughed as I had my dinner at home at 6 o’clock 😂
Ah… memories. Thank you.
It was 2019 and we were visiting my wife's family in Germany (she's German), but my wife had flown directly into Hamburg (I think she changed planes in Frankfurt) and I couldn't take off as much time, so I met up with her about a week later in Berlin (she took the train from Hamburg). I flew a different airline than her (Delta – she was on Lufthansa) into CDG, had a several hour layover there, and then flew into Berlin.
On the way back a couple of weeks later, she flew directly home to LAX from Munich, but I'd used points, and was flying Munich to CDG and then CDG home. Except that it would have cost me more than DOUBLE the points to fly back the same day, so it was a lot cheaper for her to fly home from Munich, and I flew to CDG, spent that day and the next morning in Paris, and then flew home the next day from Paris. Even WITH the hotel and the taxi to and from CDG. And I think that's when I bought my Navigo Decouverte – probably more expensive, but easier, and I still have it.
My overnight hotel was right there, on Rue Jean Lantier, and that evening after spending the day wandering around, I went walking around, looking for someplace to eat.
I saw Au Vieux Comptoir (which I JUST realized 6 years later means "At The Old Counter"), and after looking at the menu, I decided NOT to go there, and instead went to a small place right around the corner from there. Sadly, it no longer exists, and I can't remember the name offhand (I had checked a few years ago KNOWING the name and it was no longer there). But it was right around the corner, so I knew that area well.
I'm sensitive (sort of like an allergy but intestinal only) to onions, garlic, leeks, chives, shallots, green onions, and the whole family, so I can't eat a lot of classic French dishes, and I remember Au Vieux Comptoir's menu was almost entirely dishes made with onions or garlic or shallots, which is why I chose the other place.
I had a great steak frites at the other place, a dessert of I think it was a plum pie, chatted with the waitress half in English and half in French (mostly French), and had a really great evening. And joked with the waitress that I'm always working because as I was sitting there, I had to respond to several client emails (I'm a computer consultant).
I can't remember if it was that first day or the next morning when I went out to the Chatelet area to buy a small suitcase (which I still have and which I use all the time) because my wife had stuck her excess junk in MY suitcase so she wouldn't have to lug it, but it put me overweight and I had to pay a bunch for the flight from Munich to CDG and I could take a SECOND suitcase for free, but not an overweight one.
I also remember sitting in the hotel lobby before my flight, eating my Croque Monsieur from Paris Baguette, which was essentially the literal corner bakery at the end of the block, but which I later found out is a South Korean chain, and there were only TWO in Paris (there's actually one in Downtown LA, about 17 miles from my home).
Again, thanks for the memories.
Merci Alain!
Merci Alain for your honest reviews, will go to 'Au Vieux Comptoir' when I visit Paris again.
How to eat as if climate change and animal cruelty don't exist.
These are really great reviews, I just don't think the price issue should weigh that much, especially when obviously those places aren't comparable in terms of comfort and choices. If Chez Goerges was too expensive, well, it seams that it does have a lot of customers who think it is worth it. Only if price/quality ratios would not match I would give less points.
One of your best vids ever… Great episode!
Love your videos. In May we ate at Bistrot Victoires as it was near our lodging on Rue Aboukir. I have been to Paris at least ten times. This was tied for the worst meal ever in France. I am not saying it is a bad bistro, but I think you need to order right. I got a salad with gesiers. Inedible! And not cheap. The service was typical “I could care less about the customers”, which mainly charms and amuses me.
72 la sole . C'est pas sérieux ….merci pour cette bonne video qui nous épargne l'accent californien .
Lovely choices! Definitely going to try Chez Georges next time!
thank you for this compilation – it will come in useful for my next visit to Paris. I was surprised to see the price at Chez George come in comparable to Le Train Bleu! I noticed that you sometimes order bottled water and other times un carafe d'eau – when and why do you choose one over the other?