When craving for an affordable and comforting lunch the options might not be so obvious in Paris: from the usual sushi place to the bistros charging nearly 15€ for French classic meals of standard quality. Let’s rather go for couscous. Here are the three places, each of them being the best in its own category…
The Champion: L’Homme Bleu.
Located in the 11e arrondissement, its reputation is pretty much undisputed. The place is a bit small, but the portions are not! Last time I went, the French star DJ Laurent Garnier was there enjoying a meal with his family. All right, you have to pay the 15 € that get you to the superior category of meals, but you the money is worth.
The Good Friend: Chez Younice
Here you have a nice venue and you might want to take your time to have lunch and bring you own bottle of wine. Chez Younice is one of these rare places in Paris where you don’t pay extras to drink better wine – because it’s your own! – which will make perfect sense with the couscous or lamb tajine (my favourite), which is already of rare quality for 10-12euros. The perfect place for an informal dinner with friends.
The Canteen: Le Thorel
You go to this place like you get your feed under the table waiting for your mommy to bring the dish. The food is tasty, not frozen like in many of the restaurants of the area, definitely none of the nouvelle cuisine sophistication in here but the ingredients are served with generosity, and you can’t beat a 8,50€ menu (appetizer + meal of the day to choose from a large offer).