Chez Marianne
Found at the corner of rue des Hospitalières-Saint Gervais, and the rue Rosiers, Chez Marianne --like the many falafel stands in the Pletzle-- serves excellent sandwiches out of a walk up window, but unlike some of the others also has an attractive dining room and a truly lovely terrace where you can enjoy a full range of Jewish/middle-eastern dishes.
Le Loir dans la Théière
A highly recommended and quaint little teashop, well worth a visit especially for brunch, which at â¬15.50 is a great value for the quantity, quality, and ambiance.
l'Excuse
Le Coude Fou
Open till midnight seven days a week, this place is a jewel. It is a real local neighbourhood bistro in the middle of the high rent Marais. The food is good, and the wine selection is great. During the week it offers a â¬17 prix fixe two-course lunch including two glasses of wine and a â¬25 three-course dinner does not include wine.
Pitchi Poï
Essentially yiddische cuisine with a nice choice of vodkas; the terrace is great when the weather is fine; the whole place du Marché Sainte Catherine is covered with restaurants' tables in summer.
Pain Vin Fromages
It's all about cheese, with a selection of Swiss dishes, and others.
Ciao
Brasserie Bofinger
A beautiful, historical décor in Art Nouveau style see the ceiling upstairs; good Alsatian cuisine : choucroute, kuglopf, etc. plus good classic cuisine de brasserie.
La Perla
There is good Mexican food to be had within a stone's throw of the Ile de St. Louis. They mix a decent margarita too!
If you are looking for a snack or a quick lunch you could do a lot worse than any one of the kosher falafel stands along the Rue des Rosiers near Place des Vosges. If you are on the île de la Cité though, a closer choice is just to hop across the little pedestrian bridge to the île Saint-Louis for lunch at any one of the many charming cafés.
For dinner or a sit-down lunch there are over a thousand restaurants in the 4th catering to all tastes - many more deserve to be listed than this or any other guide has space for. There are nice places, trendy or traditional throughout the district, but most of the really fancy bistros are clustered around the Northwest corner of Place de Bastille. You'll really enjoy walking around and checking out the menus, especially during the week when only the most exclusive places require a reservation. That said, here are some ideas:
Amorino
The oldest of the many boutiques operated by this this gelato italian ice cream maker.
Un Piano sur le Trottoir
The restaurant is at the end of a long passage. At the front is just a small room with an upright piano and a couple of post-Impressionist paintings. The decor is bizarre: stone and bright purple drywall; two nice chandeliers, and a discoball; a multicoloured curtain with spotlights pointed at it. For lunch it is a traditional place with solid French cooking. â¬25-35.