La Belle Epoque has great tiled walls and floors from the 1900’s

When fashion writer Natasha Fraser Cavassoni first mentioned its opening, she told me it was the meeting place for all the models and designers, and Natasha being the trendiest person I know in Paris, I believed her. But it still took me a little while to go and check La Belle Epoque, a lovely bistrot with a 1900 decor of tiled walls. And it has become my lunch place when I am near the Palais Royal.

Couteaux au chorizo, seashell knife with sausage is one of the great starters

The Carte is small and does not change often but the lunch menu is new every day and a fantastic deal. I was there this week and had red pepper and tuna to start, and a piece of rumsteak with chips and béarnaise and coffee for 51€ for two.

Customers come from the nearby Louvre offices and Bibliothèque nationale, but they are also neighbors such as Marie Christine Perreau Saussine, who runs a few literary prizes and has lunch with Marie Louise de Clermont Tonnerre,  from Chanel. It used to be a mediocre cabaret and is well located on rue des Petits Champs (next to Passage Choiseul where Kenzo had his first boutique in 1972) between Opera and Palais Royal.

My favorite tables are in the front looking at the street

I love their « couteaux au chorizo » a dish of shellfish from Biarritz which owner Frank Maillot makes a point of always serving (it reminds him of his childhood) and I appreciate their no-nonsense food like onglet de veau or the lovely Sunday brunch for a reasonable price.

Last time I went for dinner I ran into old friend Bernard Danillon, who is in charge of special events for Dior, and had just returned from a spectacular fashion show at Blenheim palace.  The ambiance is young and relaxed and gets trendy at night.

For this summer, it is a cool place to eat at, with its open windows on the street and lovely service. (36 rue des Petits Champs, 2ème)