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It's hard not to feel part of the café culture in Montparnasse. Along the broad boulevards you can find some of the city's classic brasseries. As storied as they are, many have been bought by chains and drained of the true charm that once attracted artists, politicians, and intellectuals. Though authentic brasseries can still be found—like Le Dôme—some of the area's best food is found at small bistros on narrow side streets.
This world-renowned, cavernous spot with Art Deco murals practically defines the term brasserie. It's been popular since Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir were regulars, and today it attracts a mix of bourgeois families, tourists, and lone diners treating themselves to a dozen oysters. Recent additions to the excellent brasserie menu are pan-fried foie gras, beef fillet flambéed with cognac, a caramelized apple tart, and profiteroles made with Valrhona chocolate.
The exceptional Art Nouveau decor and inexpensive menu are strong magnets for diners who are willing to stand in line for a seat at this historic brasserie, all to enjoy a three-course meal for as little as €20. The food is average and service brisk, but it's worth a visit between traditional meal times when there is no line.
A popular and pricey bar and restaurant, the Closerie is also a staple of Parisian literary tours for its storied history. Commemorative plaques are bolted to the bar as if they were still saving seats for their former clientele: an impressive list of literati including Zola, Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Apollinaire, Beckett, and, of course, Hemingway. "Papa" wrote pages of The Sun Also Rises here and lived around the corner at 115 rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs. Although the lilacs that once graced the garden—and shaded such habitués as Ingres, Whistler, and Cézanne—are gone, the terrace still opens onto a garden wall of luxuriant foliage. There is live music in the piano bar. There are two menus here; the brasserie menu, served near the bar, is less expensive and very good.
Now a fancy fish brasserie serving seafood delivered fresh from Normandy every day, this restaurant began as a dingy meeting place for exiled artists and intellectuals like Lenin and Picasso. The family-owned institution hired star Japanese chef Yoshihiko Miura to modernize its menu while keeping some enduring classics. Try the sole meunière or the bouillabaisse, the ingredients of which are on display in their raw form in the restaurant's outstanding fish shop next door. The famous millefeuille (Napoleon) is a must for fans of this rich, creamy dessert. You can still drop by the covered terrace for a cup of coffee or a drink.
Legendary performers and artists, including the likes of Isadora Duncan and Hart Crane, used to hang out here, and now it's a popular place for a coffee, glass of wine, or well-made cocktail. Stay for lunch or dinner and enjoy the brasserie menu, where the signature salade niçoise is outstanding and the classic French onion soup hits the spot. It may not be as hip as the equally historic cafés in St-Germain-des-Prés, but Le Select is a low-key way of soaking in the Left Bank historic café scene without the hubbub.
