Paris has more and more canteens popping up all over, a fashionable concept which appeals to many. These canteens, which are most of the time cozy, healthy and trendy, also claim to be affordable for everyone. From now on, there’s no need to break your piggy bank any longer to eat organic, local, French or seasonal food. We have selected for you our 14 favorite cheap canteens in Paris.
Mûre
At Mûre, a small cozy canteen located in the Bourse district, you can enjoy high-quality cuisine for a fraction of the price and, above all, with a clear conscience.
Here, everything is homemade with products which are mainly organic, handcrafted, local if possible or fair trade when they come from abroad.
The menu of the day is posted every morning on the restaurant’s front window and Facebook page. How about Lasagna with eggplants, carrots, tomato sauce, Parmesan cheese and small fried onions? Unless you prefer the mafé chicken with peanuts, green cabbage, dried broad beans and rice. Mûre is a palatable delight!
This organic establishment doesn’t do things by half since meals’ leftovers and peel are collected and then processed to create a putty used as fertilizer in fields. Thanks to this beautiful initiative, some people’s rubbish become others’ resources, “everything is rounded off”!
Warning: first come, first served. No reservation.
Address: 6, rue Saint-Marc, 75002 Paris
Hours:
- Monday-Friday: 8:30 am – 4 pm
- Saturday: 11 am – 5 pm
- Closed on Sundays
Prices:
- Breakfast menu: 1 hot drink + 1 juice + 1 food
- Complete breakfast menu at 13€: 1 hot drink + 1 juice + 2 foods
- Lunch menu at 10.50€: starter + main / main + dessert
- Full lunch menu at 13.50€: starter + main + dessert
Internet Website (in French)
Le Bar à Soupes
Nearly 20 years ago, Anne-Catherine opened the first soup bar in the capital, an original concept, to say the least.
Cold carrot soup with pineapple and ginger, cauliflower soup with Bleu d’Auvergne cheese, Indian-style blond lentils soup… every day, you have the choice between six soups for tiny prices.
Anne-Catherine makes it a point of honor to follow an ecologically responsible process from A to Z. The soups and salads are made with organic seasonal fruits and vegetables. Then, whether you bring your soup pot of the previous day or your own lunch box Tupperware, you’ll benefit from a 20-cent discount for each pot. Similarly, if you bring back 10 paper bags “Le Bar à Soupes”, you’ll receive a dessert following which the 10 bags will be used again.
As you will have realized, here, circular economy is at the core!
Address: 33, rue de Charonne, 75019 Paris
Hours:
- Monday-Saturday: noon – 3 pm / 6:30 pm – 10:30 pm
- Closed on Sundays
Prices:
- Lunch menu to go at 10€: ⅓ litre of soup + 1 small bread + 1 salad / dessert
- Lunch menu on-site at 14.50€: 1 soup + 1 small bread + 1 salad / dessert + 1 drink
- Dinner menu on-site at 9€: 3 small soups + 1 small bread
Internet Website (in French)
Simone Lemon
Simone Lemon or “the ugly fruits’ heaven”.
Here, there’s no need to be beautiful to end up in plates. Indeed, Elodie and Sheherazade only stock up fruits and vegetable which do not comply with calibration standards or present some visual impairments. Two-headed carrots and misshapen potatoes are the stars over here.
The menu changes every week and offers multicultural recipes, the fruit of the many trips of Simone- who is at the root of the project. Milanese-style Osso Bucco, carrots & parsnips duo or saithe terrine, there is no lack of choice.
Whether it is salads, hot dishes or desserts, the principle is the same: you compose your plate and choose your portions – 100g cost 3.10€.
Address: 30, rue Le Peletier, 75009 Paris
Hours:
- Monday-Friday: 11:45 am – 14:45 pm
- Saturday-Sunday: 11:30 am – 4 pm
Prices:
- Salads, dishes and desserts at 3.10€/100g
- Soup of the day at 4€
- Pastries at 2€
Internet Website (in French)
SO NAT
With its vegetable and vegetarian canteen certified OA (Organic Agriculture), SO NAT got it. Their commitment is complete: they stock up only organic ingredients, salvage peelings and unsold food and recycle materials when possible.
Inside, the long and narrow tables are somewhat reminiscent of a self-service restaurant. In front of the open kitchen, piles of fruits and vegetable boxes are piled up, waiting to be stewed. The ceiling holds cables, pipes, hanging pots and big lamps. In short, it’s SO NAT.
The restaurant specialty is the Buddha Bowl, declined over and over in bountiful containers. The recipes change every three months to adapt to seasons, but if none of the suggested bowls tempt you, note that there exists the “Imagine” bowl, to compose yourself.
Address: 5, rue Bourdaloue, 75009 Paris / 9, rue Laborde 75008 Paris
Hours:
- Monday-Saturday: 11:30 am – 3 pm
- Closed on Sundays
Prices:
- Menu at 9€: bowl + starter
- Menu at 10€: bowl + dessert
- Menu at 11€: bowl + homemade juice
- Menu at 13€: bowl + starter + dessert
Internet Website (in French)
Dubble
In this bright and uncluttered restaurant, Dubble’s warm team welcomes you for a quickly prepared lunch with plentiful portions made using fresh products only. What more could you ask for?
The principle is simple: grab a tray and cover it with whatever tempts you. Salad bowls, poké bowls, hot bowls, sandwiches, wraps, freshly squeezed fruit juices, homemade cakes: there is no lack of choice.
Note that in this canteen-like establishment, you’ll eat with wooden cutlery and in cardboard containers as Dubble claims to be “natural and fresh” from head to toe.
Address: 4, rue Hélène et François Missoffe, 75017 Paris
Hours:
- Monday-Friday: 8 am – 4 pm
- Closed on weekends
Facebook Page (in French)
Le Bichat
Organic, vegan, gluten-free, healthy, seasonal… so many hashtags which can describe Le Bichat.
This small popular canteen aims to allow everyone to consume healthy products both for themselves, for those who produce them and for the planet. To comply with their commitment, they prepare dishes solely made with organic, seasonal and locally produced food, all of which for just a few pennies.
As the main course, you can choose either the soup of the day or the bowl of the day composed of a base, cooked vegetable and a vegetable salad.
As a drink, the restaurant offers many detox juices and natural wines.
To finish, you have the choice between one of the three cakes of the day: the vegan gluten-free cake, the seasonal fruit cake or the famous chocolate cake which is always on the menu.
Address: 11, rue Bichat, 75010 Paris
Hours: Everyday: 9 am – 11 pm
Prices:
- Dishes: Soups from 4 to 6€ / Bowls from 9 to 11€
- Desserts at 3€
- Drinks from 2.50 to 5€
Internet Website (in French)
Garni
Rue de la Condamine, Elsa Le Bail and Alexis Allauzen welcome you in their small, cozy and warm canteen which can host until 20 guests. Here, everything is homemade using organic and local products and the menus, which are renewed every week, are as creative as they are audacious.
Here are a few examples to tempt you: as a starter, a velouté with corn, fresh goat cheese, black olives tapenade and croutons. As the main course, a sandwich with confit of duck, BBQ sauce, parsley roots and roasted turnips, pickled carrot, lettuce and sesame seeds. Finally, for the most gourmet of you, a rustic pie with crispy pastry, almond cream, grapefruit zest and some rhubarb compote.
Although the menu changes over the weeks and seasons, some timeless dishes always remain on the menu such as the famous free-range chicken sandwich with a potato julienne, capers, fried onions, salad and herb mayonnaise. Yummy!
Address: 35, rue de la Condamine, 75017 Paris
Hours:
- Tuesday-Saturday: 11:30 am – 4 pm
- Closed on Sundays and Mondays
Prices:
- Starters from 2.50 to 4.50€
- Dishes from 7.50 to 8.50€
- Desserts from 3 to 4€
Facebook Page (in French)
La Thith Cantine
Welcome to La Thith Cantine. In this simple yet elegant restaurant with wood tones, the warm and sympathetic owners prepared new versions of Lao-Vietnamese dishes.
Here, everything is homemade from the starter to the dessert, using fresh products only, and prepared in plain view thanks to the open kitchen in the middle of the restaurant.
Whether you choose a green curry with chicken-eggplants-butternut and zucchini, black and white sticky rice with coconut milk and fresh mango, or a fruit salad with Nashi pear-strawberry-kiwi-blueberry and passion fruit, the flavors won’t be lacking.
What’s more, the menu is renewed every week for our pleasure, and the restaurant houses a small grocery corner where you can enjoy Vietnamese teas and Laotian coffees, on-site or at home.
Address: 68, rue des Dames, 75017 Paris
Hours:
- Monday-Friday: noon – 8 pm
- Closed on weekends
Prices:
- Dishes from 10 to 12€
- Desserts at 3.50€
- Drinks from 2 to 3.50€
- Lunch formula at 15€: 1 dish + 1 drink + 2 starter or 1 dessert
Facebook Page (in French)
Chefs du Quartier
A lunch at Chefs du Quartier = a guaranteed change of scenery.
In 2014, Simsek and Anne opened Chefs du Quartier with one keyword: a culinary journey. Every day, a chef from one of the four corners of the world introduces us to the gastronomy of their country, thanks to a single-price menu at a highly-competitive price. What’s more, coffee is offered.
On Monday, head to Italy with a grilled pepper-tomato-basil soup, followed by pesto-chicken-bacon-roquette penne and a chocolate-zucchini cake for dessert.
On the following day, take off for Turkey with homemade hummus, Kashmiri lamb with nuts, coconut milk and rice, before ending up with a watermelon and melon plate.
The icing on the cake: thanks to the “My favorite Music when I Have Lunch” concept, you can listen to your favorite songs while eating. It’s simple; all you have to do is to send the title of your ten favorite songs by mail and remind the chefs to put them on when you arrive.
Don’t forget to make a reservation as the establishment can only welcome around ten people at a time.
Address: 12, rue du Jura, 75013 Paris
Hours:
- Monday, Thursday, Friday: 9 am – 8 pm
- Tuesday-Wednesday: noon – 2 pm
- Closed on weekends
Prices:
- Starters at 3.50€
- Dishes at 8€
- Desserts at 3.50€
- Meal formula at 11.50€: starter + dish / dish + dessert
- Complete meal formula at 15€: starter + dish + dessert
Internet Website (in French)
Cantine Voltaire
Crispy caramelized chicken, Pepper beef, Loc Lac beef, Banh Cuon shrimps (Vietnamese pancake): there’s no doubt, here, we are in Asia.
The menu of Cantine Voltaire may be small, but each of the Thai and Vietnamese specialties mentioned on it are cooked with passion by the chef. Besides, all the dishes are prepared in an open kitchen using fresh products and quality French meat. In short, the result is delicious!
The dishes are plentiful and are prepared quickly (count around 8 minutes per dish), and you can enjoy them on-site as well as at home thanks to the delivery service (order and have it delivered) and the takeaway (order and pick up).
Address: 47, rue Richard Lenoir, 75011 Paris
Hours: Everyday: noon – 2:30 pm / 7 pm – 10:30 pm
Price: Lunch formula at 10€
Potage
“Hey, What’soup?” If for you “soup” rhymes with “meals of days gone past” and “food for toothless grandpa”, Potage Soup Bar will prove you that this is not the case!
Located a stone’s throw from the Place de la Bastille, this little canteen is run by the two chefs Victoria and Marie, who stretch their imagination for the pleasure of our taste buds.
You can enjoy a tomato crème with pine nuts or a broccoli crème with lemongrass unless you prefer a bowl of sweet potato velouté with honey, maple flakes and ginger, ideal for warming up in winter.
The establishment also offers two savory tarts per day, one with meat and a veggie one, such as the pumpkin, pistachio and Parmesan quiche.
Finally, we dare you not to give in to one of their incredible desserts such as the tonka bean, pecan nut and maple syrup pie or the pear caramel cake. Yummy!
Address: 16, boulevard Beaumarchais, 75011 Paris
Hours:
- Tuesday-Saturday: noon – 4 pm / 7 pm – 10:30 pm
- Sunday: 5 pm – 11 pm
- Closed on Mondays
Prices:
- Soup formula at 9.50€: soup + drink + tart or dessert
- Salad formula at 12.50€: salad + drink + tart or dessert
Facebook Page (in French)
Chez Colette
At Chez Colette, you’ll be welcomed by a friendly and smiling trio: Stanislas the waiter, Matthieu the sandwich master and Colette the chef.
On the terrace, everything is made of wood with little cushions tied to the chairs. Inside, the blue Ikea wall added to the Formica-in tables and chairs give a vintage look to this small room of ten seats or so.
As far as food is concerned, everything is freshly prepared with seasonal products and bovine meat from French pastures. Between the dish of the day announced every morning on Facebook and the plentiful sandwiches which are always on the menu, the choice is not simple.
As for you you, of the clams-garlic and parsley spaghetti and the torch-grilled tomatoes-pesto-basil-mozzarella and lemon zests sandwich, which one will you choose?
If you still have room, why not o for a light Fromage blanc with grilled sunflower seeds and homemade cherry jam or a chestnut cream fondant.
Address: 42, avenue Parmentier, 75011 Paris
Hours:
- Monday-Saturday: 10 am – 4 pm
- Closed on weekends
Prices:
- Sandwichs at 5.50€
- Dish of the day: 8.50€ to go without box, 9€ to go with a box and 9.90€ on site
- Desserts at 3.50€
Facebook Page (in French)
Cantine de Lotus
With its uncluttered decoration, soft light and small water fountains, this restaurant run by two Buddhist chefs exudes a Zen atmosphere and calls for calm.
On the menu, there is a wide choice of lovingly prepared vegetarian dishes which will take you on a trip to Southeast Asia, along with a selection of meals which imitate the taste and texture of meat. Here are some examples: the Korean-style Ban fan with veggie ham, the Thai-style curry with veggie chicken or the Vietnamese-style Bo bun with veggie beef.
The restaurant also offers mango, strawberry and passion fruit fruity teas, as well as many bubble teas made with cow, almond, soy, sesame, taro or banana milk.
Finally, to complete this Zen Asian atmosphere, everything is served on a wooden tray, arranged in pretty little porcelain bowls and eaten with thin chopsticks.
Address: 7, rue de la Michodière, 75002 Paris
Hours:
- Monday-Saturday: 11:45 am – 9:30 pm
- Closed on Sundays
Prices:
- Dishes from 8.50 to 11.50€
- Bentos from 11 to 13€: 1 dish + 1 rice + 2 side dishes
Internet Website (in French)
Veggie Tasty
Vegans take note! Veggie Tasty’s veggie street-food is committed to serving only fresh, gourmet and “vegan” certified products, moreover at affordable prices.
We like the “Compose your own meal” concept. To begin, you have the choice between a wrap or a salad formula. Then, you choose your recipe (original, farmer, gyros, oriental), your energy source, your protein and a little extra just for the kicks between avocado, smoked sausages, pomegranate and spirulina.
The restaurant also offers delicious juices and smoothies, perfect to quench your thirst when summer’s heaviness arrives, such as a homemade lemonade or an apple-fennel-broccoli smoothie.
Finally, the establishment is committed to the fight against food wastage. That’s why it went into partnership with Too Good To Go, an application which allows you to buy the day’s unsold products for a small price.
Address: 78, rue La Fayette, 75009 Paris
Hours:
- Monday-Friday: noon – 9 pm
- Saturday: noon – 7 pm
- Closed on Sundays
Prices:
- Wrap formula from 8 to 14€
- Salad formula from 9 to 15€
I aim to share my tips and recommendations for the beautiful country of France. My goal is to help you plan your next adventure, whether it’s a weekend getaway or a once-in-a-lifetime trip. From finding the best hotels and restaurants, to discovering unique activities and sights, I’ve got you covered!
