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Café Varenne

4.4 (123 reviews)
ModerateFrench, Bars
Closed Closed

Café Varenne Photos

CAFÉ VARENNE ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Good for kids
Outdoor seating

Recommended Reviews - Café Varenne

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Roast chicken, fries, salad
Sara Z.

Everything here was so delicious, and it really felt like a local spot. I don't think you need a reservation but we made one and I'm glad we did. The servers were very friendly and spoke English. The menu is in French but they have an English version on their website. I got a glass of chablis and the roast chicken that came with crispy fries and salad. The chicken was insanely tender and fell off the bone. It was covered in roasted onions which added a lot of flavor. The fries were so good!! The server brought me a pot of mustard, mayonnaise and ketchup to dip. The mustard was spicy but really delicious, and I think the mayo was house made. It was so good! Then I couldn't resist ordering pot de crème chocolate for dessert. It was one of the best I've ever had. My rule is if that item is on a menu, I'm ordering it, so I've tried it a lot. This was so rich, and had little bits of chocolate spread throughout. I loved it, highly recommend if you love chocolate!

50ml wine
Leah S.

Great little spot in a bustling neighborhood. Didn't require a reservation, but I would imagine you need one on busier days. Menu has a good variety with daily specials. Wine choices were top notch and I LOVED the cheese plate. Sad I didn't save room for dessert, but I'll just have to go back. Also, I've seen other reviews mention this place doesn't have a restroom, but they do on the lower level.

Duck confit
Makiko N.

This was on Ina Garten's fav list so I had to give it a try this trip. Not too far from St Germain, it's pretty easy to find. Upon arrival it's a very traditional cafe, just as pictured on their website. Very cute interior and outdoor dining are. Staff was very friendly, even for me who doesn't speak French. The menu on hand is in French, but you can access the English menu on their website. I ended up trying the duck confit, which was delicious. Duck cooked to perfection - meat just fell off the bone and was full of flavor. The sides hit the spot as well. They do have quite the variety so I'll likely be back next trip to try something different.

Baguette
Amanda H.

SO glad we visited Café Varenne on our trip. I loved the views from the patio, the coffee, and being able to have conversations and people-watch with good food. It's also within walking distance to Le Bon Marché if you are interested in shopping afterward. Very tourist-friendly while also popular with the locals, and we didn't need a reservation. They don't start serving food until after 11am (drinks only before then). We ordered the steak & frites and creme ravioli. If you're getting the ravioli, definitely get the small since it is very filling. Escargot was my favorite dish that we ordered. If you're looking for a nice cafe for people watching, I highly recommend Café Varenne.

Bloody Steak with Bernaise.  Yum!

Wonderful lunch near Bon Marché. Service was warm and efficient. Food classic bistro cuisine. Delicious steak tartare and fries. Prices on the slightly higher side, but it's the 7th in Paris!

Amazing Dijon Mustard
J E.

We stopped in for lunch on a weekday without reservations and they immediately sat us. But within 15 minutes the place was packed! So, make reservations if possible. We enjoyed all the offerings in the menu and the items we opted for were quite tasty. The only issue was the chicken being too dry in their French Chicken entrée. The rest was excellent, including the petit cheese board. Their petit ravioli dish was INCREDIBLE! Very tasty and rich too! Service was great and they spoke adequate English, so ordering went perfectly smooth. Overall, it's a nice quaint French Café with very nice food. We can see why it's so popular.

The duck Confit. Solid. Great French fries.
Alex N.

This place is very popular with the locals and was quite packed when we came there for lunch. Service is friendly, like local neighborhood pub. We stumbled upon this place after visiting the hotel Invalides and making our way to Jaques Genin to pick up some of the best chocolates and caramels in the world. The place was packed and we waited about 15 minutes to get a table. There is an English menu so that was good. The duck confit was the best I had on any visit I've had in France. It's not touristy and a good place to stop for a bite

Tonya G.

I am not opposed to a place over run with Americans, as I am one of them! This restaurant had great reviews. It was simply one of the worst meals I have ever encountered. The portions were large, but the food did not have any flavor. The prices were twice as high as the place down the street. We quite possibly ordered the wrong food, we had French onion soup, beef tartar, and salmon tartar. The salmon was fishy, fortunately it did not make us sick. The service was good. I honestly would recommend that you pass on this restaurant and pop into an unknown place.

Pot de crème
Torie B.

This was our first restaurant dining experience during our recent trip to Paris. We were a family of four; two adults and two children ages 3 and 4. Our children are at the age where they can be a bit picky about what they eat, or perhaps just less adventurous than older children and adults often are. We arrived to the restaurant with umbrella strollers and very little knowledge of French language. We were warmly greeted, and our strollers were kept near the front doors by the coat rack. We sat indoors, and our waiter knew enough English to help us navigate the menu and forgive us for the very little French we knew. Our children requested chicken nuggets, which of course is not something you're likely to find outside of the USA. The waiter instead offered what seemed to be a thin sautéed or stewed chicken breast and a large plate of French fries. I'm pretty sure my kids sustained themselves on fries and croissants during our five days in Paris. :) The plates that my husband and I ordered weren't particularly memorable but we enjoyed them nonetheless. For dessert, we shared a pot de creme, which was a first for all but me. Now THAT was yummy. The staff adored my children once they showed off their best "au revoir"!

Guy H.

Parisians don't typically eat dinner until 8 or later. So,as an American this could get difficult. So we started poping in places for some wine,bread,meat,cheese. You know, lite plates to hold you over. These guys did a great job of killing my appetite but not too much. The house wine was better than what I usually drink at home.

Duck confit with fries and salad.
Clement R.

We were looking for dinner around our hotel as it was ~33 celsius in Paris. We wanted somewhere close by. So we searched up on Yelp and Google, this place showed up as the place to go. We walked over and got to the restaurant. The maître d then saw us, decked out in a suit and tie (in 33 celsius weather mind you and he didn't break a sweat). He asked us in English how many and said, wait a few mins. And he was correct, it's only a few minutes after he cleaned up a table outside for my wife and I. Then he got us 2 sets of menu, French and English... thanks!!! My French is now non-existent. So we were seated shortly after. We peaked into our menu and ordered skirt steak with fries and salad, duck confit and chocolate cream. The mains came out shortly after. Oh man! It's flavourful yet not salty. This restaurant really has that French bistro flair: great service from the wait staff, super professional. The server who helped us was friendly and has a good sense of humour. Great atmosphere in a quiet street and I can see many people coming still as we were leaving. Highly recommended!

Pommes Frites
Michelle O.

In a word, delicious! Every bit of it. The bread, the super fresh radishes, the butter! Loved the frites; perfectly cooked. The roasted chicken in jus was very good and the chicken Caesar was fantastic. Top it off with a perfectly velvety chocolate pot de creme. This is a place worthy of another visit or two while in Paris. Good idea to make a reservation, this place is busy. They squeezed us in but, next time I now know to call ahead.

Creame Ravioli

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2 years ago

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1 month ago

Had the Onion soup and the Beef Bourguignon - delicious. The place has a great "Paris" atmosphere and the service was friendly.

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10 months ago

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7 months ago

Beautiful area and such a cute cafe right in the center of it all! Wonderful food and fantastic service.

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2 years ago

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4 years ago

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11 months ago

Amazing locals restaurant. The food was fantastic as was the service. Highly recommended.

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6 years ago

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3 years ago

best onion soup i have ever had! atmospheres is out of a story book... just the perfect Parisian cafe

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Café Varenne Reviews in Other Languages

Review Highlights - Café Varenne

The roast chicken came with a VERY generous portion of roast potatoes that went very well with the mustard.

Mentioned in 8 reviews

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Le Comptoir de la Gastronomie - An amazing French onion soup...

Le Comptoir de la Gastronomie

4.5(1.5k reviews)
2.0 kmChâtelet/Les Halles, 1er
€€

The most life- changing experience with French cuisine. This is what French culinary dreams are…read moremade of. Get the appetizer grilled foie gras with side of greens, you won't regret it. The richness of the flavor and the texture which is not reminiscent of the traditional roasted duck or foie gras, but rather a much more like a luxurious and indulgent version. We enjoyed our dinner on the outside of the restaurant after about a 20-30 minute wait. The bone marrow had the best flavor I've experienced for the dish. However, it is definitely overshadowed by the rich flavor of the foie gras. This experience was unforgettable, with our view of Parisian streets on a brisk, April night. We even came back on our last night, but didn't realize the hours on Google maps was for the deli. The restaurant closes earlier, before 9:00 PM. This meal got us thinking about Paris in a positive light, and we hope to be able to come back to eat the amazing dishes again!

This place was a huge letdown. They had a cute little artisanal market on the front left of the…read morerestaurant. They had a number of goods to choose from and I ended up buying a few things for souvenirs. As for the actual restaurant, they had a number of delicious sounding items on their menu. Our server was very attentive to us and helped us decide on our dinner orders. Similar to the other restaurants though. After our food was delivered, it was far in between when we were checked on again. And after dessert it took even longer for our server to bring the bill. Overall, the food was a letdown. I do not exaggerate when I say that the frog legs just tasted like slightly flavored water. My friend's ravioli had a fairly decent flavored sauce but the pasta was a bit chewy. My friend's duck breast was pretty tough; I had noticed the table next to us also ordered it and they seemed to have trouble finishing/cutting theirs as well. As for my steak with foie gras, well the steak was once again tough and the foie gras was weirdly stringy. It was soft for the most part but there were parts that were tough and stringy. Maybe that's a section that's generally separated in the preparation process and it was missed? In any case it was disappointing. What wasn't disappointing was dessert though; perfectly sweet and balanced.

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Le Comptoir de la Gastronomie
Le Comptoir de la Gastronomie - He said was very good

He said was very good

Le Comptoir de la Gastronomie - French onion soup + bread

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French onion soup + bread

Café Varenne - french - Updated May 2026

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