I was asked recently for advice on vegetarian restaurants that were wheelchair friendly. It’s funny, one of my areas of expertise is making web sites accessible, but I never gave much thought to the restaurants I review. Is there a truly accessible restaurant in Paris?
I would likely say there is no such thing. Most Paris restaurants have terrible web sites filled with Flash movies that lock information away from users. Sure, it is possible to make Flash accessible to screen readers, but I wouldn’t expect to much from these. I’ve never seen braille menus in Paris. Most buildings in Paris have at least a small step before entering and the bathrooms are in the basement.
Accessible Restaurant Options in Paris
There is a restaurant that treats everyone as if they were blind. Dans le Noir diners are served in total darkness by people wearing night-vision goggles. Braille menus are available and it’s probably not filled with steps. They even have a vegetarian menu.
Your safest option for a meal and accessible bathroom is probably the foodmall inside the Louvre. It’s not very exciting—in fact its much like the food court in any major American shopping mall. However, there are elevators, easy access from the metro, and certainly a bathroom without steps (I haven’t checked). The food is ok and there is a good variety. It’s a good choice when you want something basic and don’t want to hastle with finding a restaurant with vegetarian options.
You’ll also find restaurants in modern buildings more appropriate. They’ll probably have better sidewalks, fewer steps, and bathrooms that are more wheelchair friendly.
I’ve started going back to my favorite restaurants and looking at how wheelchair friendly they are. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Chez Lili et Marcel has a ramp at the front door instead of a step and their bathroom is on the main level (it is a tight fit though).
Non-Accessible Vegetarian Restaurants
I should point out some popular restaurants that are not going to work with wheelchairs. Potager du Marais is extremely tight and the only option would be sitting outside on their narrow sidewalk. Grenier de Notre-Dame is also a tight restaurant on multi levels in an ancient building.
Most of the restaurants I’ve gone back to have a small step to enter and no wheelchair bathroom access. Life is much easier in Spring and Summer when the tables are brought out to the sidewalk and everyone eats under the setting sun. Please leave a comment on any of the Paris Vegetarian restaurant reviews with your viewpoint on its accessibility. Do you know any good restaurants I should add to an accessible vegetarian restaurant list?
- Dans le Noir
- 51 rue Quincampoix (4°)
- info@danslenoir.fr
- tel: 01 42 77 98 04
- fax: 01 42 77 98 07
- Metro: Les Halles ( ligne 4 et 1 ),
Hôtel de ville ( ligne 1 et 11 )
Etienne Marcel ( ligne 4 )
Rambuteau ( ligne 11 ),
Châtelet-Les Halles (lignes A, B et D)
- Restaurant
Fortunately, it is pretty easy to find a healthy lunch in Paris. Sure there are dozens of bistros, cafes, Turkish fast food, and pizza joints in every part of the city. But keep your eye out for the small soup/salad/pasta shops that deliver great vegetarian food at a reasonable cost.
Gustav’ Good Choice is a small restaurant on Boulevard Pereire in the 17th. The location is central, but there is very little foot traffic in this part of the street. Gustav has to work even harder to keep bodies walking through the door. This hard work is evident in the small details.
The menu is small but well conceived. You have your choice of salad, soup, pasta, or the plate du jour. Fixed price menus may combine these choices with an optional dessert. Today’s choices were a vegetarian vegetable soup, a green salad, pasta with Gorgonzola and bacon, Eggplant Parmesan, and a chicken and rice dish.
The food is prepared in advance and heated upon ordering. This keeps the service quick and friendly. I had the eggplant dish with a fromage blanc and herbs combination for dessert. Gustav’ provides Eric Kayser bread; just one of the details that make this restaurant a step above.
Gustav is wheelchair friendly. There is a very small step to enter. However, there are no outdoor seats and the interior is rather cramped. I don’t know if they have a public bathroom. Most people take the food back to work or home to eat.
Similar Restaurants
Keep an eye out for these small restaurants. You’ll find a great lunch, fresh food, and friendly service.
- Gustav’ Good Choice
- 154 Blvd Pereire (17°)
- 09 63 52 01 72
- gustav-good-choice@orange.fr
- Metro: Pereire, Porte de Champerret
- Lunch restaurant
- Wheelchair Friendly: very small step to enter, cramped interior
- Overall: 4/5
- Location: 3/5
- Taste: 4/5
- Service: 5/5
- Vegetarian Friendly: 4/5
- Vegan Friendly: 3.5/5
- M.E.F. Friendly: 4/5
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Paris is filled with history. While that is plainly obvious for the average person; as a Californian I am still impressed by a store, restaurant, or cultural venue that has been open for a century. Heck, San Diego was barely more than a mission and a few ranches 150 years ago. Meanwhile, Paris was undergoing a rebirth under Napoleon III and Hausmann.
In the mid-1850’s, Napoleon commissioned a major reconstruction of Paris, changing the city for centuries to come. Prefect Baron Haussmann led the project that modernized the health systems, architecture, and design of the city. (Bowditch 314) A loyal Bonapartist, Napoleon could trust Hausmann to carry out the emperor’s plans.
Napoleon III’s rebuild of Paris reflected his goals as Emperor of France. His reconstruction represented the power of France and the efficiency of his administration. It represented his desire for stability, partially helping him achieve that goal. The rebuild represented his desire of being “Emperor of the French,” in which his authoritarian state benefited the people. Finally, the actual construction created jobs which created unemployment, strengthening his government.
Napoleon III and the Rebuild of Paris
So you can imagine why I chose to eat at Le Café du Métro one night after reading about its age. This cafe has been open for business in the St Germain des Prés area since the 1920′s. I was hungry; for food and history, and their menu seemed promising.
However, what this cafe has in history it lacks in value and taste.
I ordered the french onion soup after the waiter promised it was vegetarian. The other options were a warm cheese salad and a basic pasta. The price for the soup seemed pretty high, 13 euros, but I figured it would include bread, salad, etc.
The soup arrived in the standard French Onion Soup bowl with a few large croutons and melted cheese. The flavor was dull and needed salt and pepper to wake it up. I thought maybe I had ordered the entree soup and not the dinner serving, certainly this was not 13 euros! Afterward I got a cafe au lait that was equally bland and expensive at 4.50 euros.
The total bill came to almost 18 euros for a small bowl of soup and a cup of coffee. Most restaurants would charge about 10 euros for the same meal. Granted I was in the touristy Left Bank and should have accepted paying more. But if I wanted to pay a lot for a name I would have walked a block further to Les Deux Maggots.
Le Café du Métro may have better choices for meat eaters. But I wouldn’t bet on it if they can’t make a decent bowl of onion soup.
- Le Café du Métro
- 67, rue de Rennes (6°)
- 01 45 48 58 56
- Metro: Saint-Germain-des-Prés
- Cafe
- Overall: 2/5/5
- Location: 5/5
- Taste: 3/5
- Service: 3/5
- Value: 1.5/5
- Vegetarian Friendly: 3/5
- Vegan Friendly: 2/5
Raw meat and eggs will be delivered to your plate if you order Tartar. It’s a rather innocuous word, kind of funny and inviting. Vegetarians however should avoid this menu item.
Steak tartar is a common menu item in bistros. It can be served two ways, prepared and unprepared. Those who like to play with their food will get the unprepared version. Raw diced beef will be delivered with an assortment of herbs and a raw egg. It’s their job to mush it all together.
Tuna Tartar is becoming fashionable in the raw-beef aware restaurants of America. You won’t see that often in Paris, just the formerly happy cow variety.
Similar words that can cause confusion are tarter (the sauce normally used on fish) and tartine (a slice of bread with butter or sometimes melted cheese and other goodies).
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