Saturday, June 02, 2007

After Hours Eats in Paris.. late night or 24 hour restaurants in Paris for after the jazz concert



So there you are, wandering out of a smoky (or thankfully soon to not be smoky bar with the new Paris clean air regs coming in soon) jazz bar in Pars and you're all wired up from the great music and you want.... something to eat! And you DON'T want to be eating from those late night snack places that sell deep-fried everything and just-unfrozen everything else. But the problem is Paris isn't really a late, late night town - a lot of restaurants and snack places close their shutters by 11pm.

So here's a guide to what's out there after hours - a list of places in Paris that will provide you with more than just greasy meat. Some of them are high end, some of them are more on the lower and 'atmospheric' side of things...
Le Boeuf sur le Toit: Near the Champs Elysees, this is best late since there's a discount on orders of food that they can't save for the next day (like seafood or shellfish). It is part of the larger Flo chain of restaurants and is full and bustling long into the night.

The Bistrot Beaubourg
: A bistro with classic French dishes at not bad prices; if you're in the mood for a hearty steak frites, or a magret du canard this is the place.
Chez Andre: You can grab a table at this ancient French bistro until midnight, and then you can linger till much later. Chez Andre was founded in 1930 and has become a neighborhood institution with its Art Nouveau interior and traditional French menu.
La Cloche d'Or: This is a cafe/resto where theatre and music types hang out till the closing hour at 4am. Again, a menu of French classics where you can linger over a plate of food and bottle of wine, or just grab a tiny nibble and a glass or two.
Coude de Fou: Close to the main jazz scene in the Marais this crowded wine bar stays up till 2 am and doles out plates of terrine de canard, beef cheek, and other specialities...
Le Petit Pont: This little place happily serves up their full menu till 3 a.m. It's not far from Notre Dame so it is also a stroll away from most of the jazz clubs.
Pied de Cochon: What can you say about this 60-year-old institution? Right near some seriously awful chain & theme restaurants, this glittering resto has kept its menu true to its old market roots...allowing you to chow down on a Pig's foot at any hour of the night (Maybe you'll be inspired by that Bessie Smith song: 'gimme a pig's foot and a bottle a beer'.) However, for those of us who have a more delicate stomach at such a sensitive hour in the morning they also offer onion soup and other classics.
Pizza Sant'Antonio: if you're used to the speciality pizzas of North America then you're probably in for a big disappointment with any French pizza parlor. I'm not sure where the French came up with the idea to throw a huge dollop of Creme Fraiche and a half-fried egg on top of a pizza, but it's never really won over my palate. And hell, i know you're not in Paris to eat bad Italian food....however, still sometimes pizza is the ultimate cheap snack. Pizza Sant'Antonio serves huge pizzas and salads in a lively late-night scene that makes the uneven product forgivable.
Pub Saint Germain: It's late, you're hungry so go over to the dark side: British Pub Food! The pub Saint Germain is open 24 hours and the beer selection is immense and in fact (it is in St. Germain after all) the pub fare is more respectable than other British and Irish bars.
and finally: across from Gare du Nord (and indeed near most of the large railway stations) there are several wonderful restaurants: sometimes seedy, sometimes historic, sometimes very 'atmospheric' at three in the morning...

No comments: