Cafe Les Deux Gares

So, you want to try at least one classic bistro during your visit to Paris, ideally where you can sit on a terrace in one of those rattan chairs? The best ones are often off random side streets in more residential neighborhoods or, say, overlooking the tracks of a major train station. Walking by this one in between Gare de l’Est and Gare de Nord, it appears to be like all the others, but the plates sent out of the glass-walled kitchen are distinctive - especially for lunch where a perfectly plump piece of fish served with roasted wild carrots and an apricot purée is only 15€. Make it a meal by adding a starter and/or a dessert for 19€ or 23€, respectively. In the evening, dishes are meant to be shared and menu options change with the seasons. But that classic bistro ambiance remains, complete with mismatched wooden chairs found at Paris’s Saint Ouen flea market and completely addicting country bread from a neighborhood bakery.