Upvote:2
First, you need to know that a lot of restaurants aren't serving home cooked meals. Having said that, a recent law was set about this and now, the restaurants have to clearly write which meals are home made. It is called "fait maison". So if you see for instance : "tout ici est fait maison", then it means that all the meals are home made. You will also see this logo on the menu next to the home made meals :
Then, if you are looking for an online list of Paris restaurants, you can check Trip Advisor and also a site called "La Fourchette".
During weekdays, outside of main tourist areas, you won't need a reservation. During weekends, it is better to make a reservation. It will usually allow you to obtain a better table :)
Then, if you can't find what you are looking for on Trip Advisor and La Fourchette, search for "brasserie" (this is the common name for bistro in France). You will find a lot of them in Paris. Now, the food quality can vary a lot so you'd better check online first.