Le Procope

"Verdict: It could have been a tourist trap, but loyal regulars, enthusiastic staff, and a genuinely good menu of simple classics have spared it from such a reputation. Le Procope is the city’s very first café (est. 1686) which means it was also the first to serve coffee, brought over from the Ottoman Empire. Over the years, it became the meeting place for every type of elite Saint-Germain-des-Prés local, including literary types, philosophers, and the most famous early American in Paris, Benjamin Franklin. The original aesthetic of marble tables, large mirrors, crystal chandeliers, and intricate woodwork has gotten many upgrades over time, and the newest feature is a ground-floor tea salon for coffee and snacking, where you’ll jockey for plush sofa space with tourists and neighborhood retirees who come to dine weekly. Based on the history alone, it’s understandable to assume Le Procope is a “bonafide tourist trap.” But cheerful, helpful servers and a menu of reliable classics like cheesy onion soup, sole meunière, steak au poivre, and a particularly flavorful pâté en croûte, make it worth a visit." - lindsey tramuta

"While other classic cafés are best known for hosting the likes of Fitzgerald and Hemingway, this epic institution’s seats have been occupied by Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, and even Thomas Jefferson. The café’s set lunch menu still clocks in at just around 20 euros, which for a tourist-forward establishment, is quite the steal in the City of Lights." - Vicki Denig

"So many things in Paris are so much older than their counterparts in America—we are such a young country!—but Le Procope is ancient even by French standards. The plaque outside reads 1686, and that is true, sort of—it closed in 1872, and reopened in the 1920s. The original café was a haunt of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Napoleon (no women allowed back then…). One patron described the atmosphere in 1772 thusly, "There is an ebb and flow of all conditions of men, nobles and cooks, wits and sots, pell mell, all chattering in full chorus to their heart's content.” Now everyone is welcome, and it is fine to raise your voice."