best tourist restaurants in paris

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The 38 Essential Restaurants in Paris

Classic boeuf bourguignon at a century-old bistro, chicken yassa and other West Africa flavors at the Hotel Ritz, tofu croquettes at the city’s hottest vegan restaurant, and more of Paris’s best meals right now

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Paris has reclaimed its status as one of the world’s favorite cities to eat. The French capital is bustling with a brilliant constellation of restaurants these days, including a bevy of openings that show off how deliciously cosmopolitan it’s become: Menkicchi is maybe the best ramen shop in town, while young French Malian chef Mory Sacko cooks stunningly original dishes at Mosuke. Plus there’s an inventive and diverse array of casual dining options, like the affordable Café du Coin, excellent Montmartre bistro Le Maquis, and Parcelles, an outstanding bistrot a vins in the Marais. There’s also been a renaissance of Paris’s long-established gastronomic landscape, with traditional bistros, brasseries, and stylish restaurants serving classic French cooking made famous by chef Auguste Escoffier.

Updated, January 2024:

A new generation of young chefs bristling with talent are delighting visitors and locals with intriguing new takes on contemporary French bistro cooking, creating meals that are seasonal, local, and sustainable. People like Clément Vergeat at Tracé and Maxime Bouttier at Géosmine are bringing the precision and technical excellence of haute cuisine to this more casual style of cooking, blurring the boundary between bistros and fine dining. Vegetables play an ever larger role on the menus of these restaurants, where seafood is often favored over meat as well.

The still very good Eels makes way for the outstanding Tracé, which has become the talk of the town, and Géosmine replaces Les Parisiennes to showcase the rising star of Bouttier.

We update this list quarterly to make sure it reflects the ever-changing Paris dining scene. The guide is organized by arrondissement, spiraling out from the First.

Alexander Lobrano is a Paris restaurant expert and author of Hungry for Paris, Hungry for France , and his gastronomic coming-of-age story My Place at the Table . He blogs about restaurants and writes often for the New York Times , the Wall Street Journal , Saveur , and other publications.

Tracé Restaurant

Located near the Comedie Francaise in the heart of Paris, chef Clément Vergeat’s highly praised new restaurant generates a low-lit, monastic atmosphere with a minimalist decor of gray chairs and bare wood tables. The small, quiet space creates a setting that allows you to concentrate on the intricate, original, and very subtle dishes that compose the chef’s regularly changing tasting menu. The two memorable dishes stuck out from a recent meal: The first was a raw langoustine steamed in seaweed vapor and topped with a nearly transparent ribbon of squid cured to resemble the Italian fatback known as Lardo di Colonnata. The othe was roasted pigeon with fermented strawberry puree, turnips, beets, and other winter vegetables. Located in the First Arrondissement.

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Young chef Eugénie Béziat’s debut as the new chef of Espadon, the Hotel Ritz’s headliner restaurant, represented a daring departure from the conventions of luxury hotel restaurants in Paris. Instead of foie gras and truffles, Béziat’s very personal cooking references the flavors and produce she knew from her childhood in West Africa even as she shows off her supreme mastery of French culinary technique. The chef’s signature dish is her chicken yassa, which combines French and Senegalese flavors in an heirloom fowl from Houdan in the Yvelines. Located in the First Arrondissement.

Right in the heart of the city, midway between the Opera Garnier and the Musee du Louvre, you’ll find a cluster of Japanese and other Asian restaurants along the Rue Sainte-Anne and adjoining streets. Stop by the very popular Menkicchi for some gyoza and a bowl of some of the city’s best ramen. The regulars love the Le Speciale ramen, which comes with handmade noodles in rich pork bouillon, a marinated egg, a slice of pork breast, and seaweed. Located in the First Arrondissement.

This friendly wine bar and bistro is the perfect place to find really good French comfort food and a great bottle of wine without the hassle of booking three months in advance. Scottish wine merchant and longtime Paris expat Tim Johnston founded the restaurant, which is now run by his daughter Margaux and her French boyfriend, Romain Roudeau. With Roudeau in the kitchen and the younger Johnston running the dining room, the pair orchestrate a Gallic gastronomic experience that lives up to their motto: “We always deliver the goods.” The menu follows the seasons, but the kitchen displays its style with dishes like celery soup with cockles, chives with whipped cream, sauteed wild mushroom with egg yolk and prosciutto cream, duckling filet with Swiss chard and chestnuts, and scallops with leek, baby potatoes, and parsley cream. Located in the First Arrondissement.

Hidden on a small side street on the edge of Les Halles in the heart of Paris, this intimate restaurant sports contemporary decor of cutout wooden paneling and an open kitchen. It’s become one of the most sought-after reservations in the city for the superb contemporary French cooking of young chef Thomas Meyer, the former sous chef to Anne-Sophie Pic at her three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Valence. Meyer presents his cooking in a tasting-menu format that showcases his perfectly tuned creativity, love of fresh seasonal produce, and culinary loyalty to his native Jura in the east of France. The menus evolve regularly, but standouts of a recent meal included a grilled cepe mushroom with meadowsweet-flavored sabayon and a sauce of deeply reduced mushroom jus and white miso; sea bream with kale in Granny Smith apple juice with a gelee of lovage; roast pigeon in a sauce of its own gizzards with green cardamom and citrus; and an intriguing dessert of rice pudding wrapped in rice roll with mirabelle plums stewed with vin jaune. Located in the First Arrondissement.

Au Pied de Cochon

Channel your inner Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern by ordering the Tentation de Saint-Antoine (the Temptation of Saint Anthony), served at this famous brasserie in Les Halles that’s been open nonstop — 24/7 — since it opened in 1947. Saint Anthony is the patron saint of charcutiers, and this plate includes a muzzle, ears, breaded pig’s foot, and a tail with lashings of bearnaise sauce. This lively place satisfies less assertively carnivore appetites, too, with trays of oysters and other shellfish, and dishes like its famous onion soup and beautifully made sole meuniere.  Located in the First Arrondissement.

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La Bourse et la Vie

Chef Daniel Rose’s second Paris restaurant has become one of the city’s best bistros. He delivers superb versions of the rock-of-ages French dishes that people yearn to eat. His superb foie gras de canard comes to the table perched on a fresh artichoke heart with a dribble of aspic-like shallot vinaigrette on the side, a brilliant detail. Don’t miss the collier d’agneau provencal (braised lamb neck Provençal style) either. Located in the Second Arrondissement.

From the moment it opened in May, 2021, this bistrots a vins in the Marais has been packed to the gills by a crowd who love proprietaire Sarah Michielsen’s hospitality, sommelier Bastin Fidelin’s wine list, and the delicious cosmopolitan modern bistro cooking of chef Julien Chevallier. The chalkboard menu evolves constantly but runs to dishes like baby clams steamed with herbs and shallots in white wine, vitello tonnato, braised beef cheek in breadcrumbs with a beef jus and baby vegetables, and tiramisu with toasted hazelnuts. This stylish comfort food is exactly what Paris is hungry for right now, especially paired with charming service and a great selection of wines by the glass. Located in the Third Arrondissement.

L'Épicerie du Breizh Café

Brittany-born Bertrand Larcher’s brilliant creperies are found everywhere from Cancale to Tokyo. In Paris, Larcher’s kitchens star first-rate Breton produce, and his outpost in the Marais is a terrific choice for a meal of galettes and crepes. Go with a smoked herring- and potato-filled galette, then tuck into a matcha and white chocolate mousse-filled crepe garnished with strawberries. There are five other addresses in Paris, so check the website for the one nearest you. Located in the Third Arrondissement.

Young chef Martin Maumet has created one of the best restaurants on the Left Bank with his nervy, vivid, and inventive French cooking. A meal in the minimalist, gallery-like space begins with an assortment of hors d’oeuvres and then segues into a suite of Asian-accented contemporary French dishes that showcase vegetables and seafood. The menu evolves constantly, but options might include Sardinian gnocchi with mussels in herb-garnished shellfish bouillon, free-range heirloom chicken with carrots, and Iberian pork with roasted root vegetables and chimichurri sauce. Desserts are often made with vegetables, as in the butternut squash ice cream with chestnuts, pistachios, and yuzu.  Located in the Sixth Arrondissement.

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Huîtrerie Régis

This minuscule, white-painted, no-reservations raw bar in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés is a pearl, and it serves the best bivalves in Paris. The owners get them shipped daily from pedigreed producers in the Marennes d’Oléron, Normandy, and Brittany on France’s Atlantic coast. Start with some smoked scallops, tuck into a dozen oysters, and finish up with the runny chocolate tart. Located in the Sixth Arrondissement.

Joséphine Chez Dumonet

With its lace curtains, cut-glass room dividers, and bentwood chairs, this century-old bistro is why you put up with all those terrible hours in economy class to get to Paris. The boeuf bourguignon is the best in the city. The dish is a testament to Gallic genius, calling for slowly simmering meat to create a flavor-rich sauce from the juices. You must book in advance, and don’t miss the Grand Marnier souffle for dessert either. Located in the Sixth Arrondissement.

Arnaud Nicolas

With excellent handmade pates, sausages, and terrines, award-winning charcutier and chef Arnaud Nicolas has revived an ancient branch of French gastronomy. The space, on a leafy avenue in the silk-stocking Seventh Arrondissement, is decorated with exposed stone walls, a beamed ceiling, and battleship-gray moldings. Roasts and meat pies, Gallic pleasures that date back at least to the Middle Ages, figure as first courses, before an evolving menu filled with seasonal produce. Nicolas shows off his style with turbot cooked with cep mushrooms, salmon koulibiak for two, beef cheek braised with carrots in red wine, veal sweetbreads with girolles mushrooms, and a luscious chocolate souffle. Located in the Seventh Arrondissement.

Chez L'Ami Jean

Chef Stéphane Jego’s heaving Left Bank bistro is perpetually packed. Like so few other Parisian chefs, Jego knows how to deliver beautiful, traditional French bistro food, modernized with tweaks so subtle most people won’t even notice. He’s barely touched the 1930s space since taking it over nearly two decades ago from a Basque rugby pub. The earthy dishes, often inspired by southwestern French farmhouse food, are so deeply satisfying you won’t mind the occasionally slow service or boisterous regulars. The menu includes Parmesan soup with cabbage and bonito flakes, roasted pigeon with thyme and garlic, roast lamb with smoked oregano, and light and fluffy rice pudding. Located in the Seventh Arrondissement.

David Toutain

After working with Alain Passard and Marc Veyrat, David Toutain first wowed Paris at Agapé Substance in Saint-Germain. Now he has his own place, and his constantly changing tasting menus (which range from 70 to 250 euros) deliver some of the boldest and most interesting food in Paris. Think dishes like seared foie gras in baked potato bouillon with black truffles; a monochromatic white composition of cuttlefish with yuba; and nearly translucent Parmesan gnocchi, seasoned with the juice extracted from cooking the cheese at very low temperatures for hours. Located in the Seventh Arrondissement.

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Golden poppy.

Slaying a slew of negative local stereotypes about American food, the return of one of their own is proving to French diners that there’s actually some spectacularly good food in the United States. Chef Dominique Crenn moved from France to San Francisco in 1988, trained with Jeremiah Tower, and became the first female chef in the country to earn three Michelin stars at her restaurant L’Atelier Crenn. Now she’s opened Golden Poppy, named for the official flower of her adopted state, as a very personal homage to California cooking, all presented in trippy, through-the-looking-glass Victorian conservatory decor done by trendy designer Martin Brudnizki. The small-plates menu runs to dishes like Parker House rolls with shiso-miso sauce, egg-yolk jam, and rice cream; griddled corn tacos with grilled conch; and gem lettuce wraps of aged sea bream, mint, coriander, and Korean condiments. Don’t miss the coconut beignets with pineapple for dessert. Located in the Ninth Arrondissement.

Raviolis Nord Establissements

The small dining room may have bare-bones decor, but you’re here for the homemade jiaozi (small Beijing-style dumplings), which are probably the best meal you’ll find in Paris for a fiver. Served grilled or boiled in orders of 10, they’re stuffed with your choice of pork and green cabbage; mushrooms, beef, and celery; egg, chives, and shrimp; or tofu, mushrooms, and green cabbage. Located in the 10th Arrondissement.

Faubourg Daimant

Often acclaimed as the best vegan restaurant in Paris, Faubourg Daimant aspires to deliver high-level gastronomy regardless of its animal-free restrictions. Dishes show off the kitchen’s precise technical skills and culinary imagination, including items like carrots glazed with barbecue sauce and tofu croquettes meant to resemble pig’s trotters. The tiled dining room is a beautiful place for a meal too, and there’s also a pleasant courtyard for outdoor dining when the weather agrees. Located in the 10th Arrondissement.

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The 15 Essential Vegan Restaurants in Paris

The neighborhood near the Gare du Nord train station is nondescript, and this tiny bistrot a vins packs its clients in like sardines. No one minds the humdrum location or the crowd, though, because the restaurant serves some of the best and most reasonably priced French comfort food in Paris. Chef Thomas Brachet’s chalkboard menu changes daily but always offers an irresistible mix of contemporary dishes — like a salad of green beans, apricots, speck, and fresh almonds, or John Dory meuniere with vegetable accras (beignets) — and traditional ones, which may include langoustines with house-made mayonnaise, or the best sausage and potato puree in Paris. The stuffed cabbage and rice pudding with cinnamon and orange shouldn’t be missed either. Be sure to book a few days ahead of time. Located in the 10th Arrondissement.

Café les Deux Gares

With charmingly quirky railroad themed decor by trendy British interior designer Luke Hall, this hotel restaurant is conveniently situated between the Gare du Nord and the Gare de l’Est stations. But Café Les Deux Gares serves such bright, original, flavorful contemporary French cooking that it’s well worth a visit even if you don’t have a train to catch. Chef Jonathan Schweitzer’s chalkboard menu evolves according to what’s best at the market, expressing his culinary imagination with dishes like smoked scallops with raw cream, chives, and herb oil; line-caught red tuna with cherries, nasturtium leaves, and elderflower vinegar; and lovage sorbet with meringue and cucumber ribbons. Located in the 10th Arrondissement.

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The carefully studied interior of this handsome modern bistro — olive-green banquettes, globe lamps, dark wood tables, stenciled tile floors, and custom-made ceramic tableware — is a perfect reflection of the casually stylish Oberkampf quarter of the 11th arrondissement. Japanese-born chef Ryuya Ono serves an intriguingly creative menu of refined dishes with potent flavors. The menu evolves constantly but recent dishes express the chef’s exact and cosmopolitan style: suave haddock velouté with trout roe and smoked and charred potatoes; tuna sashimi lightly dressed with Stracciatella and translucent slices of cucumber and yellow peach; and a juicy suckling pig shoulder in a punchy clam jus. Located in the 11th Arrondissement.

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Young chef Maxime Bouttier first got noticed for his cooking at Mensae in the arty Belleville district of northeastern Paris. Now he’s gone out on his own with a stylish new bistro, set in a loft-like, white duplex in a former textile factory in the 11th Arrondissement. At Géosmine (“odor of the soil,” as in a freshly plowed field), Bouttier works to enhance and enunciate the natural flavors and textures of the produce he works with. On a recent menu, artichokes barigoule (braised in white wine and herbs) were wrapped in fine ribbons of lardo di Colonnata (fatback) to create a contrast of earthy tastes and textures, and green asparagus was slathered with pistachio cream and chickweed to similar effect. The most unusual dish on the menu is mamelle, or cow’s udder, served with raw cream, caviar, and seaweed, and the dessert not to miss is the baked-to-order cake of chocolate, vanilla, praline, and fleur de sel. At dinner, Geosmine serves a prix fixe menu, while lunch is a la carte. Located in the 11th Arrondissement.

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Restaurant le Tagine

Paris has dozens of North African restaurants serving couscous and tagines, but what sets this cheerful Moroccan restaurant apart is the outstanding quality of its produce, making it a favorite among Parisian chefs. Here, the couscous is made with fresh seasonal vegetables and succulent baby lamb from the Pyrenees. They also bake their bread and North African pastries in-house, while the wine list features an interesting selection of mostly natural wines. The atmosphere is vivid but avoids cartoonish indulgence, with mosaic-topped tables, lanterns, and candles. Located in the 11th Arrondissement.

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Aux Bons Crus

The tongue-in-cheek decor nods to les routiers, the roadside restaurants once frequented by truck drivers — think red-and-white checkered tablecloths, plastic bread baskets, and moleskin banquettes. Deals like a solid two-course meal for 16 euros, including wine, have kept this jaunty bistro packed since it opened. The menu changes constantly but you can expect dishes like celery remoulade with crabmeat, steak au poivre, stuffed cabbage, beef braised with carrots, and chocolate mousse. Located in the 11th Arrondissement.

Given how hard it is to score a reservation at chef Bertrand Grébaut’s relaxed modern bistro, you’ll probably come to the table expecting a meal that will induce instant rapture. But that’s not Grébaut’s style. Instead, his cooking is “innocent, spontaneous, and balanced,” in the chef’s own words, which translates to superbly delicate, subtle dishes like mushrooms with oyster and foie gras bouillon, or seared tuna with raspberries and tomato water. Service is friendly and easygoing, and the loft-like space is airy. Located in the 11th Arrondissement.

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Chef Bertrand Grébaut’s seafood bar is perennially one of the hottest places in Paris right now. It does not take reservations, so if you want to beat the line, try to go right when it opens, at 7 p.m., or late, after 10 p.m. The menu changes daily, but offers dishes like smoked shrimp with roasted red pepper and white beans, tuna tartare, ceviche, oysters, crab fritters, and more. It also boasts terrific platters of raw seafood like clams, shrimp, sea snails, and other seaworthy delights. Located in the 11th Arrondissement.

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Le 6 Paul Bert

Le Paul Bert, one of the best-known bistros in Paris, successfully caters to the Gallic gastronomic stereotypes of tourists with traditional French bistro cooking. The restaurant’s edgy little sibling, Le 6 Paul Bert, is very different, offering inventive cooking in a contemporary French bistro. This popular, lively restaurant, outfitted with a marble counter and red tables, is now helmed by Pauline Séné, who’s emerged as one of the most talented female up-and-comers in Paris after a stint at (now closed) Fripon in Ménilmontant. In regularly changing menus, Séné proclaims her love of vegetables, fresh textures, and cosmopolitan flavors with dishes like yellow pollack with ajo blanco, zucchini, fennel, and apple; dill gnocchi with smoked herring; pigeon with creamed corn, prunes, and harissa; and brownies with miso caramel and peanuts. N.B. The 26 Euro lunch menu is one of the best buys in town. Located in the 11th Arrondissement.

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Café du Coin

Paris is filled with cafes du coin, or corner cafes, but very few of them serve such good food at such reasonable prices all day long. Run by trendsetting restaurateur Florent Ciccoli, this cheerful, popular place in the super bobo 11th Arrondissement changes its chalkboard menu daily, but you’ll likely find dishes like freshly baked pizzettes, caillette (a caul fat-wrapped, herb-filled sausage patty garnished with pickled mustard seeds on a bed of potato puree), and blood sausage with roasted corn and guindillas (pickled green peppers from Basque country). Don’t miss the lemon tart for dessert. Located in the 11th Arrondissement.

The talented couple Omar Koreitem and Moko Hirayama run this friendly cafe-bakery, the place to head for a casual but outstanding lunch or snack. French Lebanese chef Koreitem creates the savory dishes, such as bonito with spring tabbouleh, while Japanese chef Hirayama is a superb baker, serving up fennel, pickled lemon, and almond cookies, and flourless chocolate layer cake with coffee-mascarpone cream. Open from 8:45 a.m. to 6 p.m., it’s deservedly one of the most popular places in eastern Paris. Located in the 11th Arrondissement.

At his bistro that looks like an Edward Hopper painting near the Bastille, chef Christophe Philippe serves the best chocolate mousse in Paris. It’s made from the sublime chocolate produced by Italian Claudio Corallo on the tiny African islands of Sao Tome et Principe. Unctuous, funky, deep, this dark fluff will leave you with a craving you’ll never, ever escape. Located in the 12th Arrondissement.

The 13th Arrondissement is the largest of Paris’s Asian neighborhoods, with a mixed population originating from China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Head to Phở Tài for an excellent bo-bun composed of freshly made nem (deep-fried spring rolls) and sauteed beef on a bed of rice noodles with an umami-rich sauce. The namesake pho is very good, too. Located in the 13th Arrondissement.

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Young chef Mory Sacko has become a rising star of French gastronomy for the originality of his intriguing African French Japanese cooking in Montparnasse. The son of Malian immigrants to France, he grew up in the suburbs eating African dishes made by his mother and American fast food for an occasional treat. At a job at a big Paris luxury hotel, he discovered his fascination with cooking, and went on to work with two-Michelin-star chef Thierry Marx, a Japanophile who taught Sacko to love Japanese ingredients and techniques. Expect dishes like lobster in miso sauce with smoked pepper and lacto-fermented tomato, sole seasoned with togarashi shichimi, and lovage cooked inside of a banana leaf and served with a side of attieke, a couscous-like preparation of dried fermented cassava pulp. The name of the restaurant derives from the names of the chef and one of his heroes, Yasuke, the first and only African samurai, an emancipated Mozambican slave who lived in 16th-century Kyoto. Located in the 14th Arrondissement.

It is quiet, hard-working, limelight-shunning chefs like David Rathgeber who make Paris such an enduringly terrific food city. He took over this locally famous restaurant — previously helmed by a flamboyant chef named Lulu who charmed the likes of late President François Mitterrand and other celebrities — and has made it one of the city’s best bistros. It’s well worth the trek to the quiet 14th Arrondissement for his deft take on traditional dishes like pork-knuckle rillettes with foie gras and a superb cassoulet. The menu also offers lighter fare, including sea bream tartare with green tomato and coriander jus, and cuttlefish carbonara. The creme caramel is nothing short of epic. Located in the 14th Arrondissement.

The bulk of Paris’s famed haute cuisine is fiscally out of reach for many. However Michelin-starred Comice, headed by Canadian chef Noam Gedalof and sommelier Etheliya Hananova (the two are married), is an indulgence that won’t completely melt your credit card. The look strikes a similar balance: elegant but relaxed, with striking arrangements from a renowned local florist. Hananova’s wine list — which features lesser-known wines from around the world — is terrific, as is Gedalof’s light, inventive contemporary French cooking. Try the duck foie gras with hazelnuts, strawberries, balsamic, and black pepper, or the roast chicken with polenta, wild mushrooms, and a salad of wild herbs. Located in the 16th Arrondissement.

Founded in 1872 by Albert Prunier, this restaurant near the Arc de Triomphe has always epitomized Parisian chic and the city’s avid love of the best quality seafood, including the caviar that Prunier started producing on farms in the Aquitaine region in 1921. Most recently owned by the late Pierre Bergé, cofounder of the Yves Saint Laurent fashion house, Prunier’s new proprietors hired chef Yannick Alleno, who earned three Michelin stars at Pavillon Ledoyen, to reboot the restaurant’s menu. Seated among the landmarked art-deco decor, be sure to try dishes like the Oeuf Christian Dior, a coddled egg on a bed of ham aspic in caviar-speckled cream; langoustines carpaccio with geranium and caviar; and the sole meuniere. Located in the 16th Arrondissement.

Located in the tranquil 18th Arrondissement far from the crowds of tourists around Sacre Coeur and the Place du Tertre, this laidback neighborhood bistro pulls a discerning crowd of locals and word-of-mouth customers from other parts of Paris for the excellent bistro cooking of Paul Boudier and Albert Touton. Many of their dishes have a Southern French or Italian accent, including superb homemade pastas, ceviche with shavings of poutargue (bottarga), and pork belly cooked in cider with roasted fennel. Located in the 18th Arrondissement.

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An old working-class neighborhood on the northeastern edge of Paris (and the birthplace of Édith Piaf), Belleville is coming on strong as one of the most interesting food neighborhoods in Paris. Brother-and-sister team Léa and Louis-Marie Fleuriot run this very affordable modern bistro in a former corner cafe. While she works the kitchen, he runs the dining room, and together they offer the kind of market-driven cooking that exemplifies the area. The petroleum-blue facade has big picture windows, and inside there’s an indigo-painted zinc-topped service bar, an open kitchen, and wooden tables with cloth napkins and French-made Opinel knives. The chalkboard menu changes daily but runs to dishes like mussels in creamy, saffron-spiked bisque, haddock in coriander court bouillon with mushrooms and potato puree, and egg-rich, caramel sauce-lashed creme caramel. Located in the 19th Arrondissement.

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When Paris chefs want to unwind they head for this little wine bar in Belleville where Argentine-born self-taught chef Raquel Carena serves up some of the most deeply satisfying food in Paris. The chalkboard menu changes constantly, but Carena loves offal and fish, and her palate favors tart and sweet-and-sour flavors, as seen in dishes like mackerel tartare with smoked vinegar, tuna steak with black cherries, and rabbit and mushroom ragout with red wine sauce. The bohemian soul of rapidly gentrifying Belleville has taken refuge here, too. So go now while the good times last. Located in the 20th Arrondissement.

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The 40 best restaurants in Paris right now

From bistros and brasseries to Michelin fare – and everything in between – our local editors rank the best restaurants in Paris right now

Sure, you’re in Paris to go to the Louvré, climb the Eiffel Tower and get a selfie outside La Maison Rose, but let’s be honest, you’re also here to eat. And eat you will. This vast city has every kind of restaurant imaginable (at every kind of price point), and with so much on offer, it can be hard to know your bistros from your brasseries – and have the faintest where to begin. 

Well, luckily enough, the team over at Time Out Paris actually specialise in this sort of thing. They spend all day every day trying out food spots, and every year, they rank the best restaurants in the city. On our list, you’ll find seasonal tasting menus at Michelin-starred restaurants alongside proper jambon-beurre for less than €5. You’ll find French classics and the best döner kebab in the city. Whatever your tastes (and budget), here are the best restaurants in Paris right now. 

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Best Paris restaurants in 2024

1.  Le Clarence

• 5 out of 5 stars
• Haute cuisine
• Champs-Elysées
• price 4 of 4
• Recommended

Le Clarence is more than just a meal; it's an extraordinary journey to a parallel world, full of crystal chandeliers and neoclassical paintings. It's the kind of place you imagine important figures from history might have dined once, taking place in a luxurious private mansion, overflowing with wood panelling, mouldings and velvet. Chef Christophe Pelé serves up an incredible seasonal menu  – we loved the tempura shrimp, the baby eels and grilled red mullet with bone marrow. This is an unforgettable sensory experience in twenty-or-so dishes, paired with several bottles of natural wine. Once you’ve finished eating, end your evening cosying up by the fireplace in the restaurant’s private hideaway bar with a glass of wine (or three).

2.  Le Doyenné

James Edward Henry and Shaun Kelly escaped to the countryside in the renovated outbuildings of a chateau in Essonne to create an exquisite restaurant in a beautiful setting. The delicate dishes at Le Doyenné include veal steak – perfectly grilled on the wood fire – with sides to share around the table, like purslane and grilled green beans and cabbage salad. The kitchen garden provides most of the vegetables and herbs, and small local farms supply the meat. The setting will make sure your soul feels just as nourished.

3.  Le Servan

• price 3 of 4

The Levha sisters, Katia and Tatiana, have been lighting up their corner spot on Rue Saint-Maur since 2014. The setting is drop-dead gorgeous: ceiling mouldings, a vintage fresco, and a bouquet of flowers on the massive brass bar. The cuisine, which hops freely between France and Asia, is boldly innovative and very now: check out the grilled sweetbreads boosted by phrik phao (spicy Thai sauce). Oh, and the carefully selected wines are grea too, heavy on Burgundy reds and whites.

4.  Clamato

At the helm of this cool bar mixing wood, glass, concrete, and steel, Bertrand Grébaut (of Septime) is your captain on a voyage of seafood. The menu changes based on the day's catch (which is always sustainably sourced). The delicious dishes include spicy Oléron cuttlefish and mullet ceviche with butternut squash. Just watch out: the bill can rise as quickly as the tide. And that’s quick.

5.  Restaurant Passerini

Giovanni Passerini has got to be the best Italian chefs in Paris. Hell, we reckon he's one of the top chefs in the city full stop. His modern trattoria is a beaut with a terrazzo floor, white walls, and sleek light fixtures. Passerini 's menu is a perfect balance of classic Italian comfort food (think duck ragu tagliatelle and ricotta-spinach ravioli with sage butter) and insanely good gourmet dishes, like the two-course pigeon, which might just have you dreaming about it for weeks after you've paid the (admittedly steep) bill.

6.  Septime

• price 2 of 4

Septime hasn't aged a bit since it opened in 2011. This is fine dining in a London pub-type setting; think weathered wood tables, blackened steel and dim lighting. Another thing that hasn’t changed? Bertrand Grébaut's Michelin-starred cuisine, which remains fresh, innovative and delicious (and features a seven-course menu that knows how to build up to a crescendo). It changes every three weeks, but previous highlights include little gem with a micro-thin slice of bacon, pearly scallops paired with bone marrow, and an incredible grilled sweetbread and harissa dish served with a couscous broth. To fully appreciate these dishes, the expertly curated wine pairings are practically a must. Trust us.

7.  Les Enfants du Marché

Looking for a starched-tablecloth meal with genteel service and some friendly vegetarian options? Yeah, this isn’t the place. At this Parisian market counter, you eat standing up in the open air (it does get chilly in winter), with jovial Michael Grosman as your endearing host and sommelier. He was named the ‘Best Host in Paris’ at the Time Out Food and Drink Awards (we like him). The bold and meaty plates from Japanese chef Shunta Suzuki are just as satisfying as they are pricey, from the charcuterie offerings to the iconic Groix mussels in a gorgonzola sauce.

8.  Le Mermoz

A typical 8th district brasserie setting, Le Mermoz looks like something out of the 60s, with bistro-style furniture, a mosaic floor and opaline chandeliers. Its impeccable contemporary cuisine is the brainchild of the gifted Californian chef Thomas Graham and his brilliant team (awarded a prize at the Time Out Paris Food and Drink Awards). Think mackerel nestled in a zucchini flower, roasted lamb medallions with chanterelle mushrooms and wild blueberries, and samphire risotto with sheep's milk yoghurt. The wine list, curated by Robin Gurgui, is in perfect harmony with these exceptional dishes, featuring a load of natural wines. It's a feast of creativity, skill, pure joy and deliciousness.

9.  Le Chateaubriand

Opaline lighting, a marbled counter, and basket-woven service;  Châteaubriand invented the codes of bistronomy in 2006 and has been breaking boundaries ever since. From its kitchen, the iconic chef Iñaki Aizpitarte always strays from the mainstream. It's a true author's cuisine; vibrant, energetic, and almost punk. Sometimes you miss the mark a bit, sometimes it hits the bull's-eye. But however it turns out, everything he sends out is innovative, fresh and exciting.

10.  Les Arlots

• SoPi (South Pigalle)

This bistro may have officially opened in 2016 and not cost much, but it has an old soul. It sort of feels like the kind of place where figures from history have sat, and where your favourite author may have enjoyed some snails back in the 80s. Of course, Les Alorts serves its iconic sausage and mash, unbeatable at the top of the bistro pantheon, but everything else on the menu is finely crafted and perfectly executed. Take our word for it: this is the best bistro in Paris.

11.  Mokonuts

At first glance, Mokonuts appears to be a modest coffee shop, where you can unexpectedly enjoy a top-notch cookie baked by the brilliant Japanese firefly Moko Hirayama. And you certainly will, but you’ll also probably have the best lunch of your life if you’re lucky enough to grab a spot. Mokonuts’ Franco-Lebanese head chef Omar Koreitem creates dishes that will blow your mind, from scallops crudo to cavatelli and cuttlefish puttanesca. Mokonuts is one of our most beloved restaurants at Time Out, year after year.

12.  Vantre

This timeless Parisian bistro setting is hiding something special. You might think it’s all just steak and fries, but you’ll be blown away by the beautifully crafted plates of the Japanese chef Masaki Nagao (formerly of Clarence) with his crispy sardine tempura and pearly hake drizzled in chorizo sauce. The experience wouldn't be complete without sommelier Marco Pelletier (formerly of Bristol), who manages the small room and one of the most beautiful wine cellars in Paris with some extremely rare bottles. To top it off? Even with its Michelin star, the prices are pretty reasonable. Vantre  is immune to inflation.

13.  Eels

• Poissonnière

Chef Adrien Ferrand cuts through the noise of the Parisian restaurant scene by doing things a little differently. Eels is a cosy little bistro in Poissonnière, where every single dish is crafted with impeccable technique. Plates here are presented beautifully with precise little touches, like the raw scallops with turnip ravioli, or the guinea fowl with grilled cuttlefish, green beans and padrón peppers. There’s no trickery here; Eels is just a great restaurant.

14.  Racines

Dark wood bistro furniture, 19th-century bourgeois paintings and Belle Epoque tiling make this dream of a Parisian tavern what it is, nestled away in the Passage des Panoramas. Sardinian chef Simone Tondo cooks from an open kitchen so you can watch the action unfold, and the food is proper Italian grub. Think old, reassuring Italian classics, passed down from Tondo’s nonna. Simple, delicious. Just watch that bill  – Racines is pricey.

15.  Le Tagine

• Folie-Méricourt

Le Tagine gets its character from openwork lanterns, zelliges and pleated fabrics on the ceiling. The radiant owner Marie-Josée Mimoun sources the crème de la crème of products to cook some seriously good food, including literally the best couscous in the world  – yes, we went there  –  with spices from Thiercelin, suckling lamb from the Pyrenees and olive oil from a local store. Plus Mimoun was one of the first to switch to an all-natural wine list (a win in our books). 

16.  Brutos

Okay, so the name sounds a little scary, but trust us, this place is actually chill AF. Opened by the French-Brazilian couple Ninon Lecomte and Lucas Baur de Campos, the service here is friendly AF, and the setting insanely cosy. The dishes are definitely meaty but still delicate, like the cloud-like mashed potato crowned with bone marrow, served with perhaps the softest and most tender flame-grilled rib you’ve ever tasted. And if you’re lucky enough to visit on a Sunday, it would be a crime not to order Bruto ’s roast chicken.

17.  Sur Mer

In charge of this tiny tiled galley is Olive Davoux, a Belgian-Ugandan who used to work at L'Ecailler du Bistrot, and who delights diners with a menu of small plates inspired by the day's (artisanal) catch. Dive in to Sur Mer head-first to taste the likes of black mullet ceviche and Basque country lean carpaccio, and don't forget the well-shucked oyster baskets (Monsieur Jean-Paul's Utah Beach and Cadoret family's specials). Unreal.

18.  Abri Soba

While we continue to mourn the closure of the beloved Abri by chef Katsuaki Okiyama, we find solace in his second location, an izakaya dedicated to soba noodles in the beautiful Montmartre. The decor at Abri Soba is all wooden walls and concrete floors, and the noodles will blow you away. The buckwheat noodles are to be slurped in a hot or cold broth, and are undoubtedly the best soba noodles in Paris. In the evenings, there are some sharp additions to the menu: clams cooked in sake steam, pork roll salad with miso, and the legendary karaage chicken. Extra kudos are awarded for the short but well-thought-out wine list.

19.  CheZaline

This old-school horse butcher shop  – with its chicken tile, stainless steel hooks, and golden horse head  –  hides the best sandwich shop in Paris. Here you’ll find around 20 enticing options in small plastic baskets (€5-8.50) on the mini marble counter; highlights include classics like the Prince de Paris ham and the original chicken pot-au-feu (meat and veg) with dill and mayo, as well as veggie options like the butternut squash, tapenade and feta.

20.  Le Dauphin

The chefs at Le Dauphin experiment with creative tapas in a modern and clean-looking space, full of glass and Carrara marble. The restaurant was designed by legendary architect Rem Koolhaas, and its now the kind of place where fashionable people snack on small plates and snap Instagram pics, but in a good way. The dishes are focused on high-quality ingredients in their purest form, like mussels marinières and the trademark sea snails, served with a little jar of mayo. Heads up: at lunchtime, Le Dauphin has a special set menu for €20, and it's great.

21.  Café du Coin

Café du Coin is a charming, old-fashioned bistro, complete with brass-rimmed counter, formica tables, and belle époque cement tiles. And while it might have a name as common as they come for a French dive bar, you’d be foolish to dismiss it. Created by chef Florent Ciccoli (previously of Jones, Cheval d'Or, and Recoin), this neighborhood watering hole in the 11th arrondissement is buzzing from morning coffee to dinner time. Our recommendation? Their affordable lunch menu, featuring irresistible bistro plates like the Mont d'Or cheese cordon bleu. And for drinks, Café du Coin has got you covered with plenty of natural wines to choose from and small pizzettes to munch on. It’s our go-to spot.

22.  Le Saint Sebastien

This place is more Parisian than the Eiffel Tower – old zinc bar, Formica tables and globe lights – providing the perfect backdrop for some refined bistronomy. Le Saint Sebastien chef Christopher Edwards delivers a bold, daring and flavorful cuisine. And to complement these impressive dishes, the brilliant  propriétaire  Daniela Lavadenz has curated one of the city's finest wine lists.

23.  Dilia

Since 2015, the Tuscan chef Michele Farnesi – who worked at legendary Paris restaurants Rino and Heimat – has been making his mark in the quirky dining room of this small address in Ménilmontant, which is more like an osteria than a palace. Dilia ’s five-course meal takes diners on a lively journey through the Italian terroirs with precise and spirited cooking. Highlights include the Venetian-style pasta and the opaline mullet with hollandaise sauce and sea urchin (and of course the all-Italian wine list).

24.  Grande Brasserie

Grande Brasserie was brought back to life in 2022 by director Adrien Spanu – and elected the same year as Paris’s best restaurant at the Time Out Paris Food and Drink Awards. Spanu was on a mission to restore the heritage of this Parisian landmark, which shows in the decor: '20s mosaics, post-war frescoes, and starched tablecloths. This all makes for a cosy space to enjoy the timeless cuisine from chef Grégoire Simon. Make sure to try his world-class deviled eggs (at a high price).

25.  Frenchie

Get stuck into small plates and big glasses (the wine list is as thick as a summer novel) at number 6 on the well-polished Rue du Nil, Frenchie our favourite address from French chef Grégory Marchand. The venue is small – you'll be elbow to elbow with the mostly English-speaking clientele – but worth it for the scotch eggs and kimchi aioli, veal sweetbread nuggets and salsify tagliatelle with yellow wine slalom. Plus, it's the perfect spot to come alone, as you'll no doubt end up chatting with everyone at the bar.

26.  Quinsou

• Rennes-Sèvres

Antonin Bonnet, the talented and reserved chef from Cévennes, is impervious to trends. He focuses instead on high-quality ingredients, and serves up his outstanding dishes in the rather minimal dining room here at Quinsou. It's expensive, but worth every cent. Try the lobster with pickled beets, Vendée monkfish with sake, or veal sweetbreads from Anne-Laure Jolivet's farm with black truffle cream. It's pure talent on a plate.

27.  Aux Lyonnaise

Founded all the way back in 1890, this old-school establishment fell into the hands of pioneering, always-lively chef Alain Ducasse at the beginning of this century. These days it still ticks all the boxes of a Balzac-era brasserie, full of mirrors, sculptures, opals and floral pottery. Aux Lyonnaise 's kitchen is exotically traditional: chicken liver cake, veal blanquette, sweetbreads and brains, trout and fermented cabbage. Yum. 

28.  Le Maquis

Behind a deep red storefront lies La Maquis : a sleek, minimalist, deeply fashionable food spot, its chairs, tables and benches slotting perfectly into a snug space. From this unassuming base, two chefs formerly of brasserie institution Le Châteaubriand have launched a culinary offensive that has conquered the surrounding neighbourhood. The affordable lunch menu features only bombshell plates that combine disarming simplicity and watchmaker precision.

29.  Gare au Gorille

After top-notch culinary science? Few places do it better than Batignolles. A few steps from Saint-Lazare station, Marc Cordonnier (formerly of art-food hub Ze Kitchen Galerie) and super sommelier Louis Langevin have taken up residence in a discreet, stylish white address. The market-inspired menu leans heavily towards Asia (like the hake with Paimpol beans and Thai broth) and changes almost daily, but balance and creativity are always on point. Oh, and Gare au Gorille have got the best natural wine list in the neighbourhood.

30.  Narro

Just a few strides away from the crowds of the Place de la Contrescarpe, Japanese chef Kazuma Chikuda serves up his delicate cuisine in a haven of tasteful kilim armchairs. Mind-blowing leek tartlet, Granny Smith gel and cabbage-stuffed veg with yellow wine emulsion. The menu changes all the time, but the delight stays the same. Whether it’s for lunch or dinner, on weekdays or on Sundays, it’s always time for Narro .

31.  Le Bar des Prés

• 4 out of 5 stars
• Bars and pubs
• Saint-Germain-des-Prés

An izakaya with the luxurious twists and flair one would expect of celeb chef Cyril Lignac, Le Bar des Prés has chic marble tables, trendy wicker lighting and plush peacock banquettes. Here you can indulge in Japanese cuisine with a hint of southern France. Try their scrumptious crab meat and avocado galette with a Madras curry kick, or maybe splurge on the pricey but perfectly executed marinated sea urchins and sushi. And, while you’re at it, don't forget to quench your thirst with one of the expertly crafted cocktails.

32.  AVE Pizza Romana

The premier outpost of Roman-style pizza (which boasts a thinner crust than its Neapolitan cousin) in Paris also has plenty of style. With AVE ’s bar made of white bricks, bare walls, mirrored ceiling and trendy servers, the finest dishes are the delightfully simple margherita (made with buffalo mozzarella, tomato, and basil) and parma rossa (22-month aged Parma ham, buffalo mozzarella, tomato and basil). And from noon to 1pm, Tuesday to Friday, they’re sold at affordable prices (from €6 to €10).

33.  Clown Bar

Opened summer 2014 in the former canteen of the 19th century Cirque d'Hiver (still going strong a couple of doors down), Clown Bar's Belle Époque décor isn't as lavish as you might expect. The vibe is more clean and cool and hipster, like many other contemporary ‘néobistrots’, with extra clown around the edges. Service is speedy, smiley and bilingual; but the real ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ rising up from the audience are inspired by the dishes coming out of the kitchen. There's a prestige team behind the scenes – chef Atsumi Sota was formerly at Vivant , and owners Sven Chartier and Ewen Lemoigne have a bunch of other greats including Saturne – and it shows.

34.  Bonne Aventure

Just a couple of strides from the Paul-Bert market, tiled bistro Bonne Aventure stands out as one of the area’s best lunch spots. On flea market days, the chalkboard menu offers comforting dishes such as stuffed cabbage or sausage and mash. Wash it down with some sulphite-free wine before heading back to the flea market. In the evening, the menu shifts to punchy tapas. In short, no matter what time it is, Bonne Aventure is a treat.

35.  Bistrot des Tournelles

A big advocate of retro gastronomy, restauranteur Édouard Vermynck has transformed the site of the old Gaspard de la Nuit into something from a hundred years ago. Adorned with vintage framed photos, antique mirrors and a hand-painted sign on the storefront, Bistrot des Tournelles ’ menu keeps the theme with timeless, household French dishes. Artisanal andouillette with a bushel of excellent matchstick fries, roast chicken with fluffy mashed potatoes, cordon-bleu with fries... nostalgia has never tasted so good.

36.  Le Cadoret

An exceptionally cool, icy blue retro joint, Le Cadoret rules its corner of Belleville from the first morning croissant all the way to the last post-dinner digestif. Chef Léa Fleuriot serves up old-school dishes, sometimes with a twist of herbs, condiments or spices, like the pot-au-feu made with tender beef paleron and fermented soy paste sauce. As for Louis-Marie, the man behind the bottles, he uncorks carefully selected natural wines and sakes.

37.  Lolo Bistrot

Loïc Minel and Christophe Juville are back with a flatshare vibe in Lolo Bistrot , a London-style restaurant just a few pedals away from their main spot, Lolo Cave à Manger. Around a massive heater and flashy neon sign, tuck into spicy tapas like scotch egg merguez-vermouth, temaki with scallops and horseradish and agnolotti with wild garlic. This gastronomy is wild in its inspiration, unyielding in its intentions, and artistic in its plating. And for the wine, trust Lolo to find some bottles you haven't had yet!

38.  Pantobaguette

The five-strong crew who run Pantobaguette  know how to both party hard and serve up some delicious grub. In a funky and festive space, Antonin Girard (who trained at snug, alfresco eatery Lolo) dishes out crazily good Japanese-inspired plates. We're talking marinated egg with wasabi mayo, extra-large mussels with peppers, and even CBD-infused cookies. To wash it all down, they've got a great selection of natural wines in white, orange and red – plus treats for your ears from the resident DJ.

39.  Double Dragon

In a high-ceilinged room with a domino counter and neon dragon, the Levha sisters – Tatiana and Katia – blend their Filipino roots with global influences in sharp, precise and unexpected ways. Try the fried bao filled with Comté cheese and dipped in XO mayo or the South American-infused clams in fiery chipotle and chilli broth. This unique, quirky and endearing spot is also staffed by an ultra-friendly team and boasts a soundtrack with a penchant for turn-of-the-century hip-hop. Long live Double Dragon .

40.  Ozlem

The döner kebab's honour is restored! At Ozlem , you won’t find frozen fries or sketchy meat. The team at this Turkish canteen work tirelessly to prepare the ultimate kebab, using a mix of veal and turkey that marinates for hours before being skewered and grilled. It's served in a homemade dürüm (wheat wrap) filled with sliced red onions, a touch of sumac, and parsley. Crispy, tender and perfectly seasoned, this kebab’s an absolute killer.

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The 11 BEST MICHELIN STAR Restaurants in PARIS in 2024

Erica Forster Last Updated: October 26, 2023

French cuisine is world-famous and top chefs from all around the world have set up their restaurants in Paris. Prepare your taste buds — we’re taking a look at some of the best Michelin-star restaurants in Paris.

Pro Tip: Planning what to do on your trip to Paris? Bookmark this post in your browser so you can easily find it when you’re in the city. Check out our guide to Paris for more planning resources, our top Paris tours for a memorable trip, and the best things to do in Paris .

The Top Michelin-Rated Restaurants in Paris

The Michelin Guide began awarding stars to fine dining establishments in France in 1926. Since then, Michelin Stars have become a renowned international rating system for exceptional cuisine.

In 2020, Paris was home to a whopping 119 Michelin-star restaurants, placing it second on the list of cities with the most Michelin-starred restaurants in the world (behind Tokyo). With so many quality dining options available, it’s not easy to choose. We’ve listed some of our favorite Michelin-starred restaurants in the City of Lights to help you get a head start.

Looking for a refined food experience in Paris? We recommend joining our Super Expensive Paris Food Tour , where you’ll be led by a guide who is either a sommelier, chef or a champagne producer. Feast on cocktails, caviar, soufflé, and more in some of Paris’ most authentic and chic eateries. We promise you an unforgettable night!

Not ready to book a tour? See if Paris tours are worth it .

Le Jules Verne

€ € € | French Cuisine   |   1 Michelin Stars | Chef Frédéric Anton

Eating at the Eiffel Tower in Paris is anything but clichè, which is why it is first on our list to try. If you can get a reservation, which isn’t easy, this is the ultimate dining experience. Le Jules Verne is a one Michelin-Star restaurant under head Chef Frédéric Anton who has earned three stars at Le Pre Catelan, another restaurant he owns.

I personally don’t believe there is an overall better dining experience than having an elegant meal inside the Iron Lady while in Paris. Read our article on making a reservation at Le Jules Verne and other Eiffel Tower restaurants to book.

Location: The Eiffel Tower

Already in Paris? Purchase tickets and tours for the hottest destinations!

€ €€ € | French Cuisine   |   3 Michelin Stars

Le Cinq is a fine dining restaurant located in the elegant Four Seasons Hotel George V. With three Michelin stars, it goes without saying that the food here is phenomenal. The dining room is largely considered one of the most impressive in Paris.

A night at Le Cinq is a once-in-a-lifetime sort of experience for many, so it’s the perfect place to celebrate a special occasion on your trip. We recommend making reservations well in advance, as travelers from around the world are dying to eat here. This is the quintessential fine dining experience and one of the best restaurants in Paris for high-quality food.

Address: 31 Avenue George V

Our Best Guided Tours of Paris

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Privileged Access Eiffel Tower Night Tour With Seine River Cruise

Sometimes the most amazing moments happen by chance. Other times, they are orchestrated by professionals. Our Eiffel Tower tour takes you on a cruise down the Seine River for incredible views of Notre-Dame and the Eiffel Tower. Champagne included, of course. Then you’ll be guided to the Eiffel Tower, skip the long lines, and head up the elevator to the second floor for a night to remember.

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Ultimate Taste of Paris Food Tour in Le Marais

Embark on a culinary journey in Le Marais—one of the hippest neighborhoods in Paris. Most food tours in Paris offer cheese and wine, but we include a full, sit-down meal! Enjoy a feast of French cheeses, oysters, street food, boeuf bourguignon, crème brûlée, and more. This 3-hour food tour combines the best of Paris’ culinary heritage and you won’t find a better deal out there!

Not ready to book a tour? Check out our  best Paris tours to take and why .

L’Oiseau Blanc

€ € € | French Cuisine   |   1 Michelin Star | Rooftop Views

This chic restaurant is located on top of the luxurious Peninsula hotel. While it may not have been awarded as many Michelin stars as some of our other top picks, the combination of the high-quality food and jaw-dropping views make this one of our favorites.

Not only will you have a great view of Paris in general, but you’ll have a truly fantastic view of the Eiffel Tower. Remember, if you make a dinner reservation, you’ll be able to see the tower twinkling at night!

Another unique part of L’ Oiseau Blanc is their decor theme. Dedicated to two French aviation pioneers, they even have a suspended replica of the plane the pilots used to attempt the first Trans-Atlantic non-stop crossing in the restaurant. It’s not too often that you see a high-end restaurant with this kind of character, and we think it’s a plus.

Address: 19 Avenue Kléber

€ € € | French Cuisine   |   1 Michelin Star

Frenchie is an intimate micro-restaurant where you’ll feel cozy and comfortable. If you’re feeling adventurous, go with the Carte Blanche option for dinner, where the chef will get creative with a five-course tasting menu personalized for that night.

Just down the street, the owner has also set up Frenchie Caviste, a wine bar serving natural wines. You can’t go wrong with either spot, although the wine bar focuses on serving small plates.

It’s worth noting that over the past few years Frenchie has become very popular, especially with those visiting from outside of Paris. Because of this and the restaurant’s very small size, you’ll definitely need to make a reservation in advance.

Address: 5 Rue du Nil

Le Meurice Alain Ducasse

€ € € € | French Cuisine   |   2 Michelin Stars | Palatial Vibes

Want to feel like you’re strolling into a palace to eat food fit for a king? Look no further than Le Meurice. The dining room was inspired by one of the rooms in the Palace of Versailles, complete with antique mirrors, crystal chandeliers, and magnificent frescoes. The large windows overlook the Jardins des Tuileries.

The Michelin Guide has even dubbed Le Meurice “the archetype of the great French restaurant.” Run by Alain Ducasse, one of the most decorated chefs in the world, their motto is preserving the authentic taste of each ingredient. You’ll be able to order with your eyes closed here and still get something exceptional!

Address: 228 Rue de Rivoli

Les Canailles Ménilmontant

€ €  | French Cuisine   |   Michelin Bib Gourmand

This spot doesn’t have a Michelin Star (yet), but it does have Bib Gourmand status. What exactly is a Bib Gourmand restaurant? This Michelin rating is only given to eateries that offer two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for around $40—and of course, the food must be excellent.

Essentially, this is a restaurant delivering a high-quality dining experience at a reasonable price. Les Canailles Ménilmontant is a true French bistro. Located within walking distance of the famous Père Lachaise Cemetery, they serve classic French fare in a simple, homey setting.

Try their rump steak with Dauphine potatoes, the roasted rack of lamb with rosemary and mushrooms, or their house favorite dessert, a Grand Marnier soufflé. If you aren’t able to splurge on a restaurant with Michelin stars, this is the next best thing.

Address: 15 Rue des Panoyaux

€ €€ € | French Cuisine   |   3 Michelin Stars | Vegetarians

Vegetarians looking for the ultimate dining experience, rejoice! Arpège is a restaurant boasting three Michelin Stars with a heavily vegetable-inspired menu. Arpège’s Head Chef Alain Passard has even famously stated: “I want to elevate the humble vegetable to a grand cru.”

All of the vegetables, fruits, and herbs used here are 100% natural and grown in three different gardens all owned by the restaurant and chef. While the highlight is the Garden Menu, they do also have a Land and Sea Menu for those looking for more than veggies. Dining here is a true culinary adventure and the flavors cultivated are among our favorites.

Address: 84 Rue de Varenne

Restaurant du Palais Royal

€ €€ € | French Cuisine   |   1 Michelin Star | Terrace Seating

Set in the heart of the Palais-Royal Gardens, at this one Michelin Star restaurant you’ll be able to enjoy your meal outdoors if you wish. They have a tasting menu for €165, which is a great way to try a bit of everything.

The presentation and menu items are creative and impressive. If you happen to be visiting in the summer, they have jazz evenings on Thursdays, which is a real treat while you soak up the ambiance on the terrace.

Address: 110 Galerie de Valois

La Tour d’Argent

€ €€ € | French Cuisine   |   1 Michelin Star | Views of Notre Dame

This Michelin-star restaurant is famous for its food and amazing views of Notre Dame (the dining room is on the seventh floor). It’s known as somewhat of an iconic spot in Paris.

While it may not have three Michelin stars, people have still been vying for reservations here for decades. Their wine cellar has almost 320,000 bottles, and some have even dubbed it one of the most beautiful wine cellars in the world. People dining at the Tour d’Argent are able to visit the cave with the restaurant’s caviste , which is an amazing experience in itself.

Address: 17 Quai de la Tournelle

Our Best Versailles and Paris Louvre Tours

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Secrets of the Louvre Museum Tour with Mona Lisa

The Louvre is the largest art museum on Earth and the crowning jewel of Paris, which is why it’s on everyone’s bucket list. Don’t miss out on an incredible opportunity! Join a passionate guide for a tour of the most famous artwork at the Louvre. Skip-the-line admissions included.

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Skip-the-Line Palace of Versailles and Gardens Tour from Paris

Versailles isn’t that difficult to get to by train, but why stress over the logistics? Meet a local guide in central Paris who will purchase your train tickets and ensure you get off at the right stop. Then enjoy a guided tour of the palace and the unforgettable gardens. Skip-the-line admissions included to the palace and gardens.

David Toutain

€ € € | French Cuisine   |   2 Michelin Stars | Creative Presentation

David Toutain has been wowing foodies in this restaurant since 2013, after building up his skills in other top kitchens in Paris. Commonly referred to as one of the most inventive chefs in Paris, his food reflects nearly unmatched creativity.

Those who love impressive presentations and tons of flavors will be in heaven. There are a variety of menu options available, including some that offer up to 15 courses.

Address: 29 Rue Surcouf

Le Pré Catalan

€ € € € | French Cuisine   |   3 Michelin Stars | Set in Bois de Boulogne Park

Rounding out our list is another three Michelin-star restaurant. Set inside the Bois de Boulogne, one of Paris’s biggest parks covering over 2,000 acres, the restaurant is housed inside a Napoleon III-style pavilion.

Langoustine ravioli is one of the most recommended main course dishes and is outstanding. For dessert, their “apple” is famous—it’s a sugar sphere filled with apple cider mousse, Carambar candy ice cream, and more. This is a great option, especially if you’re looking for a location that’s in a less crowded area than the city center.

Address: Bois de Boulogne

Not ready to book a tour? Find out if Paris tours are worth it .

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The Best Restaurants For First-Timers In Paris

photo credit: Ilya Kagan

Sara Lieberman

March 21, 2024

Paris. City of steak frites, flaky croissants , and all the cloudy, unfiltered wine . You’ve probably also heard a thing or two about all the butter, the cranky waiters, and multi-course tasting menus. Maybe you haven’t sampled any of it yourself yet. Or maybe you did, but it was while studying abroad and you spent most of your time enjoying Europe’s lower legal drinking age.

Either way, the time has finally come for you to properly taste Paris and its 20 diverse arrondissements. If you want to see and eat it all, planning ahead is necessary. Restaurants are small and tend to have very short windows of operation: lunch is from noon to 2:30pm and dinner is from 7pm to 10:30pm, with the exception of all-day brasseries and cafes. And since most places only offer one or two seatings for dinner, reservations are key. 

Use this guide to make some decisions. Some of the spots are standbys, and therefore may already be on your planning spreadsheet courtesy of your friend’s sister’s brother’s recommendations. But we’ve also included new, buzzy spots and places serving non-French cuisine, for those nights when you might burst from eating another saucisson. 

CLASSIC BISTROS & CAFES

photo credit: Le Photographe du Dimanche

Le Bon Georges

This steak frites joint near Galeries Lafayette department store, and just below the hip part of Pigalle, ticks all the design boxes of a bygone-era bistro despite being relatively newish (it opened in 2013). There’s a menu on the mirror or chalkboard, wooden chairs, and wine bottles on display throughout. Beef is the big draw—ideally ordered saignant (rare) or à point (medium rare)—but expect other classically French dishes like asparagus in the spring and truffle-topped fish in the fall. Wine and cheese are also a focus, so save room for a nutty beaufort or a stanky bleu d’Auvergne for the in-between fromage course. Since they're open daily for lunch and dinner, it's ideal for Sunday or Monday visits when other restaurants may be closed.

Bistrot des Tournelles

Ancient cash register? Check. Brass wall sconces? Check. Coat hooks hung so low they could’ve been installed for Napoleon? Those are here, too. You’ll find it all at this blink-and-you’ll-miss-it neighborhood bistro around the corner from the Bastille monument that’s perfect for an introductory (or farewell) traditional French meal.

Expect simple starters like crispy fried mushrooms and artichoke hearts doused in butter and plated with zero flair, practically-just-plucked sucrine lettuce served with a creamy mustard dressing, and mains like a fist-sized chicken cordon bleu. All dishes come with either thin and crispy frites, a whipped potato purée, or simple spinach. And while you’re the boss, waiters won’t hesitate to steer you towards what they recommend. (Fries for the hanger steak, purée for the Provencal beef stew.)

photo credit: Jessica Vosges

L'Ami Jean

If getting a close-up of the Eiffel Tower is on your agenda, then booking a spot at the nearby L’Ami Jean should be too. It’s a lively, rickety bistro with mismatched furniture and crooked artwork where the food is excellent and hearty—think roasted veal cheek and confit beef shoulder. The tasting menu includes smaller portions of the greatest hits, plus seasonal standouts like stuffed butternut squash and a foie gras-stuffed tuna belly “sandwich” topped with marinated melon.

No matter what, don’t leave without trying their famous rice pudding, which comes in a wooden bowl with a big serving spoon that you’ll be tempted to use as your own personal utensil. Go for lunch so you have the rest of the day to pleasantly digest, and make sure to book a few days, if not weeks, in advance.

Parcelles is another newcomer located in a space that dates back decades. You’ll get both charm and sophistication from the menu of French classics with clever contemporary touches, like the when-its-in-season chou farci, or stuffed cabbage, whose minced pork is injected with foie gras and flecks of pistachios. And if the starter of slightly-seared, escargot-style scallops topped with thin, salty slices of guanciale is on the menu, get it. 

Run by a young couple who’s obsessed with hearty, homestyle French cooking, this is white tablecloth territory, but a bit more fun and fresh, courtesy of the occasional Michael Jackson playing overhead. In other words, it’s a great place to bring your parents, but you can still show up in sneakers and jeans without them telling you to beat it.

photo credit: Yann Deret

Le Chardenoux

You could skip visiting Versailles or a performance at the Opera Garnier and still get your fill of over-the-top aristocratic decor by having lunch or dinner at Le Chardenoux. The hundred-year-old marble bar is just one of the remarkable relics inside this restaurant in Paris’ popular gourmand quartier, Village Faidherbe. There’s also the hand-painted leaf motif ceiling, etched glass windows, and ornate crown moldings. 

The fish-focused menu changes seasonally, but regular standouts include the crunchy crab galette with avocado and curry and the citrus salmon crispy rice topped with chipotle. Service is surprisingly attentive and almost downright friendly, and while the vanilla mille-feuille will be tempting, if you’re there during the day, consider a detour across the street to the chef’s bakery or the chocolate shop. (Alternatively, do both.)

Cafe De Luce

You’ll typically find these types of classic corner cafes near metro stations or at big intersections, with large terraces that spill out onto the sidewalk and chalkboards promising prix-fixe deals. The food can be iffy, but this spot in Montmartre is solid and has everything you want from a place like this: rattan chairs, leather banquettes, and classic French dishes like oeufs mayonnaise, tartare de boeuf, and a fantastic foie gras.

Stop by for lunch or dinner and order a fresh salad (a recent one came with squash and goji berries) or the duck fat burger served with not-quite-skinny, not-quite-thick fries. (If it’s not on the menu, ask for it.) Cafe de Luce is a great destination to rest and refuel before or after hiking up and down the neighborhood’s many staircases or hidden cobblestoned passageways that lead to the Sacré Coeur cathedral or the Moulin Rouge cabaret, especially since it’s open for continuous service on the weekend.

NON-TRADITIONAL & TRENDY

photo credit: Jackie Gillum

Owned and operated by the same people behind Septime (which is notoriously hard to get into, hence its absence from this list), Clamato is a superb alternative, though it’s a wholly different experience. The menu is à la carte, for one, and almost entirely made up of seafood, like raw cuttlefish with sesame and chili, ceviche with squash and coriander, and plenty of oysters. Order a bottle of something sparkling, a dozen oysters, and see where the day or night takes you. This place is walk-ins only and we like it for both lunch and dinner.

Tekès, which means ceremonial in Hebrew, is from the same Israeli team behind Shabour , Shosh, the now-closed Balagan, and the new Boubalé. This is their vegetarian-only restaurant that serves creative dishes like yellow and purple beetroot kabobs, fried gnocchi drenched in curry, and mushroom and egg “foie de volaille” that lacks both foie and volaille. 

Sop up every last schmear with their fantastic bread, along with a celebratory shot of Arak with your server. This multi-room restaurant, with its desert-meets-souk vibe, is big for Paris standards, so while we always recommend booking in advance, you could swing by and take a chance if you’re in the area.

This studio-sized restaurant with a mint green facade has become so popular that it books up weeks in advance (you can join the waitlist, but there are no guarantees). Generally filled with English-speakers and run by a French-Lebanese and Japanese-American couple, the sweet and savory dishes they make in their tiny open kitchen are filled with flavor and near-perfect in execution. 

Expect mains like line-caught fish or chicken that’s flavored with Middle Eastern spices, and desserts like satsuma mandarin almond cake and sesame halva cookies. While their lunch is most popular (they’re not open for dinner, or on weekends), we suggest breakfast between 9am and 10:30am. They don’t take reservations, but you’ll find the same superb quality in their whole wheat waffles or the granola with fruit, mint, and a dollop of homemade confiture.

photo credit: Pierre Lucet Penato

Les Parisiens

Palaces aside, the food inside most Paris hotels is not often worth sampling outside breakfast. (And even that meal can be questionable—you’re better off hitting up a local boulangerie instead.) But Les Parisiens, the spacious restaurant with velour banquettes and brass-edge mirrors inside the Pavillon Faubourg Saint-Germain Hotel, is an exception.

Classic plates like coquelet au vin rouge and quail vol-au-vent are tremendous (and priced as such). Take a date, your parents, or anyone you want to impress. If that person happens to be Irish or an English major, you can brag about how you booked a table at the address where James Joyce finished Ulysses over a €20 cocktail and the millefeuille.

Le Mary Celeste

International

Yes, you’ll hear a lot of English speakers at Le Mary Celeste, but we still enjoy this spot in The Marais for its laid-back vibe, great small plates, and funky natural wine. Expect dishes like creamy deviled eggs, bulots with wasabi mayo, duck tartare with tamarind and smoked beets, and plenty of oysters. Everything is meant to be shared, but if the plum tarte is on the menu, order one for yourself. This is a great, convenient spot for an early dinner during the week, or a mid-day meal on the weekends when they’re open for continuous service.

WINE BARS & SMALL PLATES

photo credit: Sara Lieberman

L'Avant Comptoir du Marché

This is the most recent (and biggest) addition to the L’Avant Comptoir snack-and-sip family. While the two other locations near Odeon are known for standing-room-only crowds where you might end up elbowed in the face as someone reaches for the giant slab of butter on the bar, this one has plenty of space and even some actual chairs. 

But there’s still some edge in the form of a grumpy and impatient bartender who won’t pour tasting after tasting (even if you speak French), so come feeling decisive. Luckily, the small bowl of whipped tarama sprinkled with chives and basil pesto gets served with a semi-smile. Paired with a dense corn and wheat flour bread filled with flecks of sunflower seeds, it’s the perfect late afternoon snack when you’re hungry after wandering around St.-Germain-des-Prés.

photo credit: Camille Fermon

Rive Gauche is generally known for being pretty touristy and old-school, but Chez Nous is anything but. The long, narrow space with exposed stone walls, sharp steel counters, and a wooden bar makes for a great place to go on a date or with a group of a few friends. Prepare to be educated, but without the usual wine snobbery: the owners know their stuff and are happy to talk about the French-focused list that includes lots of by-the-glass options and a deep bottle selection. If you’re hungry, this is an excellent bar à vins for top-notch cheese or charcuterie, like thinly shaved slices of truffle-inflected gouda or a plate of creamy goat cheese drizzled in honey.

Terra Bar A Vins

Everything about this place screams classic wine bar: an oval-shaped, open-kitchen bar, wine glasses hanging upside down from a rack above, and bottles-as-decoration along shelves in the back. You should make a reservation, and while they won’t turn you away if there’s an open seat between bookings, you probably won’t be able to linger. Plan ahead to enjoy a crisp crément from the Loire, plus plates like fresh tuna tartare with a kick (thanks to some jalapeños) and a creamy lasagna you won’t want to share. This is a great spot for a date or a meal with a friend or two, but it’s not the best for groups, since seating is side-by-side only.

Aux Deux Amis

Warning: This mainstay along popular Oberkampf might cause you to make a major life decision. It’s the kind of Parisian hangout where you’ll refill your verre so much that before calling it a night, you’ll declare on your socials that you’re moving to Paris. (True story.) It’s loud, busy, and just the right amount of chaotic, though it’s a bit more chill during lunch when they serve an inexpensive prix fixe meal. But mementos in the form of wine stains on the yellow formica tables remain (and proliferate!), as do overflowing ashtrays on the tables outside.

BOULANGERIES & QUICK BITES

photo credit: Mamiche

This women-run boulangerie with locations in the 9th and 10th arrondissements is newer, and while it may not provide the Art Deco atmosphere you want for your grid, their bread and pastries are some of the best in town—especially the babka and cinnamon bun, which other, more traditional institutions don’t often make. 

Go after breakfast but before lunch (around 10:30am is good) and grab a turkey sandwich on a brioche bun and at least one of the €1 cream-stuffed chou before heading to the canal to chow down. And yes, the line is worth it.

photo credit: Wenkang Shan

Chambelland

Bakery/Cafe

Listen, you’re not going to find a croissant in this town without gluten. But you will find dense, delicious bread made with nuts and figs, seasonal tartlets oozing with lemon, apple, or pear creams, and other baked goods devoid of the wheat protein—and the best can be found at this charming bakery off of popular rue Oberkampf. Pop in for a quick snack in the morning before heading out for the day, or later on to grab some carbs that you can bring to the nearby Square Gardette. We love their mini loaves, or “chambellines,” and their shockingly moist and light rice flour focaccia with Kalamata black olives.

photo credit: Breizh Cafe

Breizh Café

Famous for their buckwheat crepes from Brittany, Breizh is a perfect inexpensive lunch or dinner when you need something light and easy or you forgot to book ahead. Traditional savory galettes like simple ham and comté, or sweet crepes like yuzu crepe that’s flambéed in Grand Marnier are terrific, but you could also go against the gluten-free grain by ordering one of their rolls. Instead of being served flat and open like a pancake, these are folded into a cylinder shape and then cut into pieces like sushi.

The Marais location is probably the only one of the nine in Paris where you do need a reservation because it’s so small. Others, like Paul Bert and Odeon, have more space and lovely terraces for sitting outside when the weather’s nice.

Mediterranean

If you’re wondering why L’As du Fallafel isn’t on this list, it’s because Miznon is better. Plus, there’s rarely a long line, and at Miznon, you get to sit and eat your stuffed pita at a table with chairs with some really fun, loud music playing overhead. The three locations of this all-day Israeli-run spot produce some of the best Levantine flavors in Paris on the warmest and fluffiest pita around.

We’re partial to the chou farci, but the spicy fish, lamb kebab, and beef bourguignon are also worth the mess you’ll make while eating them. They recently added a falafel sandwich to the menu at the Marais location, but purists should know it’s in patty form. Also, plan accordingly: They’re closed from mid-afternoon on Friday through sundown on Saturday in observance of Shabbat.

photo credit: Nora Hauber

Olga Vins Et Fromage

You’ve likely eaten a Sad Desk Salad at work, but have you had the Sad Train Sandwich? Let’s hope not. To avoid it in France, pop into this spot across the street from Gare du Lyon before boarding your train to Lyon or Provence. They’re open all day, with a handful of tables on the sidewalk and three inside along a banquette if you don’t need to grab and go. 

The midday meal is unbeatable: a baguette sandwich made with cheese from their display and a dessert of fromage blanc for €9.50. The options will change regularly, but on a recent visit they included gouda with homemade apple jam and pickled apples, goat’s cheese and tomato chutney, and ham with pistachios and burrata. No extras like lettuce—just straight-up fromage, one topping, and a complementary spread.

FINE DINING & TASTING MENUS

Maison Sota

Located inside an actual two-story residence off a side street in the 11th arrondissement, Maison Sota is from the Japanese chef who put neo-bistro Clown Bar on the map (and, subsequently, every visitor’s must-eat list) back in 2017. All the action takes place upstairs under a wooden gable and inside the open kitchen, where the chef can be seen using tweezers to top rose-colored beef with bitter purslane or just-barely-roasted vegetables with slices of lemongrass and daikon radish.

At €145 for dinner (or €75 lunch), this is one of the higher-end tastings on our list, but between the unique setting, spacious seating, and almost too-pretty-to-eat meal, it practically feels like a steal compared to fine dining restaurants of this caliber around Paris.

At Granite, the staff wear matching beige pants and white button-downs and the silverware gets its own handmade ceramic holders. But there’s nothing stuffy about this spot around the corner from the Louvre. The inside feels very country home-meets-contemporary art museum, with exposed beams painted white, suspended decorative light fixtures, and white porcelain plates shaped like bark. 

The three-, five-, and seven-course tastings (starting at €75 for lunch and €140 for dinner) feature flavor pairings like wood-fired scallops smothered in a smokey turnip, anise, and butter sauce, and a saffron and mango sorbet for dessert that might just be the star of the meal. With only 26 seats, it’s an intimate, quiet space where you can comfortably spend the better part of an afternoon or evening.

We’ll forgive the ‘90s decor (inexplicable modern art, stonewashed walls, etc.) because the food itself at Substance is representative of today. The degustation menu is seasonal, but there are two standout signatures: the amuse bouche bowl of whipped potatoes and runny cancoillotte cheese topped with trout eggs, and a sharp, creamy lemon tarte palate cleanser that’s presented as a paw print. 

The three-course lunch is €65 and the six-course dinner is €130. Despite its location in the posh and otherwise quiet 16th arrondissement, it’s a great destination pre- or post-visit to Place du Trocadéro for viewing the Eiffel Tower, or the nearby fashion houses and museum expos of YSL or Dior.

Pantagruel is a famous mythical character in French literature who “loves to indulge in epicurean pleasures,” says the menu, which not only explains the restaurant’s name, but how the courses—dubbed “chapters”—unfold. Each dish is actually three mini ones: The chef focuses on one major ingredient (say, leeks) and serves it three ways on a variety of striking ceramic plates. If it sounds very The Menu , it is. But it works, and no one will turn into a s’more at the end.

Added flair comes in the form of dry ice, nori, and miso seaweed butter prepared tableside, and a recording of “Pantagruel” that’s read aloud in the bathroom. Despite the small portion sizes, you’re still getting three mini plates of each course—at lunch, it’s three for €65, while at dinner it’s six for €150—so you won’t leave hungry.

Pierre Sang

Eating at Pierre Sang is like playing a game, where the goal is to guess what you’ve just eaten. There’s no set menu—instead, dishes get dropped off and you’re left to savor and reflect on your own. Once you’ve placed your silverware back on the granite plaque for cutlery, someone will arrive to ask what you think you tasted. Perhaps you thought you ate tender veal, but it was really pork filet mignon. Those “cherries”? Actually, they’re beets! Same goes for that carrot purée—it’s butternut. 

This type of experience isn’t for everyone, and you probably shouldn’t bring someone who’s a picky eater. Instead, show up with a date or friend who’s down to experiment. The non-pretentious servers—and the namesake chef, a French-Korean and finalist on France’s Top Chef —just want you to enjoy what you’re eating, and maybe understand it a bit better.

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Ultimate Guide to the Best Restaurants in Paris 2024

Looking for the best restaurants in Paris to eat at? Well, you’re in the right place. Our insider guide has the low-down on the best restaurants at the moment. Forget expensive tourist-traps serving up unmemorable dishes – this list has the best, tried and tested restaurants where real locals eat.

Our guide is split into different sections to find a restaurant for you. Our guide predominately focuses on restaurants serving French cuisine in different formats. From small sharing plate restaurants to Michelin standard cooking, our list has something for all budgets. If you’re looking for other cuisines scroll down to the bottom of the article. Also please note that restaurants listed are featured because of the quality of the food rather than drinks and ambiance.

This guide is split into the following sections:

Best Restaurants in Paris For Modern & Classic French Food

Speciality wine & small sharing plate restaurants, fine dining restaurants, best michelin star restaurants in paris, asian & african restaurants, italian & spanish food in paris.

This section lists our favourite French cuisine restaurants where you can enjoy great food for lunch or dinner. They serve a mix of classical and modern French cuisine. If you’re looking for classic French bistro food (snails, onion soup, pâté), check out our best bistros Paris guide. In the mood for a steak? Discover our guide to the best steak frites in Paris guide. On hunt for seafood? Read our recommendations on finding the best moules frites or our best seafood restaurants in Paris guide.

Les Enfants du Marché

Les Enfants du Marché is one of my favourite spots in Paris – great food, insane wine and a really fun atmosphere. Started by restauranteur Michael Grossman in 2019, the outdoors, casual counter dining spot has become insanely popular with industry professionals, tourists and in the know foodies. Oh and don’t be surprised if you bump into celebrities (Dua Lipa is frequent visitor).

You might think, given the location and counter space, that the food is cheap and cheerful. Think again. The talented Shunta Susuki is at the helm at Les Enfants producing stunning, refined, bistronomique food. It’s modern French to the max with awesome ingredients. Everything is home made – arrive early and you’ll see the chefs working on a whole 20kg tuna and preparing native lobsters from Brittany that were landed that morning. The meat dishes are stunning – XL pork chops cooked on the bone and served with a slick, rich meat jus – delicious. The prices are on the higher side so to be prepared to spend but boy is it worth it.

Note that Les Enfants is really popular and you’ll need to arrive at opening if you want don’t want to queue. Expect a party atmosphere as the day goes on with music ranging from hip-hop to French pop classics. It’s an absolute blast if you like good wine and good food. My advice is to go early with a group of friends, order as much food as you can and of course, order some awesome bottles of their natural wine. For me it’s way up there as one of the best restaurants in Paris.

What to know before you visit

• You can’t reserve
• Their opening times vary with the seasons
• It’s covered but still open-air – if it’s windy & cold be-aware that your food won’t stay hot for long!
• Arrive early for lunch otherwise prepare to queue
• The majority of the eating space is on the counter
• My favourite space is on one of the two tables at the end of the bar
• Not suitable for children

Address: Marché des Enfants Rouges, 39 Rue de Bretagne, 75003 Website: https://lesenfantsdumarche.fr

Unfortunately La Vierge is now permanently closed.

La Vierge is a superb French restaurant in the quirky, off-the-beaten-track La Réunion neighbourhood in the East of the city. Located just off the Place de la Réunion on a side street, the restaurant is unassuming and not dissimilar from the surrounding bars and bistros. It’s a real gem of a restaurant with an ever changing, seasonal menu highlighting awesome produce with interesting flavour combinations. I’ve been lucky enough to dine at La Vierge multiple times and it’s never failed to disappoint.

Fresh pasta, BBQ lamb, summer salads, winter soups.. there’s really no limit to what comes out of the kitchen. It’s not a restaurant where you’ll be guaranteed a certain dish, so don’t go expecting a classic steak frites, for example. The cuisine is really varied and I’ve had some awesome dishes during my previous visits. Guinea fowl with fresh girolles served with a rich jus, fresh pasta with mussels, roast partridge with lentils – a few of my favourite dishes I’ve eaten at La Vierge across the years. I’d recommend going with diners who have an open mind to food (and who aren’t fussy eaters). Finally it’s worth mentioning that their wine list is great with the back of restaurant doubling up as a cave á vin .

• Currently closed on Sundays
• Open for lunch and dinner
• You can reserve online

Address: 58 Rue de la Réunion, 75020 Tel: 01 43 67 51 15 Website: https://www.alavierge.com

Perhaps the most well known ‘underground’ Parisian restaurant in the foodie world, Clown Bar is certainly worth a mention. Well known for their out-there, experimental dishes such as veal brain in a dashi based broth infused with yuzu and ginger. It’s a real gem of a restaurant and a prime example of modern, forward thinking French cuisine. Named after the next-door Cirque d’Hiver ’s historical past, the restaurant itself is rather incredible. Behind the central zinc topped bar you’ll find an eclectic mix of clown themed tiles dating back from the 1920s. The interior dining space is on the smaller side and booking a table in advance is must. You’ll no doubt be surrounded by international foodies as it’s become one of the restaurants to eat so don’t expect to be surrounded by locals.

On the food side there’s an ever changing selection of small plates and a few ‘mains’ to choose from. The small sharing plates are awesome. Creative combos using the best of fresh ingredients combined with modern techniques. Expect the aforementioned veal brain with a dashi broth (definitely worth a try!), sea bream tartare, sweet breads with wild mushrooms and a really interesting beef tartare. Their wine list is awesome too with an all natural line-up from small producers.

• Currently open all week
• You can reserve online but you’ll need to reserve 1-2 weeks for a Saturday evening booking

Address: 114 Rue Amelot, 75011 Tel: 01 43 55 87 35 Website: https://www.clownbar.fr

Café des Ministères

Run by power couple Jean et Roxane Sévègnes, Café des Ministères is an incredible little restaurant near the Assemblée Nationale (hence the name). Jean, the head chef, had worked in Michelin star kitchens across the world (including with the great Alain Ducasse in London and New York) before starting his own restaurant in Paris. The restaurant is as traditional as you’ll get and focuses on really good, home made French food. It’s a small restaurant typically frequented by in the know foodies and locals.

It’s a superb introduction into genuine French cuisine. The starters cover the classics; eggs mayo, terrine, foie gras… but be careful, they’re really generous with the portion size. Their boudin noir is superb and comes with a home made mustard infused with honey. For the main courses Jean revisits the classics and it’s one restaurant in Paris where you’ll find a vol-au-vent (a puff pastry pie without a lid) with sweetbreads and free range chicken. It’s incredible delicious and finished with an incredible chicken jus and a healthy dose of fresh truffle. There’s also an XL pork chop to share, scallops cooked à la parisienne with pommes duchesse . Their wine list is pretty incredible too – lots of classic French wine from incredible domaines from around the country.

• Closed on weekends
• Open from 9am for drinks with the kitchen open for lunch and dinner only
• You can reserve online but you’ll need to book weeks in advance for dinner

Address: 83 Rue de l’Université, 75007 Tel: 01 45 33 73 34 Website: https://www.cafedesministeres.fr

La Rotisserie d’Argent

A classic French restaurant that is well worth a mention, La Rotisserie d’Argent is the sister restaurant to the famous 1 Michelin star La Tour d’Argent . Already featured in our Best Rotisserie Chicken Paris guide, you won’t only find roasted chicken here. They’ve got a whole host of other well cooked, classic French dishes that are refined yet distinctly homely. Just like its big brother, the service is slick yet not overbearing and has a traditional French brassiere atmosphere. You’ll dine with local French families and, if you’re in the window section, have a great view out to the River Seine and the Notre Dame cathedral.

The food is refined home-style French food with quality ingredients. It’s unpretentious, honest, good cooking and makes for a great family meal. Want a selection of steamed seasonal vegetables with your main? No problem, and you won’t be charged an arm and a leg either. Their starters are a great way to try some French classics such as Foie Gras, Escargots (snails cooked in garlic butter) and Oeufs-Mayo (simple hard boiled eggs with fresh mayo). The mains cover some great classics; roast duck breast, Coq au Vin and veal kidneys in a mustard sauce. If you’ve got space for a dessert, try their cheese selection – you may be lucky to try cheese from the Tour d’Argent .

• It’s easy to get a reservation on the same week
• Try the cheese board!

Address: 19 Quai de la Tournelle, 75005 Tel: 01 43 54 17 47 Website: https://rotisseriedargent.com/en/

Small sharing plate restaurants with interesting, unique wines are a hallmark of the modern Parisian dining scene and for good reason. The reality of Parisian real estate means there are a lot of awesome intimate dining spots where the kitchens are small and the chefs are forced to be creative. This results in lots of awesome restaurants which serve up small sharing plates (referred to as ‘ tapassiettes ’ in France) paired with great, unique wine. These restaurants are perfect for couples or groups of friends who love good food and aren’t fussy eaters (note these restaurants are mainly not suitable for children).

Aux Deux Amis

Situated on the bottom of rue Oberkampf, Aux Deux Amis is an awesome restaurant and for me, defines the modern Parisian restaurant. Lively on weekends and sleepy on weekdays, it’s a spot where you’ll find locals sipping on vin nature and nibbling on saucisson. The vibe is effortlessly cool, relaxed yet occasionally manic. The grumpy yet friendly locals really make the atmosphere typically Parisian .

The current chef, Isabel Garcia, is all about French classics peppered with modern twists. You’ll find braised rabbit with mustard, tuna tartare seasoned with a Japanese sesame oil and a delicious octopus served with baby potatoes. The wine is a big highlight of Aux Deux Amis with a small, curated wine list featuring the big hitters of the natural wine world. There’s also a local IPA on tap for the beer lovers.

• Book ahead (you need to call)
• Not children friendly
• It get’s lively during weekend nights

Address: 45 Rue Oberkampf, 75011 Tel: 01 58 30 38 13 Website: https://www.instagram.com/auxdeuxamis/

Down a small, dimly lit street in the 11th district of Paris lies Au Passage . With a mosaic lined facade and warm lighting, the restaurant is very much inviting on a cold winters evening. Inside you’ll find great small sharing plate food coming out of the kitchen and awesome funky wine served from the bar. Specialising in nose-to-tail food, raw fish and locally grown vegetables, the food is eclectic and varied. Another prime example of the modern ‘tapassiette’ restaurant in Paris – it’s friendly, interesting and makes for a great evening out.

The menus literally change daily so don’t be surprised if what you see on social media isn’t on the menu when you go. What I can say is that the restaurant uses all parts of an animal. If there’s pork on the menu don’t just expect the chops – there will be the ears, feet, loin on there as well. In addition, there’s usually an awesome selection of raw fish with oysters and tartars on the menu. The dishes have world influences with some great Asian touches – during my last visit we had an awesome take on panipuri.

• Closed on Sundays and Mondays
• It’s usually easy to get a table on the same day

Address: 1 bis Pass. Saint-Sébastien, 75011 Tel: 01 43 55 07 52 Website: https://www.restaurant-aupassage.fr

Le Servan is an awesome modern, neobistro offering an ultra refined mix of French & Asian cuisine. Run by two powerhouse sisters Tatiana & Katia, who combine years of experience in Asia and France to produce an amazing dining experience. Tatiana’s experience in Michelin starred Apèrge and Astrance shows on the plate, its refined and incredibly forward thinking cuisine. Katia’s wine selection focuses on small, esoteric producers and they have some very good bottles.

The menu is traditionally formatted with starters/entrees and mains. In my experience they’re all generally on the smaller size and perfect for sharing. Expect sweetbreads seasoned with house XO sauce, raviolo with seasonal, Asian filling and an ever changing tartare (veal, beef or fish!). These dishes are precisely cooked and very well seasoned. They have a limited dessert menu but i’d honestly focus on their savoury dishes.

• Closed on Sundays
• You’ll need to book 1-2 weeks in advance for prime weekend slots

Address: 32 Rue Saint-Maur, 75011 Tel: 01 55 28 51 82 Website: https://www.leservan.fr

Le Jourdain

If you’re in the North-East of the city, around the Belleville area , then Le Jourdain is a great lunch or dinner spot. Very much a ‘where locals eat’ kind of restaurant, it’s an intimate, cosy space where you’ll feel dine like a real Parisian. A patinaed marble wall coupled with low lightning adds a lovely warmth to the dining space which is next to a beautiful retro striped bar.

Le Jourdain’s menu in the evening is all about small sharing plates and are very reasonably priced. There’s traditional options such as pork terrine de campagne and Iberico ham. If you’re vegetarian then there’s plenty of inventive veg based dishes – marinated eggplant, confit and grilled leeks seasoned with feta – delicious. One of my favourite dishes that seems like it’s permanent fixture is their beef or veal tartare (pictured) with a home made oyster mayo and fried garlic crisps. If you’re coming for lunch the menu is more of a traditional format with entree, main and dessert.

Address: 101 Rue des Couronnes, 75020 Tel: 01 43 66 29 10 Website: https://www.lejourdain.fr

The restaurants in this section serve incredible tasting menu food for under €150 per person. They don’t currently have Michelin stars but the majority are noted in the guide. You’ll eat very well and experience high end service with incredible wine to match.

Passioné is a superb fine dining restaurant headed up by the talented Japanese chef Satoshi Horiuchi. Hailing from Hokkaido, Satoshi brings his love of classical French cuisine to Paris in a beautifully decorated restaurant. Located just behind the Grands Boulevards in the 9th arrondissement, there’s a lot of bars around for pre-dinner drinks. The restaurants is moody with rich mid-night blue walls and dim lighting. It’s intimate yet not too cramped (unlike many restaurants in Paris!).

The food is modern French and the restaurant only offers a Carte Blanche tasting menu (there’s no a la carte option). In the evening, their tasting menu (currently €145 per person) includes 7 courses with fish, seafood and meat. Naturally their menus change with the seasons and what comes from their carefully chose, local suppliers. During my last visit I had a wonderfully cooked fillet of trout with an awesome sauce gribiche and a great rare breed beef course with a slick jus. The extra wine pairing includes some great classic French wines.

• Closed on Mondays
• No dress code

Address: 17 Rue Bergère, 75009 Tel: 01 42 28 58 14 Website: https://restaurantpassionne.com

Located in the 6th arrondissement on the famous rue de Seine, Semilla is a great contemporary restaurant. Started by the team behind Freddy’s, Semilla opened their doors in 2012 and is deservingly featured in the Michelin guide. The cool, industrial accented restaurant is very inviting mixing old Parisian bistro with trendy decor. The open, high tech kitchen contains a brigade of young, talented chefs putting out some really tasty, refined food.

Semilla has a 5 course tasting menu and an a la carte section. The menu changes frequently but on the a la carte you expect seabass tartare, suckling pig chop, sea bream with fennel and a Côte de Boeuf to share. The menu might seem on the simple side but what comes on the plate is not. It’s refined cooking and each element on the dish is prepared with care and attention. The seasoning is on point and their sauces are very good. They’ve also got a killer classical wine list and a very knowledgeable sommelier who can help out if needed.

• Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays
• I’d advise to reserve in advance (by phone)

Address: 54 Rue de Seine, 75006 Tel: 01 43 54 34 50 Website: https://www.semillaparis.com

Dilia, located in the up and coming 20th arrondissement is a gem of a fine dining restaurant. Started by Italian chef, Michele Farnesi, his aim was to a create high end, unpretentious multi course dining experience. It’s classic French with a touch of Italian flair. The restaurant itself feels very much of the area – it’s a warm old, genuine Parisian bistro ambiance. There’s not just tasting menus on offer, they have a very accessible lunch time menu at €28 for entree, main and dessert. The tasting menu in the evening is what you want to go for however. There’s multiple course options ranging from 5 (€59) to 8 courses (€92).

The food is genuinely good and has all the hallmarks of a Michelin star restaurant. There are classy amouse-bouches before the starter courses – tortellini en brodo served with a light broth. Fillet of turbot is served with confit leek and a rich cream/fish sauce. On the meat side we had a superb pigeon dish with a rich jus and confit legs. As we went bang in game season, there was also a classic Lièvre à la royale – wild hare braised in red wine served glazed – incredible. Their wine list mainly revolves around natural Italian wines although they have plenty of great French bottles.

• Closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays
• Easy to get a table the same day

Address: 1 Rue d’Eupatoria, 75020 Tel: 09 53 56 24 14 Website: https://www.dilia.fr

Paris has an incredible 130 Michelin starred restaurants to choose from and admittedly, there are some that are much better than the rest. These restaurants are selected for the originality and quality of cooking above all. In my experience eating here, there are a lot of Michelin star restaurants in Paris that are good.. but ultimately forgettable. The following restaurants are, in my experience, extremely memorable with incredible cooking and equally mind-blowing wine!

Le Clarence

Le Clarence is to date, probably my favourite Michelin star restaurant that I’ve been to in France. During my visits there hasn’t been a single course (out of many) that didn’t elicit a delighted reaction from myself or my partner. In fact I think I ran out of superlatives by the end of the meal.

They currently hold 2 Michelin stars with the kitchen headed up by Chef Christophe Pelé. The cuisine here is an incredible mix of classic French with contemporary Chinese influences (from Chef Christophe’s time spent in China). There are show-stopping combinations that you really wouldn’t expect to work yet manage to blow you away. It’s really that good. The restaurant itself is worth a visit alone – it’s like dining in a French château . When you arrive you’ll have a glass of champagne with some amouses-bouches on a large comfortable sofa infront of a roaring wood burning fire (if you visit in the colder months!). The main dining room is equally as stunning with 3 separate rooms including one with a small library on the side.

There are different tasting menu options (3,5 or 7 steps at dinner) and i’d recommend that you come hungry and go for the 7 course option. It’s incredible . The menus naturally change with the seasons but you can expect a few dishes around a fish/seafood ingredients and meat with a few inter-step dishes. During my last visit there were 3 dishes dedicated to langoustines including insane langoustine dumpling balls served in an umami rich broth. There was also a perfectly cooked fillet of turbot followed by a citrus infused ravioli as a mid-course. The meat dishes comprised of a roasted fillet of venison served with a rich jus, fresh winter truffle, potato ‘spaghetti’ with an XO sauce.

• You can reserve online (you’ll need to put down a deposit/block on your card)
• Relatively strict dress code – no casual footwear and shirt advised for men (no tie required)
• Take the wine pairing – you can taste incredible wine from incredible bottles from the Château de Haut-Brion

Address: 31 Av. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 75008 Tel: 01 82 82 10 10 Website: https://www.le-clarence.paris

Septime is one of Paris’ most well known Michelin star restaurants. Consistently ranking in the W50 Best Restaurant award, it’s become the restaurant to eat at. They currently hold 1 Michelin star and the creative, young team are absolutely deserving of it. Situated on the buzzing rue Charonne in the trendy 11th district, you wouldn’t immediately think that Septime is a starred restaurant. The industrial-chic interior with lime wash walls and low, dim lighting feels very relaxed – and it is. The service is distinctly Michelin yet there’s absolutely nothing stuffy about the experience. The staff are super friendly and forget about a dress code – come however you would like.

The food, as with many of the best restaurants, is carte blanche . Their tasting menu is available in 5 steps for lunch or 7 steps for dinner. It’s seasonal with the courses changing every few months. There are lots of inspirations and nods to the Scandinavian fermentation movement (think NOMA) which isn’t something you’ll frequently see in Paris. During my last visit the standout dishes were an incredible vegetable broth infused with herbs to start along side a very well done truffle flatbread. Following this there was an excellent no waste carrot dish with confit and barbecued carrot and to follow a roast cauliflower with a peanut sauce and finished with a rich meat jus.

I’d definitely recommend the wine pairing but note, don’t go for pre-dinner drinks as they are very generous with the wine. The wines are mainly natural and pair very well with the food.

• You need to reserve online 3 weeks before the date of your choice. Reservations open at 10am French time each day. Make sure to reserve as soon as the clock hits 10!

Address: 80 Rue de Charonne, 75011 Website: https://www.septime-charonne.fr/en/

L’Orangerie

One of three Michelin star restaurants in the George V hotel close to the Champs Elysée, L’Orangerie is a great high end French restaurant. They currently have 1 star with Chef Alan Taudon on the pass. It’s classy dining space in a conservatory jutting out into the central courtyard is a lovely place to eat at and the service, as you’d expect is slick as it gets. The food is focused on seafood, fish and vegetables and currently don’t serve any meat.

Their dinner only tasting menus are available in either 5 or 7 courses. The dishes are incredibly well presented and a hell of a lot of flavour to match. We had scallops matched with cucumber and caviar, langoustines served raw in a warm umami rich broth and turbot served on a cauliflower ‘risotto’. They really do a good job at bring flavour to the plate whilst not going crazy with ingredient pairings. Their wine list is also incredible due to the fact that they share the cave with their big brother, 3 star restaurant, Le Cinq .

• Open every day for lunch and dinner
• Vegetarian friendly
• Smart dress code

Address: 31 Av. George V, 75008 Tel: 01 49 52 72 24 Website: https://www.fourseasons.com/paris/dining/restaurants/l-orangerie/

Ze Kitchen Galerie

Located on the left bank, very close to the Seine, Ze Kitchen Galerie is a rather unknown but very inventive 1 star restaurant. The dining space is covered in contemporary art which changes regularly (hence the gallery part in the name). The art matches the kitchen’s philosophy of modern, forward thinking cuisine artfully presented on the plate. They have tasting menus available in the evening and have simple (and very affordable) a la carte options for lunch.

During my last visit for lunch we picked the entree, main and dessert option which came in at only €41 each. The mains consisted of a roast pigeon and sweetcorn dish with roast breasts and confit legs. The sweetcorn included sautéd baby corn and an ultra smooth corn purée. The dish was finished with a super rich jus, baby aubergine, seared foie gras and Thai basil. The other main was an awesome lobster ‘risotto’ dish with a lemon grass & yuzu broth. It’s a great affordable 1 star restaurant with a lot of talent in the kitchen. I’d certainly recommend going if you’re in the area and fancy a high end lunch!

• Open for lunch and dinner throughout the week
• No strict dresscode

Address: 4 Rue des Grands Augustins, 75006 Tel: 01 44 32 00 32 Website: https://zekitchengalerie.fr/en/

Auguste is a small, intimate 1 Michelin star restaurant owned by the chef Gaël Orieux. Close by to the Invalides in the 7th arrondissement, the elegant restaurant is airy and matches the slick, friendly service. The food is classic French with some modern twists and the kitchen has a distinct focus on sustainability especially when it comes to the fish. The menu changes almost daily and elements are adjusted to what comes from the market. Their tasting menus are served in the evening with either 4 or 6 courses. I’d recommend going for their 6 course menu as it includes (and quite rare to see not as an optional extra) a cheese course.

The food is refined yet classic French food. Oysters seasoned with modern gels to start, red mullet with a silky reduced bisque and halibut served with a classic beurre blanc. Their pastry section is very good and it’s one restaurant where you’ll very likely get an excellent soufflé (why don’t more restaurants serve them?!). Their very reasonable (€45) lunch menu is a great, accessible way to try Michelin standard food.

Address: 54 Rue de Bourgogne, 75007 Tel: 01 45 51 61 09 Website: http://www.restaurantauguste.fr

If you’re looking something different to French food then check out our recommendations below. Each link will take you to a sub guide which has our own recommendations for each cuisine.

Asian Restaurants in Paris

Paris has an incredible Asian food scene, from Vietnamese to Japanese food, there are some incredible restaurants. Check out our sub guides below:

Pan-Asian Restaurants Chinese Restaurants in Paris Vietnamese Restaurants in Paris Korean Restaurants in Paris Indian Restaurants in Paris Japanese Restaurants in Paris Best Ramen in Paris

African & Middle Eastern Food and Restaurants in Paris

Feeling like falafel or some authentic West African food? Discover our sub guides below:

Best Pan-African Restaurants in Paris Ethiopian Restaurants in Paris Finding the best Falafel in Paris

Pizza, pasta and tapas – check our guides to awesome Italian & Spanish food below:

Best Italian Restaurants in Paris Best Pizza Paris Spanish Restaurants in Paris

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• Food & Drink
• Restaurant Guide

The 13 Best Restaurants in Paris

The City of Lights has no shortage of Michelin stars.

By Elite Traveler

The renowned dining scene of Paris stands apart from any other city in the world. The stunning decor of classic Parisian restaurants is paired with exquisite French cooking and an offering of exceptional service, with countless Michelin Star establishments throughout the city. Here is our pick of the Paris’ top gourmet institutions.

Restaurant Guy Savoy

Restaurant Guy Savoy is a culinary shrine to the skills of its namesake. Renowned not only for its food but also for impeccable service, characterized by happiness and conviviality instead of inaccessible aloofness, this three-Michelin-starred restaurant consistently enthralls its diners and is a source of inspiration for many other chefs. Signature dishes include Savoy’s artichoke soup dressed with black truffle shavings and accompanied by brioche slathered with truffle butter and the chocolate orb dessert, over which warm mango coulis is poured at the last minute to create a delicious melting effect. Each day for lunch, Guy Savoy reserves one table for guests to indulge in a French gourmet experience.

guysavoy.com

Le Meurice Alain Ducasse

Alain Ducasse’s extravagant two-Michelin-starred restaurant serves world-class classic European cuisine in an elegant and Versailles-inspired white and silver setting by Philippe Starck. Wines and champagnes are kept in a specially created wine cellar opening onto the dining room, while a special chef’s table in the kitchen allows guests a closer view of what’s going on. Dishes at Le Meurice Alain Ducasse include such lavish offerings as blue lobster with fennel, sea bass with goldleaf risotto and scallops with white alba truffle foam.

dorchestercollection.com

Pavillon Ledoyen

One of the oldest restaurants in Paris, Pavillon Ledoyen first opened its doors 1792 and was the place to see and be seen during the Belle Époque. The dining room, — classified as a historical monument — is a sight to behold, retaining much of its exquisite 19th century detailing. Pavillon Ledoyen will re-open in September 2021 with new interior detailing from the artist Kostia and Atelier Montex, Chanel’s Parisian artisanl embroidery studio. The collaboration has seen the installation of a series of what Kostia describes as intricately crafted floral “veils” between each table. Interiors aside, the real pièce de résistance here is the stunning French haute cuisine. Earning the top mark of three Michelin stars, the restaurant serves modern dishes inspired by classical French fare from Chef Yannick Alléno.

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yannick-alleno.com

Le Cinq at Four Seasons George V

Reminiscent of an ornate château, Le Cinq is undoubtedly luxurious yet also welcoming. The elegant dining room bathed in gold, the oil paintings adorning the walls and the beautiful flower arrangements all set the scene for this gastronomic experience. Awarded three Michelin stars, it serves classic French food with a contemporary inflection, with menus changing seasonally to make the most of each ingredient chosen. Chef Christian Le Squer ’s delicious creations include traditional fare such as grilled lamb alongside more modern dishes such as lightly smoked eel with black bread and grape juice reduction.

fourseasons.com

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This Michelin-starred restaurant was opened by Chef Jean Pierre Vigato in 2004 but now boasts Mathieu Pacaud (also of Paris’s Michelin-starred Divellec) at its helm. Apicius extends over a number of rooms in the magnificent Hotel Schneider, previously the residence of 19th century man of affairs, the Marquis de Talhouët. Guests can choose to dine in the Dining Room, the Klimt Room – adorned with superb reproductions of Klimt’s golden-toned artworks – or the Petit Salon, an intimate room for six to eight people. The cuisine is modern French; light, elegant, inventive, but with the unmistakeable hallmarks of traditional bourgeois dishes.

restaurant-apicius.com

On the chic Left Bank, Alain Passard’s Arpège is dedicated to creating cuisine filled with harmony; every ingredient of every dish is carefully considered to ensure it matches the rest, the result of which is a three-Michelin-starred rating. Passard is also devoted to quality; since 2000, the restaurant has been supplied by its own three potagers or kitchen gardens, which produce 40 tons of fresh, all natural ingredients annually. Experience this devotion in the sleek main dining room, or book the private dining room for up to 14 guests.

alain-passard.com

Comprised of two dining rooms – Winter and Summer – used according to the rhythms of the season, this three-Michelin-starred destination in Le Bristol Paris attracts with its gorgeous surroundings and delectable culinary offerings. Based upon traditional French cuisine, yet always evolving and being improved, the dishes created by head chef Eric Frechon aim to bring back to the forefront of the gastronomical world simple but delicious combinations made with quality seasonal ingredients. Try the hearty roast saddle of venison with celeriac purée and beetroot in port accompanied by a wine chosen by Chief Sommelier Marco Pelletier.

lebristolparis.com

Lasserre’s key concepts are discretion, service, and ultra-fine dining. A bastion of French haute cuisine, this Michelin-starred Old World-style restaurant aims to offer each guest a refined and charming experience, enhanced by an incredible attention to detail in all areas. Dine on classic dishes such as roast pigeon with seasonal vegetables, or spiced duck with roasted figs in red wine sauce, and don’t forget to look up at the frescoed roof by artist Touchagues, which retracts in good weather to reveal the Parisian sky.

restaurant-lasserre.com

Le Jules Verne, Eiffel Tower

Towering above the Parisian boulevards on the second level of the Eiffel Tower, Le Jules Verne is far from a tourist trap, contrary to what you might assume given the flocks of visitors below. With bold modern decor by Patrick Jouin and cuisine by Frédéric Anton (of three-Michellin-starred Le Pré Catelan,) it offers a delicate menu with precisly crafted dishes, in addition to sweeping views over western Paris through floor-to-ceiling bay windows.

lejulesverne-paris.com

Pierre Gagnaire

For those that have grown tired of heavy French classics and desire premium ingredients arranged in an exciting, innovative way, the choice is Pierre Gagnaire. At the center point of the Michelin-starred chef’s worldwide restaurant group, taste bizarre and beautiful combinations of flavors from all over the globe in this stylish location, where the artistry of the plates is complemented by the plush slate-grey tones of the interior decor. Particularly appealing is the tasting menu, which includes such dishes as porterhouse steak enrobed in a jus of beef tongue with tamarind, accompanied by butternut squash marmalade.

pierregagnaire.com

L’Ambroisie

L’Ambroisie combines elegant French haute cuisine and Parisian sophistication in the historic heart of the capital. Headed by chefs Bernard and Mathieu Pacaudhe, the cuisine is classical, sophisticated and seasonal, creating a unique tribute to every ingredient.

ambroisie-paris.com

In 2020, Japanese-born Kei Kobayashi’s Kei restaurant became the first-ever Japanese-helmed eatery in France to earn three Michelin stars. The son of a kaiseki chef with French training at some of the country’s finest established such as three-Michelin-starred Auberge du Vieux Puits and Alain Ducasse et le Plaza Athénée, Kobayashi’s cuisine pairs these two gastronomic powerhouses. Delicate and precise, dishes are prepared using the finest of ingredients.

Le Pré Catelan

With a kitchen led by the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (An award given to the best craftsman of France) , three-Michelin-star Le Pré Catelan will not dissapoint. Creative and innovative plates are chauffered from the kitchen of famed chef Frédéric Anton with dishes often artfully centering around one superstar ingredient such as red mullet, pigeon or langoustine. Located in the heart of the Bois de Boulogne in a pavilion dating back to Napoleon III, the setting is also a delight to behold.

[See also: Ivan Artolli on Life Inside the Iconic Hôtel de Paris]

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The Best Restaurants to Eat in Paris Right Now

Despite the pandemic, Parisian restaurants are bursting with new energy and there's probably no more exciting place in the world to eat at the moment. Here are 8 we love.

Every item on this page was chosen by a Town & Country editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.

Paris is a reassuringly constant city. The good restaurants tend to stick and stay, or even get better; when new ones appear—and please the palate—chances are they’ll be around for at least a decade, if not two or three. But after 18 months of pandemic and many months of closures, curfews, and lockdowns, I worried I’d find my favorite haunts gone or somehow muted, chefs out of form and practice. (I partially grew up in Paris, and for the last 11 years have been a food columnist for the Wall Street Journal .) A little gastronomic investigation seemed de rigueur , and off I went in mid-July to Paris. I’m happy to report that my worries proved absolutely unfounded. Paris restaurants are bursting with energy, their chefs serving up the fruits of months of musing about, re-inventing, and perfecting their dishes and honing their craft. It is an exciting time to eat in Paris. Here are my suggestions for a wide range of eating occasions, my choices skewed somewhat in favor of outdoor dining and/or well-spaced tables. Note: Reservations are definitely needed, as many restaurants are operating under limited capacity or solely outdoors.

For a special occasion at the most romantic garden restaurant in Paris: Apicius.

For when you want a taste of fusion extraordinaire: Yam ‘Tcha.

Yam ‘Tcha is a masterful and innovative fusion of French and Hong Kong cuisines, cooked at the highest level of craft and with great imagination by chef and proprietor Adeline Grattard. She calls it her Paris-Hong Kong love story, but that doesn’t begin to explain the cult-worthy bao buns filled with molten British Stilton and Amarena cherries from Modena. Grattard’s husband, Chi Wah Chan, curates a pairing list of rare teas for anyone not drinking alcohol or curious to experience the subtle nuances of his teas. Michelin-starred, Yam ‘Tcha has tasting menus that change weekly, if not daily. For a casual and more affordable meal, try also Grattard’s recently opened Chinese bistro Lai ‘Tcha, conveniently located steps from La Bourse de Commerce-Pinault Collection.

For pre- or post-Pinault Collection sustenance: The Halle au Grains.

La Halle aux Grains , on the third floor of the newly opened museum in La Bourse de Commerce, is the perfect place for sustenance during or after viewing Pinault’s contemporary art collection. Father and son chefs Michel and Sebastian Bras, known the world-over for their eponymous restaurant in Laguiole, in Southwestern France, looked to La Bourse’s early history—as a marketplace for grains, particularly wheat, rye, and oats—for their inspiration. Grains infuse nearly every dish and drink here, offering unexpected earthy notes and surprising layers of texture, and the eating experience is notable as well for architect Tadeo Ando’s remarkable, light-filled interior. If possible, book the table d’hôte, which has an unparalleled view of the Gothic church of Saint Eustache, pictured. For an afternoon snack (you can also have lunch, tea, or dinner here), I recommend the croque-moelleux de céréales au jambon blanc et au fromage Laguiole , made with barley bread and accompanied by a green salad topped with sprouted grains.

When you're in the mood for a tartine for lunch: The Comptoir Poilâne.

There’s no better place in Paris for a tartine, or open-faced sandwich, than Comptoir Poilâne in the heart of the 6th arrondissment and housed in an annex to the world-renowned bakery Poilâne. Here, you can lunch on a long slab of miche (the sourdough precursor to the French baguette) with a classic topping of smoked salmon and dill—or an utterly contemporary version, with lacto-fermented vegetables and Roquefort (perhaps with a side of miso soup dotted with grains), or, a favorite of mine, thinly sliced Wagyu beef with honey mustard. Apollonia Poilâne’s menu couldn’t be more of-the-moment, but the extraordinary bread is still made downstairs in the wood-fired oven that her father and grandfather used long before she was born.

For apres-Marais-shopping hunger: Chez Janou.

Chez Janou is a much loved and very chic bistro around the corner from the Marais’s picturesque Place des Vosges. I’ve always gone to Chez Janou for its liveliness and location, as well as for the food, especially the great mousse au chocolat , which comes in a vast terrine and is doled out generously at your table. But this time, I was struck by a new freshness to the old classics. The richness of the magret de canard was cut with fresh rosemary; the gambas flambées au Pastis was accompanied by anise-scented basmati; and the crème brulée carried notes of orange blossom.

For the ultimate gourmet food-hall crawl: The Beau Passage

The name Beau P assage —as in alley—does not begin to do justice to this gourmet mecca that is also a brilliant example of urban planning: a series of connecting courtyards and outdoor and indoor spaces that link the rue du Bac with the rue du Grenelle and the Boulevard Raspail (in the 7th arrondissment). It’s chic, it’s fun, and it has a little bit of everything—well, high-end-foodie everything. It’s open throughout the day, making it an easy option for, say, a late lunch after spending the morning at the nearby Musée D’Orsay or the Invalides. What’s there? In addition to probably the best cheese shop in the world, Barthélémy, pictured here, there's Chef Yannick Alléno’s hip, laidback restaurant L’Allénothèque ; a lovely café and pâtiserrie from Pierre Hermé; a bakery from Thierry Marx; % Arabica coffee bar for those in need of a brew that skews more Italian than French; and, for carnivores, there’s the venerable Polmard, possibly the most expensive butcher shop in the city, which also houses a restaurant where you can lunch or snack on an exceptional charcuterie board, excellent bread, and a smart wine list—or indulge in sixth-generation butcher Alexandre Polmard’s exquisite steak. The indoor-outdoor design of Beau Passage was not, of course, conceived with Covid in mind, but it provides the spacious, outdoor options we need right now with food that makes it a destination in its own right. There are three possible entrances: 53, rue de Grenelle; 83, rue du Bac; and 14, Boulevard Raspail.

For When Nothing But a View of the Louvre Will Do: Loulou.

With less tourists in Paris this summer, areas that normally might fill with crowds are dotted only with a scattering of Parisians. This is the moment to go to Loulou . Situated on the ground floor of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs on the rue de Rivoli, and opening onto one of the large outdoor terraces of the Palais du Louvre, Loulou couldn’t be more perfectly located, but the light Mediterranean menu is what draws in the locals. Try the salade de haricots verts, pistaches de Sicile, Pecorino fumé and—this is a must—the truffled pizza. The team behind Loulou previously opened Monsieur Bleu in the Palais de Tokyo.

For when the mood is “most exciting new restaurant in Paris”: Liquid.

Mattias Marc (pictured) of the restaurant Substance just opened what is perhaps the most exciting new place in Paris: Liquide . Jarvis Scott, formerly at Arpége, helms the kitchen, producing bold, vibrant fare that may have its origins in France but clearly has a global pantry and a well-traveled team of cooks. Timut pepper gives pickled cucumbers an astringent sharpness, while elderberry blossoms perfume a plate of fresh peas, and wood sorrel enlivens the rice pudding. Liquide will, I believe, have the sort of culinary impact of Semilla, Septime, and the much-missed Spring, and this is the chance to try it before it is discovered. It is too new to have its own website, so try its older sibling for details.

For when a literary amuse-bouche is in order: "My Place at the Table: A Recipe for a Delicious Life in Paris."

Paris-based food writer Alec Lobrano’s beautiful memoir, My Place at the Table , contains some of the most sensual descriptions I know of great Parisian meals, juxtaposed with an honest and, at times, hauntingly poignant narrative. It’s just the book to start on the plane to Paris and finish at the Café de Flore.

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Internationally famous French chef just opened his first U.S. restaurant in Miami

French chef Yann Couvreur is known for his elegant pastries from Paris to Dubai, from Seoul to Riyadh.

And now, he’s about to become known right here in Miami.

One of the top caterers in France, Couvreur has just opened his first restaurant in the United States in Miami, across the street from Wynwood Marketplace.

The concept for Yann Couvreur Café, designed by French architect and interior designer Charles Zana, is all-day brunch. The 2,500-square-foot restaurant features indoor and outdoor dining spaces and will be open daily for lunch and breakfast.

The menu includes items like tartine salmon with smoked salmon, lemon cream cheese and microgreens on sourdough and a tuna melt on toasted brioche with sharp cheddar. Diners can also indulge in a special caramelized French toast; a table-side Nicoise salad; and the chef’s favorite, “Ouef a la Coque,” which involves two soft boiled eggs in a shell with finger brioche toast and topped with caviar.

Pastries, of course, are big here, from the baguette and butter to the mille feuilles tableside experience (mille feuilles is a flaky dessert with layers of caramelized dough and blue vanilla pastry cream).

Chef Couvreur said that the menu celebrates the traditional while also looking toward innovation.

“My vision for this café is to blend my culinary identity with the vibrant tapestry of American cuisine,” he said in a statement. The Parisian chef trained in top kitchens in Paris and opened his first pastry shop there in 2015. Now, his brand operates 17 shops around the world, including a stall at the downtown Miami food hall Julie & Henry’s.

Founder and CEO Benjamin Guedj said the Wynwood neighborhood was a natural fit for the brand.

“Wynwood was evident for us,” he said in a statement. “The first time we stepped into the neighborhood, we fell in love with the diversity, the culture and the atmosphere.” The community, he continued, reminded the team “of the neighborhood in which we opened our first shop, Belleville in the 10th district of Paris.”

The Wynwood location won’t be the only expansion in South Florida. The brand plans to open cafés in Coconut Grove and Aventura before expanding to other parts of the U.S., including New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Yann Couvreur Café

Where: 2243 NW Second Ave., Miami

Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. daily; weekend valet available

More information: www.yanncouvreur.com

©2024 Miami Herald. Visit miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.