La Rotonde

105, Boulevard du Montparnasse, 75006 Paris (Map)
Phone: 01 43 26 48 26
Métro: Vavin | Website

I like La Rotonde for a bunch of reasons: because Picasso hung out there, and Hemingway wrote about it a bit in The Sun Also Rises, and also the food is just plain delicious. I realized recently I spend too much time writing about non-French restaurants in Paris, because, honestly, most traditional French places are pretty similar: same basic menu, similar decor, the food is pretty good quality just about everywhere, etc. So it's hard to find a traditional French place that really stands out, for me, La Rotonde does stand out because of its history. Don't take that as a left-handed compliment, I really do love the place. It's a great place to have an afternoon coffee in the sun or a delicious three-course dinner in the evening. Visitors looking for a really typically Parisian experience (i.e. waiters in white shirts and black vests, real French characters hanging out, and traditional Parisian decor) will find exactly what they're looking for at La Rotonde.

Bon appetit!