There’s a small street at the heart of Paris that has captured the “heart” of the city. Rue Montorgueil is a pedestrian friendly street behind Église de Saint-Eustache and Chatalet – Les Halles. It’s perhaps best known by Monet‘s painting of a festival on June 30, 1878 to celebrate the end of the World’s Fair.
This street is home to the oldest pâtissier in Paris: La Maison Stohrer; creator of the Baba au Rhum. It’s also home to several famous and memorable restaurants, cafes, gelato stands, and much more. Needless to say, there’s some stiff competition in this area for restaurants.
Foody’s Salad Bar
Foody’s Salad Bar is a simple, comfortable restaurant that has found it’s calling amongst the more classical and/or tourist restaurants. It’s menu is simple, the food is fresh, the atmosphere is comfortable and unrushed.
I stopped by on a Saturday afternoon and grabbed a bowl of vegetable soup and a much needed coffee. There were several small families enjoying the outdoor tables. The service is pretty simple, you walk in, grab a tray and start creating a salad. There’s also a small pasta bar and soup is available at the counter. You can also get sodas, juices, coffee, and more.
First off, coffee is not their specialty. It was hot, caffeinated, and hit the spot. But I wouldn’t go here for coffee as a rule. They do, however have a house specialty of hot chocolate that should be good.
More importantly, the soup was very good. It was a roughly pureed soup of market vegetables served in a large bowl. It was flavorful and satisfying. They also had a Tomato soup and a Gezpacho with tomato and basil. They cost only 4.50 euros.
The salad bar features a variety of fresh vegetables and prepared salads. You can choose either a small (5.50 Euros) or large (7 Euros) plate to fill. The pasta bar is also quite affordable.
I didn’t see any meat on the menu, although there may have been some tuna on the salad bar. This shouldn’t deter your Meat Eating Friends. This restaurant has more than enough variety to satisfy anyones cravings.
Foody’s also sits next to Naturalia, an organic store, an organic sandwich shop, and a juice bar. I guess you could call this section of the street “the heart of veggies in the heart of the city on the street that captures the heart of the city”. All in all, it’s good for the cœur.
- Foody’s
- 26, rue Montorgueil (1°)
- 01 40 13 02 53
- Metro: Les Halles
- Soup and Salad cafe
Related articles
- Eating and drinking in Paris [via Zemanta]
- Paris travel guide: bars and nightlife [via Zemanta]
- Dinner Salads: Inspiration [via Zemanta]
- Restaurants: Humble Spots, Simple Pleasures [via Zemanta]
- Eurostar: Paris’ food markets [via Zemanta]
Green Earth Guide: Traveling Naturally in France
Crepes: Sweet & Savory Recipes for the Home Cook
The Vegetarian Traveler
Chocolate and Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen
The New Becoming Vegetarian: The Essential Guide To A Healthy Vegetarian Diet
I’ll probably be coming to Paris this summer and am concerned about starving to death. I’m the only vegetarian in a group of 4 and I know that the other ones are going to want to eat at a lot of French restaurants.
Am I in for a hard time finding veggie food to eat in Paris? How about if we go outside of Paris? I’m afraid that I’ll be living on bread and cheese for a week.
Thanks for the reviews of the restaurants on your site! I’ll read them over and see if I can get the group to eat at some of them.
It’s actually fairly easy to find vegetarian food in Paris. If you don’t see a vegetarian option on the menu, tell the waiter you are vegetarian and would like a “plate des legumes”. They will put together a nice assortment of the vegetarian side dishes being served with the main meals. I’ve done this often and have never been disappointed.
Often times, they will also take one of their dishes and replace the meat with a vegetable. For instance, I ate at a French restaurant and asked for a vegetarian version of the daily menu. My friends got the same dish. Only they had chicken on top of the vegetables and I got a nice roasted onion stuffed with vegetables.
Fish restaurants tend to have fewer vegetarian options, avoid the Buffalo Grill chain, and keep an eye out for the Meat Eating Friendly restaurants that I’ve reviewed. Enjoy your trip.
Thanks for the restaurant info. We’re going back to Paris soon and I’m hoping to find something besides cafés where I have to ask them to leave the ham off the sandwiches.
I find it interesting that a Paris resident consistently misspells “arrondissements”. Looks like a cut-and-paste typo
@John: Tofu egg on my face: I think my fingers are hard wired to spell arrondissement wrong. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it
I remember coming to Paris the first time and not finding anything to eat other than crepes and cheese sandwiches. Either I’ve gotten better at finding restaurants or the options have grown significantly over the past decade. I’m betting on the selections. I find most of these out of pure luck.
hi what is THE MAIN DISH???? TELL ME OR ELSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@bill
Foody’s is a soup/salad bar. They have pasta, soups, and salads. You just choose what you want. There is no “main dish”