What are some good restaurants in Paris to go to alone?

To Dine Alone in Paris edited on 11/24 and a new restaurant added. photo:early evening alone in Paris “We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink, for dining alone is leading the life of a lion or wolf.” -Epicurus The day is over, the evening begins, and you find yourself alone and without plans. The need for sustenance lurks just beyond the horizon. What to do?  Go home, to your hotel room, and order room service. Or discretely smuggle in some clandestine takeaway. Eat it in front of your laptop or the television, maybe curled up on the bed with a book.   Go to a bar that serves snacks and, amid the television and noisy crowd, feel as much a part of the group as anybody else.  Pull out your tablet and on the internet navigate to one of the growing number of sites that can connect you with other people for dining companionship. In New York, the temptation of takeaway is sometimes embarrassingly hard to resist. In much of Spain, find a good bar or two with tapas, and your evening plans are made. In Italy, wander the streets until you find a lively looking place, and basta! you are no longer dining alone. But in Paris, it is a bit more complicated. Many of the room service options are either unappealing or surprisingly nonexistant.  Or breathtakingly expensive if not being reimbursed by a generous client. For takeaway, apart from sidewalk crêpes and "Turkish" Doner kebab (both to be avoided when possible) there are not a lot of other choices. The once ubiquitous traiteur is become harder to find (pushed out by competition from fast food) and even Hediard has recently turned the savory counter over to all-desserts. If you don't speak French, the web-generated meet-up might be more than you feel up to after a long day. Parisians, in the right circumstances, can be very friendly despite our reputation.  Still, we value our privacy. If you go to a formal restaurant and dine alone, you will most likely be exactly that; alone. In most places, dining is much quieter than in London or New York, so you need to be comfortable with that. (A long list of specific restaurants for each category follows the strategies section this answer). Strategies for having a successful solo dining experience Sometimes, dining while letting your mind wander is ideal. No reading, or conversation. But how to remain relaxed and engaged, without being bored or lonely? Let the restaurant itself entertain you. Restaurants with open kitchens and counter-seating with a view seem tailor-made for the solo diner. And if that doesn't appeal to you, there's been a lot more good Japanese or Japanese-French fusion Izakaya (Tapas-like) style places opening recently. (Of the Sushi-conveyer type place there are none that can be suggested with anything more than a lukewarm recommendation). An open kitchen. This one at Bocuse's EST in Lyon The city of lights has been famous for the easiest answer to the solo dining conundrum for a very, very long time. Can Can, anyone? And the Moulin Rouge is by no means your only choice There are still quite a number of entertainment curiosities that serve dinner and can amuse the solitary guest. From almost family-friendly to better-not-use-a-corporate-card racier options, particularly NSFW if your company looks through the itemized billing on your card. Other than that, it comes down to: Either damn Epicurus and embrace dining alone, or find an option that makes you feel less so. There are some good possibilities for both. If you don't want to feel alone in the vast wastes of a formal dining room Lose yourself in the bustle of one of the large classic brasseries of Paris. In the anonymity of the crowd you are neither alone nor dining with anyone else. These places, some famous for a century or more, started out as breweries (what brasserie means) that served food to go along with their beer. They catered primarily to people coming alone. They still do. You will not be a conspicuous, self-conscious solo diner in one. Sadly, they have mostly been bought by large food industry giants and the quality isn't what it was a generation ago. But a few are still ok. Why not try a place where you are likely to meet other people in the same situation? Go to a bar where you can eat. There used to be just a few in town, die-hard expat bars, but now in the cocktail scene these places are multiplying. Probably additionally fueled by the French take on the Italian Aperativo trend, the Cocktail/Apéritif Dinatoire. Search for this latter term on your favorite yelp-like site to find last minute happenings.  A bar, not in Paris. I just like the picture of the bar in Campeche better. In Vino Veritas: Like the cocktail and expat bar, the wine bar is a great option for eating solo. There is often conversation around the bar, often with other anglophones. When bored, have a nice conversation with your wine about its terroir, provenance and the weather last year in the vineyard. I do. But then I am probably certifiable. Photo: Appearance wine bar. Tasting terrace at Bermejos Winery Lanzarote There is no need to eat alone at all, if you want company. In Germany  approaching a table in a big crowded restaurant and asking if you can Zusitzen is not unusual. Pretty uncommon in France. But we have a surprising number of table d'hôtes; tables in a restaurant that are not reserved and shared communally by the guests. Or go underground. The Hidden Kitchen may have gone public by opening Verjus, but there are still unofficial restaurants out there. People running a place from their home kitchens. Small groups, usually mixed nationalities and you are usually immediately part of a dinner party. Very small neighborhood cafe-restaurants often have a regular clientele that live alone and take many of their meals there. (Sort of serving the same function as a diner in the states. If you sit yourself with regulars in a diner and chat with them and the waitress you feel at home instantly). These places were once jewels in the French culinary crown. Small family-run. The owner would go out to Rungis (the paris professional food market) before dawn to get the best and cheapest, freshest ingredients for the day. The wines would include affordable bottles of older vintages that the family bought from their friends the vintner every year on their summer holiday. No more. Industrial food distribution. Canned and a frozen ingredients. Tax changes in the 90's on wine. The venerable Café Parisien has suffered. Some are still ok, some have been reinvented. ('s very good suggestions belong to this group).   A few still have that neighborhood feel and serve great-value, solid, real, if often stodgy fare. Fresh ingredients like these Cepes/Porcini are what French cuisine should be about Casual places that serve French comfort-food or regional specialties tend to be much more relaxed than your average French hostelry. And often livelier. These kind of places bring out the friendly inner-child in some Parisians and acquaintances are often struck up during dinner. Take your time over the meal, make sure you have at least a starter and a main, and with a few glasses of wine, you will find yourself fitting in. The foods of Auvergne and the Southwest were the staple of the dine-alone single working man's diet of Postwar Paris. It was good solid peasant fare that stayed with you (like Sausage and Aligot, the blend of cheese, garlic and potatoes which becomes a deep-craving food when winter sets in). A majority of cafés were at one time owned by people from the southwest. (One used to refer to the Auvergne Mafia meaning that subtly bonded group of the police and their small restaurant owner confreres. Though people don't behave like Phillipe Noiret in Les Ripoux anymore It will tell you more about the normal Parisian eating options than Babette's Feast). Now Southwestern fare is generally more a regional speciality food. Noiret and L'hermitte are cops who spend much of their time in Paris restos No mention of French comfort food can be made without saying something about meat. Meat has a very special place in our hearts here. Big pieces of beef. Not ever bien-cuit (well done), seldom à point (medium), usually saignant (rare).  Or--with a surprisingly look of pure savage carnivorousness and delight on the face of your slight 5 foot tall blond dinner companion as she says--"Bleu!"(well, Blue. just introduce the meat to the fire but don't let them get intimate). It is funny, we call the English Les Rosbifs (roastbeefs) for historical reasons. But we are much more obsessed with a, well, "bonne viande" than anybody but Argentinian gauchos. There are not many steakhouses in the Anglo-American sense, but places that specialize in meat may cause our native residents to let their hair down more than anyplace else. There are meat restaurants where people have been known to extemporaneously sing Georges Brassens songs together with total strangers. (Another aside on meat. You might not like it. Americans tend to value tenderness above all in meat. American beef is often aged differently and longer than French beef, which produces big differences in flavor. The French tend to value certain flavors over tenderness and like beef to have a certain heft. Eating it rare means it still isn't too tough. Try French meat rarer than you like your steaks in the States and you might like it better). Try a real Crêperie Bretonne for eating savory buckwheat galettes from Brittany, slathered in salted butter, washed down with earthenware jars of hard cider, at an unfinished wooden table. Toast the owners and your neighbors with "Yermat!" (Cheers, Santé, Slainte in Breton).  If you can find the appetite, follow your "Complète" (ham, cheese, and egg) with a sweet crêpe stuffed with real salted-butter caramel.  "Usually one of the cheapest ways to have a sit-down meal in town as well. There are lots of these places, particularly concentrated down by Montparnasse where the trains from Brittany arrive. Some are very good, some not so. Everyone has their favorite. I like the ones with cheesy Breton names and decors. My generally favorite creperie Fondue Savoyarde may be the ultimate winter dish. Scooping out mouthfuls on bread from a big bubbling bowl of molten cheese and wine. The flame under the pot keeps you warm. Washing it down with a bottle of Chignin Bergeron. Some restaurants will only serve this dish for two people, some will sit you at a communal table. If there's a minimum, have the Raclette instead. A kind of piece-by-piece queso fondido. Or just order a Fondue for two and don't finish it. It will still be a reasonably priced meal. The quality of these places his up and down like with the crêpes. Most are just ok. You can look on Yelp to find one near you. When a perfectly balanced Fondue is made with the right wine, and a balance of, say, Cantal, Beaufort and Gruyere it is truly memorable. Fondue is probably second only to meat in producing a convivial atmosphere. Pizza is a subject, like religion or politics, that must be approached with caution. To say you like many kinds of Pizza will generally shock a New Yorker or a Neapolitan. And both are equally sure the other is seriously misguided on the subject. But Pizza is a good option for dining alone here, so, as the saying goes, "I look forward to your letters". Most pies in Paris will be unappealing to the various American, Canadian and Italian palates. Each country or region bends the recipe towards their own ingredients and tastes.  Some become unique culinary artifacts. The Perfect Slice on Mulberry in Little Italy or in Brooklyn. The Crunchy smoky pies from coal-fired ovens on Long Island. An intoxicating surfeit of thick satiating crust and cheese at Giordano's in Chicago. The instant Proustian recollection at each whiff of a thin crust in Spaccanapoli. Unforgettable raised Foccacia-like wedges topped wit cheese and sausage in Milano. The yeasty comforting pizza bianca served at dawn by the docks in La Spezia. The rolled, stuffed pierogi-pizza of Dubrovnik. In Paris, alas, the local adaptation just doesn't do it for me. As a teenager eating in Normandy, I liked the fluffy pastry dough with melted French Emmenthal cheese they served in the local pizzerias. But Pizza? In Paris it isn't as bad as that. But much of the Pizza has crust neither crisp nor yeasty, very little tomato and a lot of industrial French cheese. And they seem to have this twisted compulsion to put an egg on top. But Pizza is a dish some of us crave when alone. A big plate of a pizza is a great companion to a book at the dinner table. If these strategies and suggestions don't work or appeal maybe we can find some more.  Otherwise skip to the end of the list below for another option and more information. Bon Appétit! (If you want to know by what criteria the restaurants SHOULD have been selected, but probably weren't, you should see my post: ) The list: The Dinner as entertainment and Izakaya Braisenville NEW ADDED 11/24/2013 Address: 36 Rue Condorcet 75009 Nearest transport: Metro Anvers Hours: Lunch and dinner Mon-Fri Dinner Sat closed Sunday +33 9 50 91 21 74 Not really an open kitchen but a countertop semicircular bar where you can see the bustle of the kitchen in back. Small plates place in the center of emerging uber-hip Pigalle dotted with mediocre spots that are all the rage. The place looks so hip it can't be good. But it is. Very. Small plates, from grilled vegetables to Black angus beef. The sea bass is fantastic. Almost every plate has a char-grilled element, hence the name, Braise, as in grill. Ate there again last night, decided it was still a great place and good for this list. So added on 11/24/2013 Uberhip looking Braisenville is very good L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon 133 Champs-Élysées 75008 Paris, France +33 1 47 23 75 75 http://joel-robuchon.net‎ Not sure I even like these places, but they will entertain a solo diner who wants to spend the money. Antoine de Montmartre 7/7 Mon-Fri 18H00 À 23H00 Sat 12H00 À 23H00, Sun 12H00 - 15H00 and 18H00 in 23H00. 102 TER, RUE LEPIC. 75018 PARIS MONTMARTRE http://www.antoinedemontmartre.com The Michelin-starred, convivial hardworking Mauritian chef Antoine Heerah created this place with its bar-stools, and open kitchen to showcase products he finds around the world that he reworks into tapas-like-portions. His Japanese second runs the place. The Wagyu-Kobe Beef Prosciutto is worth a trip. Guilo Guilo 8 Rue Garreau 75018 Paris, France +33 1 42 54 23 92 http://guiloguilo.com Sit at the counter at watch your kaiseki menu be prepared in the kitchen in front of you, chat with the other diners. They frequently do some charming culinary puns like the Japanese Beef Bourginon. La Dame de Pic 20 Rue du Louvre 75001 Paris, France +33 1 42 60 40 40 http://ladamedepic.fr‎ Open kitchen at the newish place from Anne-Sophie Pic, the grande dame of culinary dynasty from Valence. I have not yet personally tried and it is very expensive. But it looks great and her food from her other restaurant is the work a genius. Pinxo Address: 9 rue d’Alger, 75001 Nearest transport: Tuileries (1) Hours: Lunch and dinner, Monday-Friday; open Saturday for dinner only Reservations: Book a few days in advance Telephone: 01 40 20 72 00 Asian-French fusion bistro or 2nd restaurant from one of the world's great chefs; Alain Dutournier of Carré des Feullantes. We've tried lots of "2nd" places, most of them just trade on the name and hype but aren't good. This is the real thing. One of the places we usually bring guests from out of town. Countertop seating facing the open kitchen. Gyoza Bar 56 passage des Panoramas 75002 Paris 01.44.82.00.62 12h00-14h30 and 18h30-23h:00 http://gyozabar.com Sit at the wood bar, drink beer or champagne and eat gyoza. Thats it. Only gyoza. And they are great. Lengué 31 Rue de la Parcheminerie 75005 Paris, France +33 1 46 33 75 10 Wonderful food, great atmosphere. sit on a high perched stool. Small plates Japanese tapas. A STELLAR collection of great french wine from old vintages at ROCK BOTTOM prices. The owner is a what I call un ami du vin. If the wine isn't good, you can't send it back, but who cares?  If you can afford it try a 20 year old Margaux for 150 yo-yos a bottle that went for 1200 at auction last week. Or maybe for 50 something you've seen in a wine shop for 120. Dessert at Lengué Izakaya Issé 45 Rue de Richelieu 75001 Paris, France +33 1 42 96 26 60 Just a great, tiny, friendly casual Japanese tapas place. Great selection of sakes. Good for single diners. Bar à vins Verjus Wine bar Address: 47 rue de Montpensier, 75001 Nearest transport: Pyramides (7, 14) Hours: Monday-Friday, 6pm-11pm; closed Saturday and Sunday Reservations: not accepted Telephone: 01 42 97 54 40 Cool little wine bar opened last year by a young American couple (they used to run a famous underground restaurant) who do good franco-american fusion tapas. Popular expat hangout. Great location hidden behind the palais royal. Lavinia wine shop restaurant Address: 3, boulevard de la Madeleine, 75001 Nearest transport: Opera/Madelaine Hours: Monday-Saturday 12:00-15:00 for full lunch 15:00-20:00 for cheeses, charcuterie and snacks Reservations: a few hours before for lunch, unnecessary after 15h00 Telephone: 01 42 97 20 27 The largest and one of the best wine shops in town has a restaurant on the second floor. Very good food. Great paté, cheese, etc. Good wine list but you can also choose anything you like in the store and drink it at the table for the takeaway price. Probably stick to a half bottle if you are alone, but then maybe it has been a long day. shttp://www.lavinia.fr/LaviniaFR/restaurante.aspx O Chateau Address: 68 rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 75001 Nearest transport: Les Halles (4) Hours: Monday-Saturday, 4 p.m.-midnight (2 a.m. Friday and Saturday); closed Sunday Reservations: Reservations accepted only for parties of six or more Telephone: 01 44 73 97 80 Average price for lunch: 20-34€ Average price for dinner: 35-49€ The largest of the new style wine bars, 40 wines by the glass, big expat hang out, snacks at the bar Bakkus Address:  97 rue du Cherche-Midi, 75006 Paris Nearest transport: Duroc Hours: 12 - 23:00 Monday-Saturday Reservations: Usually not necessary Tél. : 01 42 22 19 18 New wine bar with a full menu. Very typical of the current Paris restaurant scene, High tables and stools, casual. Bars with food W Lounge – W Paris - Opéra Address: 4 rue Meyerbeer, 75009 Paris Hours: 7/7 10h00 - 2h00 Nearest Transport: Opera/Chaussée D'Antin/Havre Caumartin Reservations: Come early Telephone: 01 77 48 94 94 Bars in W hotels are usually pretty hip, maybe too much so, but the new one here has one tremendous advantage; the staff. These people are the generally the friendliest and most professional we've seen in Paris hotel bars. (The heated bar terrace is a great place for a slow-tapas-cum-snack meal with a cocktail then a bottle of wine. Spanish chef Sergi Arola of the higher-end restaurant upstairs in the hotel created a nice well-rounded bar menu: Chorizo, Patanegra, ham or cheese croquettes,  mini spanish pizzas, other authentic tapas, and some international hotel fare salads, club sandwiches.) Not the W's Tapas, mine. Just trying to liven up the page Candelaria 52 rue de Saintonge 75003 Paris 01 42 74 41 28 http://www.candelariaparis.com Have some rare edible tacos in Paris at the back room bar of this place or go next door for empanadas. CLASICO ARGENTINO 56 Rue de Saintonge, 75003 Paris, France ‎ +33 1 44 61 00 56 http://www.clasico-argentino.com In the middle of the fast-growing cool district the upper Marais surrounded by bars is a great place to stop for empanadas between drinks. Marie Celest 1, Rue Commines, 75003 Paris, France Today 6:00 pm - 2:00 am http://www.lemaryceleste.com Call or email for a reservation From the same cool people as Candelaria one of the hottest dining cocktail spots of the moment. Changing menu Le Black Dog 26 Rue des Lombards 75004 Paris, France +33 1 42 71 22 27 http://blackdog-bar.com‎ Call for a table or hang out at the bar waiting to eat a steak in back. You won't feel alone for one second. Carr's Irish Pub & Restaurant Address:  1 rue du Mont-Thabor, 75001 Nearest transport: Concorde/Louvre Rivoli Hours:  7/7 12:00-00:30 Reservations:  unnecessary Telephone: 01 42 60 60 26 http://www.carrs-paris.com/fr/index.htm One of the oldest Irish pubs in Paris. The kind of place of which there aren't many left even in Eire. Expats, tourists, locals, a good mix. Perfect for an aperitif or after dinner drink. Music sometimes. Good place to meet people, ask questions of locals.  Also has a full kitchen, Irish Stew anyone? Corcoran's Pub 110, Boulevard de Clichy 75018 Paris And several more locations http://www.corcorans.fr passable burgers, fish and chips, pub food in these lively chain of cookie-cutter Irish-themed pubs. The Bombardier Address: 2 place du Pantheon, 75005 Nearest transport: Pantheon/Maubert/Luxembourg Hours: 7/7 12:30-2:00 Reservations: unnecessary Small uncovered terrace where smoking is allowed One of the few remaining English pubs with real ale, a few tables outside right by the pantheon in the middle of the latin quarter. Expat hangout. Pub Grub. Southwest/Auvergnat The Ambassade D'Auvergne has seen much better days If you can stomach the ok Chez Papa's chain food (I can't), the atmosphere will serve.  http://www.chez-papa.com Chantairelle 17 Rue Laplace 75005 Paris, France +33 1 46 33 18 59 http://www.chantairelle.com/iweb/ChantAirelle/Accueil/Accueil.html Once a showcase of the promotional board for its region, still a really charming place. Beautiful garden in back for outdoor dining weather permitting. Good wines. Try the oeufs poches au four me d'ambert (poached eggs in blue cheese sauce), the smoked trout, maybethe best stuffed cabbage in Paris or the cheesy truffade. And have the made to order apple and armagnac taste for dessert. Creperies Ti Jos 30 Rue Delambre 75014 Paris, France +33 1 43 22 57 69 http://www.restaurant-tijos.com One of the oldest and most typical, a great pub in the basement for after dinner Ty Breiz 52 Boulevard de Vaugirard 75015 Paris, France +33 1 43 20 83 72 http://www.tybreizcreperieparis.fr/index.html Another of the cult-authentic places, always crowded. Creperie Framboise 7 Rue de Ponthieu, 75008 Paris 01 74 64 02 79 http://creperieframboise.fr For a modern take on the experience, to replace the recently departed  http://compagnie-de-bretagne.com in my address book Fondue My favorite has sadly closed to be replaced by a hipster cocktail-inspired place. http://www.lesmontagnardsparis.fr But if you want a REAL authentic fondue it would be worth the trip out to the suburbs to their new restaurant Le Chalet Savoyard 58 rue de Charonne 75011 Paris 01 48 05 13 13 http://www.chalet-savoyard.fr is pretty good. Authentic and reasonable. Pizza these are all Italian styles of Pizza. I've never had good NYC or Chicago style here. Be careful with Italian places in Paris. So many "Italian"-labeled places are run by people from other mediterranean cultures who haven't a clue about authenticity. They should be delighting us with their own culinary specialties. (There are surprisingly few really good couscous places around, much better to make your own when you get home) Pizza Chic 13, rue de Mézières 75006 Paris 01 45 48 30 38 http://www.pizzachic.fr Very good standard italian thin pizza in a nice elegant atmosphere. Some good antipasti and choice of wines Grazie 91 Boulevard Beaumarchais 75003 Paris, France +33 1 42 78 11 96 http://graziegrazie.fr‎ A more casual, livelier and louder cocktail-themed offering from the Pizza Chic people. La Pizzetta Piu Grande 62 Rue Caulaincourt 75018 Paris 01 46 06 29 83 Authentic Italian thin Pizza, an uneven but sometimes good calzone. Occasionally a great Vitello Tonato as a started. Some good wines. Nice modern atmosphere Da Mimmo 39 Boulevard de Magenta, 75010 Paris, France ‎ +33 1 42 06 44 47 http://www.damimmo.fr Really old-fashioned, traditional authentic Trattoria with Pizza and Da Franco et Giacomo 115 avenue Jean Jaurès 75019 Paris 01 42 00 04 77 First time I ate here there was a table of really-well dressed people who looked out of place. Italian dining companions assured me it was Marcello Mastroianni. It certainly looked like him.   Hmm, what is he doing in this out of the way little dive? Now it looks like I've been eating here for over twenty years and the only times i have been disappointed is when they were training new pizzaiolos. This is the only place in town, and one of the few I know outside of Italy, to do the special kind of pizza you find in  only in rare restaurants (I've only seen them in the north, in Lombardy and the Piedmont). Often confused with Sicilian pizza. Or American. Completely different.  The wine list isn't so good anymore, but you can make do. They take good care of single diners. And They do a salad of carpaccio, mozzarella, lettuce, vegetbles and sautéed mushrooms that balances out the pizza perfectly. Pizza di Loretta 62 Rue Rodier 75009 Paris, France +33 1 48 78 42 56 http://www.pizzadiloretta.com One of a growing number of Roman pizza-al-taglio-style places popping up around the city. But this one is very good. And they some good wines and antipasti which is unusual in these pizza-by-the-slice places. Casual, relaxed but very good in the middle of fashionably hip SoPi (South Pigalle). Table D'Hôtes The Pain Quotidien chain has many of them http://www.lepainquotidien.fr and Chemin Des Vignes/ La Guingette d'Issy Address: 113 Bis Avenue Verdun, Issy-les-Moulineaux Nearest Transport: Tram T2 Les Moulineaux RER Issy Hours:  Monday-Friday Lunch and Dinner, Saturday Dinner Reservations: The day before Telephone: 01 46 38 11 66 Huge uncovered terrace in season, fireside table d'hotes dining in winter. ‎Very good traditional food with a Burgundian influence, great wine list, dine in a vineyard in the city. Underground The only ones I know of right now are called la Table de Cybele and Guinee pigs supper club But as they are underground they change all the time. Spectacles and curiosities Le Cercle Suedois Swedish Club (Svenska Klubben) 242 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris, France ‎ +33 1 42 60 76 67 If it is wenesday, there is weekly Jazz entertainment, usually with swedish food to accompany . Check out the program in French, http://www.cercle-suedois.com/francais/agenda/programme.php Le Petit Journal Montparnasse Address:  13 rue du Commandant Mouchotte, 75014 Nearest transport: Gare Montparnasse/Gaîté Hours:  7/7 07:00-02:00 Telephone: 01 43 21 56 70 Small uncovered terrace where smoking is allowed One of the better remaining jazz clubs in town. ok cafe food, better for aperitif on the Terrace around 19:00. Walked by recently, haven't been in years, but it still looks as fun as ever. Nos Ancestres les gaulois http://www.nosancetreslesgaulois.com/en/the-feast Cheesy, funny, touristy join the Ancient Gaul themed buffet party and you will not be alone. You may wish you were. The shows, from mild to extra spicy Moulin Rouge http://www.moulinrouge.fr Le Lido http://www.lido.fr Nouvelle Eve http://www.lanouvelleeveparis.com Paradis Latin http://www.paradislatin.com Crazy Horse http://lecrazyhorseparis.com Neighborhood style places and bistros Les Pipos 2 Rue de l'École Polytechnique 75005 Paris, France +33 1 43 54 11 40 http://www.les-pipos.com Join the party over dinner. Usually crowded, friendly, sometimes there is music. French bistro fare Paul Bert 75011 Paris, France +33 1 43 72 24 01 The Paul Bert is more a reinvented bistro. Cooking of the Bistronomy movement The wine list extensive you will hear a little more english than french. Sometimes hard to book but usually solo diner friendly Aux Crus de Bourgogne La Marlotte Address: 55 rue du Cherche-Midi, 75006 Paris Nearest transport: Sevres Babylone, Saint Germain Hours: Monday-Saturday 12h - 14h30 and 19h30 - 22h30 Reservations: Usually not necessary but it might be good to call a few hours before Tel : 01 45 48 86 79 - Small uncovered terrace Good Traditional french fare, almost a parody of a french bistro, red-checked table cloths, etc, Green bean and Mozerrala salad is a nice starter... good Irish sourced meat, some good bargains on the wine list Chez Marianne Address: 2 rue Hospitalières St Gervais, 75004 Nearest Transport: Saint-Paul/Pont Marie/Hôtel de Ville Hours: Mon-Sun 12 pm - 10:30 pm Reservations: You can wait in line for a table and always get one, reserve if you don't want to wait Telephone: 01 42 72 18 86 Small uncovered terrace For a change of pace: The queen of the marais medieval jewish quarter's restaurants. Cheap, cheerful and quite an experience.  Middle-Eastern. Mostly Sephardic food, falafel, hummus, tarama, fried eggplant, salads,etc. Proverbs and sayings painted across the windows.  You try four, five, or six item and accompany with one  of the bargain-basement  wine. Cute scenic stone terrace overlooking the church. Falafel sandwiches are available for takeaway. Le Restaurant du Comptoir Address: 34 rue Montmartre, 75001 Nearest transport: Les Halles, Etienne Marcel Hours: 12h-23:00 Monday-Saturday Reservations: Usually not necessary Telephone: 01 42 33 31 32 Small uncovered terrace Great spot for casual dining or lunch small shop selling French culinary specialties (paté, cheese, wine etc) that also serves a daily menu  at a few outdoor tables. They recently opened a small enclosed restaurant space next door. This area is just north of Les Halles, Zola's "Stomach of Paris" the old market hall demolished and moved to the suburbs a generation ago. But right around this restaurant is whatever is left of the old food center. If you like Professional Kitchen and Food stores, or just like to look at one of the world Mecca's of gastronomy you can check out the astounding  old fashioned emporium of De Hillerin (http://www.e-dehillerin.fr/index.php), the smaller but precise Mora (http://www.mora.fr/fr/index.asp) and the very chic La Bovida: (http://www.labovida.com/) A La Cloche D'Or (unsure of summer holiday closing, usually open before most other restaurants or doesn't close) Address: 3 rue Mansart , 75009 - Paris Nearest transport: Pigalle/Blanche/Place de Clichy Hours: Monday-Saturday 1930 - 4:00 (all night)  Closed Sunday Reservations:  Luchtime for dinner or the day before Telephone:  01 48 74 48 88 The Sardi's of France, traditional french fare, good wine list of old vintages at bargain prices, the walls are covered with autographed pictures of all of the French theatre community who eat here after the show. The spectacle here is people watching and late night dining. Chez Les Anges  (Usually closes for a month in summer) Address: 54 boulevard de la tour Maubourg, 75007 Nearest transport: La Tour-Maubourg Hours: Monday-Friday 12H - 14H30 and 19H00 - 22H30 Reservations:  Luchtime for dinner or the day before Telephone: 01 47 05 89 86 Small uncovered terrace where smoking is allowed Go sit at the counter and enjoy the people watching. Typical 7th arrondissement crowd, few tourists. Very good wine list. The 35 euro menu is one of the most elegant and best values around. The 40 even more so with first rate amuses bouche, appetizer, main and 2 desserts. Meat Meat cooking prep in an open kitchen Ecurie 2 Rue Làplace 75005 Paris, France +33 1 46 33 68 49 This is also for when your budget is in trouble. Just the cheapest friendliest charcoal grilled meat in town. If the clients aren't students, they will those of us who have been eating there since we were. Blue cheese salad, aioli and pain poilane, a steak and bottle of St. Joseph La Maison de L'Aubrac 37 Rue Marbeuf 75008 Paris, France +33 1 43 59 05 14 http://maison-aubrac.com‎ One the biggest, most casual loudest old steak houses in town. Very good wine list. Boucherie Roulière 24 Rue des Canettes 75006 Paris, France +33 1 43 26 25 70 Restaurant owned a by a family of ranchers as a venue to show off the quality of their meat. They succeed. Le Gavroche 19 Rue Saint-Marc 75002 Paris, France +33 1 42 96 89 70 Convivial, loud classic place for a cote de boeuf (Think sort of French prime rib on the bone). Haven't been for years though I was once a regular. Have heard it has got good again. At one time it had a fabulous wine list. Some Brasseries Brasserie Thoumieux Address: 79, Rue Saint-Dominique, 75007 Paris Nearest transport: La Tour-Maubourg/ Invalides Hours: 7/7 lunch and dinner Reservations:  Luchtime for dinner or the day before Telephone: 01 47 05 49 75 No Terrace http://www.thoumieux.fr/en/home Despite the maddening website, the crowded, close-spaced tables and the hype, this is one of the best of the large brasserie-style restaurants in town. The culinary superstar Jean-François Piège took over this old hotel-restaurant in 2009 and with Costes support tastefully redecorated keeping the soul of the place in tact. He shows he can do a great traditional parisian cafe food with some modern touches in the Brasserie while upstairs in his much more expensive eponymous restaurant he shows off his gastronomical fireworks. It can get loud and very busy, but the service is surprisingly efficient and friendly. Some affordable bottles of good wines on the list. Restaurant Flottes et Flottes O'TREMENT Address: 2 rue Cambon 75001 Paris Nearest transport: Concorde Louvre Rivoli Hours: 7/7 12h00-24:00 or a bit later Reservations:  usually unecessary Telephone: 01 42 60 80 89 Small Terrace http://www.brasserie-flottes.fr/ Traditional brasserie that still has some higher-end products, (belotta ham, truffles) but has old-fashioned fare done competently (onion soup, sausage with Aligot, etc) and a reasonable wine list with a good range of choices. Service can be hit-and-miss. Clientele a mix of tourists, suburbanites coming in to the city and VIP's. Maybe less a brasserie but too big a place for me to think of as a bistro. le Terminus Nord 12 Boulevard de Denain 75010 Paris, France +33 1 42 80 20 00 http://www.terminusnord.com/en/ One of several candidates for the best brasserie now owned by the Flo group. Right across the street from the Gare du Nord. Hence the name. A little art deco,  a little nouveau http://www.brasserieflo-paris.com/en/ Le Wepler 14 Place de Clichy 75018 Paris, France +33 1 45 22 53 29 http://www.wepler.com/en/accueil.php Once Henry Miller's favorite restaurant. The quality goes up and down over the years, but bring a copy of Anais Nin, have some oysters and really lament the fact that you are alone. Le Dôme Café 108 Boulevard du Montparnasse 75014 Paris, France +33 1 43 35 25 81 Go for the decor and the seafood. It can get pricey. If none of this works for now is the time to start: Embracing eating alone Now for those of you that have the temerity to naysay such a reliable guide as Epicurus and seek out your inner totemic Wolf or Lion: You should eat in anyplace that is good and damn the consequences. There lots of places to look for them. You can ask me. Or better yet And Paris, my intrepid, solitary and contented diner, is your oyster. Or your Soufflé de Poulet de Bresse. Really whatever you like. Mr. Saunders has some good thoughts on the subject. http://dougsaunders.net/2008/03/dining-alone-paris/ And apart from a strong recommendation for Michelin Bibendum winners You can look here to pick your poison http://parisbymouth.com or http://www.timeout.com/paris/en/restaurants-cafes or in french only http://www.lefooding.com/guide-restaurant-paris-france/ or http://scope.lefigaro.fr/restaurants/ And for those who made it all the way to the end of this answer: your bonus, my favorite picture of the Eiffel Tower by night:

One that comes to mind is Le Refuge des Fondues*. A cute and cozy (yet lively) little fondue restaurant tucked away in Montmartre with the perfect atmosphere — what more could you want? As you walk in you'll see bench tables running along each side of the restaurant and when it's busy there are some in the center too. The little old man that greets you will walk you to your seat, pull out the table, have you step over the table on to the bench against the wall, and pushes the table right up against you. Have I mentioned that this place is pretty cozy? Order some fondue and bottomless wine that comes in baby bottles. Admire all of the hilarious things written on the walls — I remember seeing that people had written Stanford all over the place (thus reminding me that the world is a lot smaller than I like to think). Mingle with the people next to you! Due to the seating arrangement you're basically forced to sit next to people you don't know and casual conversation may ensue. I actually left my scarf in the restaurant and the Italian man sitting next to me ran outside after us to return it. This place just buzzes with good, happy vibes. * Though I did go to this restaurant with another person, I definitely think it's one of those places that anyone can go alone. http://www.yelp.com/biz/le-refuge-des-fondues-paris

My favorite restaurant in Paris when alone is L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon Saint Germain http://www.joel-robuchon.net/#/fr/restaurants/1/ The reason is that you sit at a Bar facing the open kitchen of the restaurant which makes for a fantastic and entertaining view as well as easy and constant contact with the personnel which makes for pleasant chats. Also the bar setting and the mind-blowing food certainly help striking up a conversation with your fellow gourmet eaters...

Restaurant L'AOC, 14 Rue des Fossés Saint-Bernard, 75005 Paris, France +33 1 43 54 22 52 I have made Parisian upper class drop jaws by taking them to this restaurant. I have also had delightful evenings on my own, with a book. The kindest, most professional staff and owners I know in Paris. L'Atlas, 11 Rue de Buci, 75006 Paris Get a table outside, get a pichet of something you like, or a bottle. Order something from the well stocked zinc. To be avoided May-July. Too many tourists. Right around the corner from our hideaway, so practical for us. Simple, nothing special, but genuinely good and plenty of action to watch when you are alone. Le Petit Lutetia, 107 Rue de Sèvres, 75006 Paris, France +33 1 45 48 33 53 Great bistro food, super service and plenty to watch, again.

La Rose De France place Dauphine (http://www.larosedefrance.com/home.html) It is good although not exceptionnal, but this is a very quiet place right in the middle of Paris (Île de la Cité), on sunny days you can eat on the terrasse. It is a good place where to have a pause in a long tourist day, it is not far from the Louvre, Pont Neuf. You can have a nice walk from there on the Seine shores.

I'd recommend Bouillon Chartier- very reasonably priced, lively atmosphere, and really quite easy to strike up a conversation with neighbors if you're in the mood.

Recently i have liked : http://www.lafourchetteduprintemps.com/ good quality for fair price.