It’s a funny thing that French restaurants have a reputation for being so very expensive. We’ve found this is not necessarily true, especially at lunch when several local French restaurants offer a prix-fixe daily lunch special. Here are seven where you can eat well on a budget.

1. ARTISANS 3201 Louisiana just off Elgin, 713-529-9111, artisansrestaurant.com

Artisans is the newest and flashiest of the restaurants listed here and, not surprisingly, the most expensive. Catering to the downtown crowd, chef/owner Jacques Fox offers a three-course business lunch that includes the soupe du jour or salad, choice of lobster tail, beef or catch of the day, and dessert du jour for $25.

2. AU PETIT PARIS 2048 Colquitt just east of S. Shepherd, 713-524-7070, aupetitparisrestaurant.com

Chefs Eric Legros and Dominique Bocquier have a $15.95 lunch special that includes a cup of soup (your choice), a croque monsieur or savory crêpe with a side salad or French fries, and any dessert from the lunch menu. We love this tiny spot here in the Montrose neighborhood.

3. AURA 3340 FM 1092 bet. Cartwright & Hwy. 6, Missouri City, 281-403-2872, aura-restaurant.com

Chef Frédéric Perrier offers a fixed-price three-course lunch special that changes daily. It’s just $14.95. (Call for details, advises the website.) As is true of the others, the price does not include beverages, tax and tip.

4. BISTRO DES AMIS 2347 University at Morningside, 713-349-8441, bistrodesamis.com

Owners Odile de Maindreville and her brother chef Bernard Cuillier have a number of fixed-price options at both lunch and at dinner. At lunch, choose homemade soup or house salad, the plat du jour and dessert for $14.95.

5. KRIS BISTRO & WINE LOUNGE 7070 Allensby just north of Loop 610, 713-358-5079, KrisBistro.com

Kris Bistro is located within the Culinary Institute LeNôtre and is a student-operated restaurant. All of the lunch entrees – e.g. salmon gravlax ($11), roasted chicken Dijon ($12) and hunters-style Belgian meatloaf ($12) – include a soup and salad to start, making this a great lunch bargain.

6. LE MISTRAL 1420 Eldridge near Briar Forest, 832-379-8322, lemistralhouston.com

Le Mistral has two fixed-price lunch specials. The $17 business lunch includes soup or salad, a business entrée and dessert. The $9 express lunch features a cup of soup or salad and the express plat du jour, usually a pasta. “We call it ‘express’ because it comes on the same plate,” says chef/owner David Denis.

7. PHILIPPE RESTAURANT + LOUNGE 1800 Post Oak Blvd. south of San Felipe, 713-439-1000, philippehouston.com

Open just a little more than a year, Philippe has become famous for their three-course lunch for $20. It includes such luxe choices as buttermilk-fried calamari, coq au vin with foie gras mashed potatoes and tuna confit sliders.