Paris Restaurant Reviews. Athens & Paris For Dollars A Day

Welcome to my multi-part review of our summer vacation.  We spent 12 days abroad, predominately in Athens and Paris (and a half day in Amsterdam before heading home).    Happy to answer questions as I finish up the series.  We traveled in mid-July, so right in the middle of the Athens financial crisis.  Here’s most of what I expect to cover, including links to posts I’ve already completed:

• Planning Our Summer Vacation!
• British Airways First and Business Class Lounges at Philadelphia Airport
• US Airways Business Class from Philadelphia to Athens
• A Speed Bump Upon Arrival At Arion
• Arion Guest Room Review
• Arion & Westin Amenities
• Arion Restaurant Reviews
• A Quick Trip To The Acropolis And Parthenon
• Athens Metro System
• Temple of Poseidon at Sounio
• Swimming With The Fishes
• Restaurant Review: Garbi (Seafood)
• Restaurant Review: Kiku
• Our Two Favorite Restaurants In Greece
• Tips On Getting Around Athens Airport
• Flying From Athens To Paris
• Hyatt Regency Etoile Paris, Part 1
• Hyatt Regency Etoile Paris, Part 2
• Climbing the Eiffel Tower
• Arc de Triomphe
• Disneyland Paris
• A Study of Macarons
• Various Restaurant Reviews
• Taking The Train From Paris To Amsterdam
• Sheraton Schiphol Airport
• US Airways Business Class from Amsterdam to Philadelphia

We ate an over-sized handful of meals around Paris at some places I would recommend.  I figured it was easier to summarize them in one post as opposed to a bunch of smaller posts, so apologies if this gets a bit long.

Angelina:

We had dined at Laduree the last time we were in Paris.  While I’m glad we did, we were interested in trying Angelina for a change. I had seen it reviewed by View From the Wing and was eager to try it after not being blown away by Laduree.

You definitely want to make reservations at Angelina.  During both our Paris trips we asked folks in line how long they had been waiting for a table.  In both cases, the people at the front of the line had been waiting 45 minutes to an hour.  We walked inside a few minutes before our reservation time and were quickly escorted upstairs to a table.

 

It’s a big menu, though there aren’t a ton of options, if that makes sense.  Lots of descriptions and variations, but the number of entrees and salads is still pretty easy to get through.  It’s classic French cuisine, which can make finding something for finicky kids a bit difficult.  We managed just fine with the kids, though they didn’t eat much of their Croque Monsieur.  There was a french onion soup, well, because.  And, we also enjoyed the Angelina salad with smoked salmon and the roasted chicken on a roasted carrot puree.

 

All the food came out to temperature, though it was a bit tough to get the attention of the waiter when we needed to add on an item or two or ask questions.  My best advice would be to read the menu ahead of time so you know what you’re getting and have it ready.  I’ve uploaded all the pages I snapped pictures of to a Dropbox link in case you want to research ahead of time.  It’s a busy restaurant and the wait staff doesn’t spend any more time at the table than they absolutely need to.

The abrupt service is softened considerably by a cup of Angelina’s hot chocolate.  So rich and creamy, we couldn’t resist having a bit of fun with pictures, including a Charlie-planted chocolate kiss on “big sister” Gabby.

It took a bit longer than we thought to get our food and kids were getting antsy, so we chose to head downstairs and take our dessert with us.  I just finished covering the variety of dessert options in my macaron post.  There was a festival of sorts going on in the park across the street, so the kids played and rode the carnival rides while we all shared some pastries and macarons.

Eggs & Co:

Eggs is located on the opposite side of the Seine from Angelina, just a few blocks off the river.  The best way to describe it is something of an American breakfast restaurant with a French flare.  Unless you like standing for your breakfast, you’ll essentially climb a ladder to get to the dining room (taller folks beware of low ceilings).  The atmosphere made our breakfast turned into lunch a bit of an adventure.

There were eggs, eggs and eggs with salad and a lot of different toppings, overall a fun meal as well as surprisingly affordable.

Eric Kayser:

These were some of the best baguettes we found during our time in Paris.  The location we visited wasn’t that far from the Pierre Herme macaron shop we also included in our exploration.  The sandwiches at Eric Kayser were tasty and there’s a dining room with a bit of an expanded menu as well as some outdoor seating in the warmer months.  We went a slightly different path, purchasing a sandwich as well as a couple of baguettes.  We went across the street to a grocery store and purchased a few chunks of cheese and headed down the road to Parc M0nceau and enjoyed a good old-fashioned picnic on the grass.

The park was huge.  Even with a large number of people there it felt private, our own little adventure.  For those traveling with kids, there are bathroom facilities in the park, though it’s something of a “bring your own TP” sort of adventure.  We enjoyed some time in the park walking around the pond and riding an old carousel that had been outfit with newer kid-themed “horses”.  All in all, it was a great way to spend a couple of hours in Paris without feeling like you were in a big city.

If you’re looking to get around the city via public transportation, there is a Metro stop adjacent to the park.

Finishing Up Our Meals

The only reason there aren’t more restaurants listed is because we had a few average/below average meals on the adjacent streets around the Hyatt Regency where we were staying.  We thought we might catch lightning in a bottle again like when we discovered Cafe Kleber.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be.

Angelina, Eggs & Co and Eric Kayser are all very different, but enjoyable in their own right.  Angelina is a beautiful dining room with stiff service and very good food.  Eggs & Co found me joking with the owner behind the counter and him offering special pieces of candy to our kids.  It was a warm meal from start to finish, though very informal.  Eric Kayser had both simple, high quality sandwiches and a bit of a cosmopolitan dining area.

I’ve heard people refer to Paris as a great food city.  I’m still not ready to pronounce it that for me.  I prefer any random city in Italy, though that may be my heritage.  My opinion of Paris food isn’t too far off from my opinion of Paris.  It’s a place everyone should visit during their lifetime.  And, given how much the city has to offer, probably more than once.  But, I find myself remembering a phrase that I recall someone else using about Paris.  I find myself in like (not love) with their cuisine.

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