Cheap traditional French lunch in Paris

Le Petit Saint Benoit

Very old traditional bistros serving simple good food and providing pleasant and relaxed service still exist in Paris, even in trendy Saint-Germain-Des-Prés
A few weeks ago in Paris while I was walking down the very small Rue Saint Benoit, in my old neighborhood of Saint Germain des Prés, I was happy to find out that Le Petit Saint Benoit was still there, its sidewalk tables full of happy customers who took their time eating their lunch and enjoying the beautiful and warm sunny October weather.
Le Petit Saint Benoit is one of the few surviving bastions of simple good old ’’cuisine bourgeoise’’. It has been doing business at the same location since 1901. Its cuisine and service are even better today than 50 years ago when I discovered it. Because the majority of the dishes it serves, contrary to the semi-industrial food found in 70% of French restaurants, are cooked in house. And they still buy most of their products at the market.
Le Petit Saint Benoit is a very old-fashioned bistro that had been owned and operated at the same place by the same family, or their descendants, since 1901. The décor is authentically turn of the (19th to 20th) century, with its revolving entrance door, the partially wood-covered walls, leather banquettes, bistro tables covered with red and white checkered cloth, copper hat and umbrella racks, old mirrors, and a real wooden zinc covered counter in the service, bar, and busing area.
My favorite little spot though is located at the end of the main dining room. It is a marvelous wooden chest of 99 tiny drawers, each with its own number on white enamel tags, where regulars who used to come for lunch almost every weekday would store their own napkin.
I looked at the menu on the blackboards outside, and all the good old dishes that I used to love were still there too, and the prices are very modest. The menu changes practically every day even though certain dishes, such as the hachis Parmentier or the steak tartare, are almost always on the blackboard. I was tempted to ask for a table in the main room but the very pleasant owner offered me a table outside and I took it.
I sat at a very tiny table on the sidewalk and was looking at the building across the street, at No. 5, where Marguerite Duras lived on the 3rd floor from her arrival in Paris in 1941 from Cochinchine (Indochina) to her death in 1996. I know that she frequently crossed the street to eat here, very often at a table on the sidewalk, and I could not keep thinking that I was perhaps seating at the exact same table.
I ordered a very tasty, and well spiced, Terrine de pâté de campagne du chef, which was accompanied by a good Dijon mustard, traditional cornichons and pearl onions, and a basket of very fresh baguette. (4,50 euros). I enjoyed a glass from the "pot’’ (50 cl) of a decent house Bordeaux that was served in a plain thin half-liter bottle 10 euros).
Next I had a perfectly cooked Cuisse de Canard Confit (duck leg) served with slices of roasted small red potatoes and cloves of garlic in the duck jus (13,50 euros).
I finished my meal with a very sizable slice of perfectly ripe Brie de Meaux, that had been suggested by the owner (4,50 euros). The check was only 32.50 euros (41 dollars). The tip is always included in France and no taxes are added. I would say that is not expensive for a 3 course lunch with wine in Saint-Germain-Des-Prés in 2014. After all since you do not pay taxes or tip in Paris prices are actually 33% cheaper than you think the equivalent meal would be in Chicago. My table neighbors had ordered a Hachis Parmentier, (12,50 euros), a mix of mashed potatoes and ground meat baked in the oven, which has been a house specialty since the 1930s, and a house-prepared Steak Tartare au coûteau, made from beef from the Charolais region (10 euros). It looked perfect, since the meat is knife ground. The hachis, probably based on a family recipe looked and smelled pretty authentic to me.
I took the time to study the menu, and found out that some of the dishes that I used to enjoy in the 60,s and 70s, were still on the menu, plus a few more recent new items: Poireaux vinaigrette (leeks) (3, 5 euros), oeuf dur mayonnaise ( hard boiled eggs with home made mayo) (2,50), filets de Harengs with Pommes de Terre tièdes (marinated herrings fillets with lukewarn slices of potatoes) (6,50), Terrine du jour (4,0), Faux-Filet de Boeuf sauce Poivre (strip steak with a peppercorn sauce, and French fries 18,50), Boeuf Bourguignon (13,50), Cassolette de Poissons au Petits Légumes (small casserole of fish with baby vegetables, 13,50). And the cheeses, Brie de Meaux, Cabécou, Camembert, or Roquefort with butter, are still modestly priced at 4,50 a piece.
The old desserts such as the Pot de crème, the crème Mont Blanc with whipped cream, the Milk and rice pudding, the Charlottes, or the more recent Fondant au Chocolat Noir, as well as the old fashioned ice creams such as the Nougat glaçé, the Parfait au café, or the Citron Givré, cost 5,00 euros.
And, as I said earlier, the wine list includes a good selection of decent Bordeaux, and other smaller regional appellations offered both in carafes, and in bottles, including half a dozen of them in 75 cl bottles for less than 20 euros. But anyways most wines are among the cheapest I ever found on a Paris wine list.
The service is pleasant and fast and the waitress still calculates your check by hand on a corner of the table paper cover. By the way the restaurant does not accept credit cards.
The owner told me that he is very demanding about the quality of his products, especially the vegetables, meats, seafood and cheeses, that he purchases at the Marché de Rungis, a few miles South of Paris, a gigantic wholesale market of fresh foods.The largest such market in the world, it replaced the famous ‘’Halles de Paris’’, located in the famous Baltard Pavillions in the first arrondissement, which were demolished in 1969.
He is also very attentive to the evolution of its client base, but intends to preserve the unique traditions of this ‘’historic`` restaurant.
Needless to say it was very comforting to find out that some Parisian restaurateurs are still proud to enjoy the pleasure of providing good food in a simple convivial and authentically French environment. Le Petit Saint Benoit does not pretend to be a temple of gastronomy, but a convivial small unpretentious restaurant serving authentic old-syle French dishes.

4 Rue Saint Benoit
75006 Paris
Tel : 01-42-60-27-92 http://www.petit-st-benoit.fr
Closed Sundays- No credit cards

Alain, on almost every visit to Paris for the last 20 years, I've stayed at a hotel two, maybe three blocks from Le Petit Saint Benoit and have eaten there dozens of times, often eschewing fancier options in favor of both convenience and quality. Do they still write your order on your paper table covering? The old wooden chest is a wonderful conversation piece and a reminder that, once upon a time, Saint-Germain-Des-Prés was a neighborhood and not a playground for wealth. I have great affection for this place.

To tell you the truth, even if that lunch took place only 4 weeks ago, I have to admit that I do not remember if the waitress took my order on a order note book or wrote it on the table paper covering. Sorry.
But I am glad to have found another Petit Saint Benoit ex-regular in Chicago.

Thank you for writing about this, Alain. Another delightful read and another bookmark in my Paris folder for my someday maybe trip to La Ville-Lumière.