Travel. Paris. Paris Restaurants
The City of Paris is divided into twenty arrondissements. They are arranged in the form of a clockwise spiral, starting with the first in the middle of the city on the right bank (north bank) of the Seine River. Select an arrondissement on the map below to view the France Today listings for that area.
1st arrondissement
Au Pied de Cochon
6 rue Coquillière
Paris 75001
Métro: Châtelet/Les Halles
01.40.13.77.00.
Another venerable oldie leftover from the heyday of the city’s wholesale food market at Les Halles. Now run by a big restaurant chain and a shadow of its former self, but it’s open 24/7.
Barlotti
35 pl du Marché St-Honoré
Paris 75001
Métro: Pyramides.
01.44.86.97.97.
A three-story restaurant built around a central atrium, with a big summer terrace. Good standard Italian food, big Sunday buffet brunch.
Café Marly
93 rue de Rivoli
Paris 75001
Métro: Palais Royal
01.49.26.06.60.
A handsome if overly expensive Costes restaurant in the north wing of the Louvre, with a summer terrace facing I.M. Pei’s glass pyramid and interior windows overlooking a sculpture gallery.
Chez la Vieille
37 rue de l'Arbre Sec
Paris 75001
01.42.60.15.78
The almost extinct delights of cuisine bourgeoise via Michel Del Burgo's generally fine cooking.
Hôtel Costes
239 rue St-Honoré
Paris 75001
Métro: Tuileries
01.42.44.50.00
Nothing is trendier, and few places offer such generous helpings of attitude. The flagship of the Costes restaurant empire, serving what’s now known as “Costes food”—simple, artfully assembled on the plate rather than really cooked—but cuisine is not the point.
Indochine
38 rue du Mont Thabor
Paris 75001
Métro: Concorde
01.42.60.79.79.
The spiffy annex of the small restaurant of the same name on the Left Bank (both also known as Au Coin des Gourmets) run by the wonderful Ta family and serving really good Cambodian, Vietnamese and Laotian food.
L'Espadon
15 place Vendôme
Paris 75001
01.43.16.30.80
The vie-en-rose two-star restaurant of the Hôtel Ritz offers the cuisine of Chef Michel Roth, served in one of the prettiest dining rooms in Paris.
€70 per person without wine
La Régalade Saint Honoré
123 rue Saint Honoré
75001 Paris
01.42.21.92.40.
Main courses such as cod steak demi-sel and a luscious paleron de veau à la Provençale are generously served, perfectly cooked and imaginatively seasoned at the second address of Bruno Doucet's La Régalade, this one near the Louvre. The fixed-price menu is one of the best buys in Paris.
€33 per person without wine
La Tour Montlhéry/Chez Denise
5 rue des Prouvaires
Paris 75001
Métro: Châtelet/Les-Halles
01.42.36.21.82.
One of the few authentic old bistrots left in the Les Halles district, serving generous portions of traditional bistrot food, open until 5 am, but closed Sat and Sun.
Le Caveau du Palais
19 pl Dauphine
Paris 75001
Métro: Pont Neuf
01.43.26.04.28.
In the peaceful Place Dauphine on the Ile de la Cité, a restaurant offering well-prepared classic French dishes in several small, romantic dining rooms or on a tree-shaded summer terrace.
Le Louchebem
31 rue Berger
Paris 75001
Métro: Châtelet/Les Halles
01.42.33.12.99.
For carnivores only, a restaurant that’s a remnant of the old Les Halles wholesale food market. The name is old market slang for a butcher, and rotisserie meats are the specialty—the assiette du rôtisseur offers all-you-can-eat servings of spit-roasted beef, ham and leg of lamb. Moderate prices.
Les Fines Gueules
43 rue Croix des Petits Champs
Paris 75001
Métro: Pyramides
01.42.61.35.41
Among the best of a superb new vintage of Paris wine bars.
€30 per person without wine
Les Montagnards
58 rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Paris 75001
Métro: Louvre-Rivoli
01.40.26.68.75
A spacious restaurant near the Pompidou specializing in fondue, raclette (in which the surface of a raclette cheese is heated and scraped onto diner's plates) and tartiflette (melted Reblochon cheese served over sliced boiled potatoes).
L’Ardoise
28 rue du Mont Thabor
Paris 75001
Métro: Concorde
01.42.96.28.18.
A small restaurant in a business-and-boutique district, offering contemporary French cuisine and good value for the price.
Spring
6 rue Bailleul, 1st
01.45.96.05.72
Chicago-born chef Daniel Rose’s stunning new restaurant in a 17th-century house, with a basement tapas bar and a third-level wine cellar. A recent dinner: eggplant cooked four ways, smoked tuna with yellow tomatoes; veal breast with langoustines. Lunch menus €23 or €38; dinner menu €64 (per person without wine).
Yam'Tcha
4 rue Sauval
Paris 75001
01.40.26.08.07.
In March 2010, Yam'Tcha received its first Michelin star.
€45 per person without wine
2nd arrondissement
A Priori Thé
35 galerie Vivienne
Paris 75002
Métro: Bourse
01.42.97.48.75.
In a lovely 19th-century covered passage, a pretty tearoom serving light lunches, salads and sweets along with a wide selection of teas.
Aux Crus de Bourgogne
3 rue Bachaumont
Paris 75002
Métro: Sentier
01.42.33.48.24.
A traditional old bistrot just off the Rue Montorgueil market street, serving moderately priced hearty Burgundian fare including long-simmered coq au vin.
Aux Lyonnais
32 rue St-Marc
Paris 75002
Métro: Richelieu-Drouot
01.42.96.65.04.
A beautiful old bistro with a Belle Epoque decor, taken over several years ago and given a contemporary new life by multi-star chef/entrepreneur Alain Ducasse, who updated the menu with lighter contemporary versions of classic Lyonnais cuisine. It ain’t what it used to be, and it costs quite a bit more than it should, but it’s good.
Café Moderne
40 rue Notre Dame des Victoires
Paris 75002
01.53.40.84.10.
The place manages to be both cozy and chic, with delightful service and an excellent wine list, too.
French, Contemporary
Prix-fixe dinner €39 per person without wine
Chez Georges
1 rue du Mail
Paris 75002
Métro: Bourse
01.42.60.07.11.
An oldie but goodie, with an old-fashioned menu hand-written in sometimes undecipherable purple ink. The atmosphere is 1950s Paris, the food is traditional, excellent, and expensive. There is not one reasonably priced wine on the exorbitantly priced list.
Frenchie
5 rue du Nil
Paris 75002
01.40.39.96.19.
Smart young chef Grégory Marchand's market menus are inspired by stints he did in London at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen and in New York at Danny Meyer's Gramercy Tavern.
€40 per person without wine
Le Mesturet
77 rue de Richelieu
Paris 75002
Métro: Bourse
01.42.97.40.68.
One of the best of the simple contemporary bistrots around town, run by the generous, enthusiastic Alain Fontaine. Casual, comfortable, serving good, reasonably priced seasonal cuisine with a southwestern French accent—Fontaine scours the region for the best suppliers.
3rd arrondissement
Au Bascou
38 rue Réaumur
Paris 75003
Métro: Arts et Métiers
01.42.72.69.25.
A lively neighborhood restaurant serving updated versions of traditional Basque and other southwestern French dishes. Moderately priced.
Glou
101 rue Vieille du Temple
Paris 75003
01.42.74.44.32.
Pedigreed produce—Utah Beach oysters from a certain "Monsieur Jean-Paul," bellota ham and charcuterie—stands in as a sort of delicious place-maker for the work of real cooking.
French, Classic
€30 per person without wine
Le Taxi Jaune
13 rue Chapon
Paris 75003
01.42.76.00.40
A snug little bistro in the northern Marais that remains one of the most reliable good-deal dining favorites in town.
Lunch menu €13, dinner à la carte €30. Prices are per person without wine.
L’Auberge Nicolas Flamel
51 rue de Montmorency
Paris 75003
Métro: Rambuteau
01.42.71.77.78.
Said to be one of the oldest buildings in Paris, dating to 1407. Ambitious food, more or less reasonably priced, in a romantic candlelit setting.
Robert et Louise
64 rue Vieille du Temple
Paris 75003
01.42.78.55.89.
French, Bistrot
A hole-in-the-wall in the Marais where the house specialty is a giant côte de boeuf for two that's cooked over an open-fire.
€35 per person without wine
4th arrondissement
Benoît
20 rue St-Martin, 4th
Métro: Châtelet
01.42.72.25.76.
Another venerable old Parisian institution taken over by Alain Ducasse. The contemporary cuisine is generally very good, but the place is far too expensive to call itself a bistrot.
Bofinger
5-7 rue de la Bastille
Paris 75004
Métro: Bastille
01.42.72.87.82.
A beautiful Belle Epoque brasserie with a splendid stained glass ceiling. The fresh seafood platters are usually fine, the rest erratic.
Georges
9 rue Beaubourg
Paris 75004
Métro: Rambuteau
01.44.78.47.99.
Another trendy, popular Costes restaurant, on the rooftop of the Centre Pompidou, with a cosmic-fantasy decor and a vast summer terrace. The buzz is palpable, the wait staff is usually eye candy, the food isn’t all that bad and the view is spectacular.
Le Gaigne
12 rue Pecquay
Paris 75004
Métro: Rambuteau
01.44.59.86.72
A vest-pocket address with a larger-than-life talent in the kitchen--young chef Mickaël Gaignon.
Lunch menus €16 and €22; five-course tasting menu €39; à la carte €45. Prices are per person without wine.
Ma Bourgogne
19 pl des Vosges
Paris 75004
Métro: Bastille/St-Paul
01.42.78.44.64.
Comfort food, Burgundy-style, in an old-fashioned restaurant under the arcades of the Place des Vosges. Mostly moderately priced, but tricky.
Mariage Frères
30 rue du Bourg-Tibourg
Paris 75004
Métro: Hôtel de Ville
01.42.72.28.11.
A popular tea shop and boutique with an amazing selection of teas from around the world.
Mon Vieil Ami
69 rue St-Louis-en-l’Ile
Paris 75004
Métro: Pont Marie
01.40.46.01.35.
A small, sleek restaurant run by one-star chef Antoine Westermann of Buerehiesel in Strasbourg, offering sophisticated contemporary cooking along with updates of regional Alsatian specialties. There’s a big communal table (table d’hôte) on one side. Fairly expensive.
Pain, Vin, Fromages
3 rue Geoffroy-l'Angevin
Paris 75004
Métro: Rambuteau
01.42.74.07.52
A cozy spot in the Marais serving six different versions of fondue—a classic Savoyard mix of cheeses, and others with curry, herbes de Provence, goat cheese, Roquefort, and a Norman treat made with Camembert and Pont l'Evêque.
Restaurant Claude Colliot
40 rue des Blancs-Manteaux
Paris 75004
01.42.71.55.45
The axis on which Colliot's cuisine turns is his produce, precisely cooked and carefully garnished to enhance its natural flavors at this good-looking dining room with exposed stone walls and comfortable contemporary furnishings.
€50 per person without wine.
5th arrondissement
Au Coin des Gourmets
5 rue Dante
Paris 75005
Métro: Cluny-La Sorbonne
01.43.26.12.92.
Small and unpretentious, run by the delightful Ta family, serving excellent Cambodian, Vietnamese and Laotian specialties, including the best ravioli vietnamien in town. Very reasonably priced, and one of our favorites.
Au Moulin à Vent
20 rue des Fossés Saint Bernard
Paris 75005
Métro: Cardinal Lemoine
01.43.54.99.37.
The delightful Moulin à Vent in the Latin Quarter offers some of the best frog's legs in Paris.
French, Bistrot
€40 per person without wine
Brasserie Balzar
49 rue des Ecoles
Paris 75005
Métro: Cluny/La Sorbonne
01.43.54.13.67.
An old Latin Quarter institution taken over by the Groupe Flo chain. It still looks as romantically scruffy and solidly Parisian as ever, and in fact the food was never much more than ordinary, but for anyone who used to love it, the thrill is gone.
Itinéraires
5 rue de Pontoise
Paris 75005
Métro: Maubert-Mutualité
01.46.33.60.11.
Chef Sylvain Sendra and his wife Sarah made a huge hit with their tiny Au Temps le Temps before graduating to this spacious restaurant, and their fan club grew apace. Sendra's inventive, even audacious, cuisine is usually worth the wait for a reservation, but portions are small and prices are up.
L'Agrume
15 rue des Fossés Saint Marcel
75005 Paris
01.43.31.86.48.
A sweet little restaurant in a remote corner of the 5th arrondissement where chef Franck Marchesi-Grandi is cooking his heart out in the small open kitchen of a simply decorated, shopfront space near Les Gobelins.
Lunch menu €16; five-course tasting menu €35; à la carte €35. Prices are per person without wine.
La Grange Saint Michel
11 rue Saint Séverin
Paris 75005
Métro: Saint-Michel
01..43.26.36.30
A popular spot in the Latin Quarter specializing in fondue: classic cheese, along with fondue aux cèpes and fondue bourguignonne—cubes of beef individually cooked at the table in a pot of boiling oil , then dressed with a variety of sauces.
Le Bar à Huîtres
33 rue St-Jacques
Paris 75005
Métro: Maubert-Mutualité
01.44.07.27.37.
Shellfish is the specialty at this lively Latin Quarter restaurant, with a wide range of other fish dishes on offer as well.
Le Buisson Ardent
25 rue Jussieu
Paris 75005
Métro: Jussieu
01.43.54.93.02.
A small neighborhood bistrot serving good contemporary French cuisine that’s usually a cut above ordinary bistrot fare.
Le Petit Pontoise
9 rue Pontoise
Paris 75005
Métro: Maubert-Mutualité
01.43.29.25.20.
A small, busy neighborhood bistrot with a noisy, good-time buzz. The food isn’t cheap, but it’s almost always very good.
Le Pré Verre
8 rue Thénard
Paris 75005
Métro: Cluny/La Sorbonne
01.43.54.59.47.
With its reputation for good contemporary food at very reasonable prices, this small Latin Quarter restaurant, run by chef Philippe Delacourcelle—one of the forerunners of the “neo-bistrot” movement in the 1980s— and his brother Marc, is always packed and often very noisy. The blackboard menus liberally scattered around the simply-decorated room offer interesting and original dishes spiked with wide-ranging Asian and North African spices and flavors, and a selection of fairly-priced wines.
Le Tourbillon
45 rue Claude Bernard
Paris 75005
01.47.07.86.32
A nearly perfect small neighborhood restaurant where the atmosphere is low-key but the food has a definite wow! factor. Updated traditional bistrot fare on the reasonably priced menu might include a starter of wild mushroom fricassee, a main dish of giant shrimp sautéed with Java pepper, and a dessrt of spicy pineapple with ginger or tangerine soup with hazelnut whipped cream. Wines are reasonable, too.
Lilane
8 rue Gracieuse
Paris 75005
01.45.87.90.68
Chef Stéphane Guilçou worked at the Jules Verne in the Eiffel Tower before opening this very good modern French bistrot in one of the city's most historic neighborhoods. Perfect langoustine-stuffed ravioli and homemade foie gras wrapped in grilled bacon; beautifully cooked mignon de veau (veal filet mignon, a warm welcome and excellent service. House wines are just fine too. Lunch menus €16 and €20; dinner menu €32, à la carte €35. Prices are per person without wine.
6th arrondissement
Au Bon Saint Pourçain
10 bis rue Servandoni
Paris 75006
Métro: St Sulpice
01.43.54.93.63.
Known to regulars as Chez François, after its gruff and loquacious owner François Bonduel, it’s one of the few real neighborhood bistrots left in formerly bohemian Saint Germain-des-Prés. The stalwart menu—leeks vinaigrette, rabbit pâté, beef with olives, roast chicken with tarragon—rarely changes, but the food is good.
Brasserie Lipp
151 blvd Saint Germain
Paris 75006
Métro: St Germain des Prés
01.45.48.53.91.
A Paris institution and a stop on the Hemingway-in-Paris trail, long past its prime.
Fish La Boissonnerie
69 rue de Seine
Paris 75006
Métro: Odéon
01.43.54.34.69.
A small neighborhood restaurant with a Juan Sanchez and New Zealander Drew Harre (who also runs the Cosí sandwich shop across the street). Good food, good wine list, reasonable prices, lots of Anglophones elbow-to-elbow at crowded tables.
KGB (Kitchen Galerie Bis)
25 rue des Grands Augustins
Paris 75006
Métro: Saint-Michel or Théâtre de l'Odéon
01.46.33.00.85
A colorful contemporary bistrot with lower prices and a simpler but no less delicious menu. Ledeuil also offers a different take on the Asian-influenced contemporary French cooking.
€45 per person without wine
La Ferrandaise
8 rue de Vaugirard
Paris 75006
Métro: Odéon
01.43.26.36.36.
A small neighborhood restaurant with reasonably-priced, interesting but not outlandish modern French food—the kind of place that’s getting very hard to find in this increasingly gentrified, high-rent district.
La Mediterranée
2 pl de l’Odéon
Paris 75006
Métro: Odéon
01.43.26.02.30.
A lovely restaurant facing the Odéon Theater, with beautiful 1940s murals by Christian Bérard and Vertès and a menu designed by Jean Cocteau, it was once the canteen of le tout Paris of the theater and ballet worlds, along with government officials and politicians (the Senate is a short walk away). The food is excellent and expensive, but there is a very reasonable fixed-price menu.
La Société
4 pl Saint Germain des Prés
Paris 75006
Métro: Saint-Germain-des-Prés
01.53.63.60.60.
The latest of the Costes brothers' many Parisian restaurants.
French, Classic
€60 per person without wine
Le Comptoir du Relais
9 Carrefour de l’Odéon
Paris 75006
Métro: Odéon
01.44.27.07.50.
The fiefdom of chef Yves Camdeborde, who made his name as one of the nouveau bistrot chefs of the 1990s, this simple restaurant attached to the Hôtel Relais Saint-Germain is a no-reservation café-brasserie by day and on weekends; after 7 pm on weeknights, out come the linen tablecloths, china tableware and crystal glasses and it becomes a reasonable, fixed-price, fixed-menu gourmet restaurant—reservations required, months in advance. It’s good, if not quite worth the two- or three-month wait.
Le P'tit Fernand
7 rue Lobineau
75006 Paris
01.40.46.06.88
A hangout for neighborhood regulars in Saint Germain des Prés where the meat is particularly good—try the morceau du boucher—but there's plenty of choice: a tartare of spicy chopped avocado and cooked crawfish, foie gras ravioli, magret de canard with cherries. Exceptionally good value in this increasingly upmarket area.
Les Bouquinistes
53 quai des Grands Augustins
Paris 75006
Métro: St Michel
01.43.25.45.94.
One of three-star chef Guy Savoy’s baby bistrots, with a colorful contemporary decor and breezy service.
L’Epi Dupin
11 rue Dupin
Paris 75006
Métro: Sèvres Babylone
01.42.22.64.56.
The tiny, reasonably-priced restaurant of chef François Pasteau is still going strong, packed solid with reservations made months in advance for the two or three services to a meal. The food’s still terrific too, almost enough to overcome the frenzied atmosphere.
L’Epigramme
9 rue de l’Eperon
Paris 75006
Métro: Odéon
01.44.41.00.09.
A tiny, first-rate restaurant run with great care by owner Stéphane Marcouzzi and chef Aymeric Kräml, offering a short menu of modern French dishes, usually extremely good.
Pères et Filles
81 rue de Seine
Paris 75006
Métro: Mabillon/Odéon
01.43.25.00.28.
Good, simple modern French cuisine with a little pasta and a touch of Asia thrown in. It’s casual, popular, crowded and fun.
Ralph's
173 blvd Saint Germain
75006 Paris
01.44.77.76.00.
A pricey pocket of American gastronomy in the new Ralph Lauren mega-boutique, serving dishes that recall 1960s country-club dining room fare: clam chowder, crab cakes, club sandwiches and a roundup of burgers. €70 per person without wine
Ze Kitchen Galerie
4 rue des Grands Augustins
Paris 75006
Métro: St Michel
01.44.32.00.32.
Chef William Ledeuil won a Michelin star this year for his innovative, different and delicious Franco-Asian fusion food. Customers seated at the far end of the restaurant can watch him at work in his glass-walled kitchen.
7th arrondissement
Atelier de Joël Robuchon
5 rue Montalembert
Paris 75007
Métro: Rue du Bac
01.42.22.56.56.
There’s bar-stool, counter service only at this “workshop” of formerly-retired three-star chef Joël Robuchon. No reservations except for early sittings at 11:30 am and 6:30 pm. Otherwise it’s wait your turn in line for Robuchon’s highly-praised tapas-style small dishes.
Bistrot de Breteuil
3 pl de Breteuil
75007 Paris
01.45.67.07.27.
A very good-value €38 fixed price menu, with numerous choices, that includes an aperitif, starter, main course, dessert, coffee and a half bottle of wine per person, all in a charming restaurant with a spacious outdoor terrace overlooking the Place de Breteuil in the 7th arrondissement.
Cinq Mars
51 rue de Verneuil
Paris 75007
Métro: Solférino/Rue du Bac
01.45.44.69.13.
A small, dark and comfortable neighborhood bistrot with surprisingly and consistently good food. Always a good bet.
Jules Verne
Eiffel Tower, Pilier Sud
Paris 75007
01.45.55.61.44
Food by Alain Ducasse contends with the stunning views from this restaurant in the Eiffel Tower.
Fixed-price lunch menu €75; dinner €200. Prices are per person without wine.
La Fontaine de Mars
129 rue Saint Dominique
Paris 75007
Métro: Ecole Militaire
01.47.05.46.44.
The very image of a red-checked-tablecloth Paris bistrot, serving reliable southwestern specialties including foie gras, sliced duck breast and cassoulet. A longtime neighborhood favorite, it’s also become a tourist hotspot since the Obamas dropped in for a family dinner on their Paris trip in 2009.
La Laiterie Sainte Clotilde
64 rue de Bellechasse
Paris 75007
01.45.51.74.61.
French, Comfort Food
The satisfying blackboard menu changes regularly but sticks to appealing French comfort food made from good quality seasonal produce.
Lunch menu €20, dinner €25; Prices are per person without wine.
Le Clos des Gourmets
16 ave Rapp
Paris 75007
Métro: Ecole Militaire
01.45.51.75.61.
A little out of the way in a mostly residential district, an unpretentious restaurant serving fine modern French cuisine.
Le Voltaire
27 Quai Voltaire
Paris 75007
Métro: Rue du Bac or RER: Musée d'Orsay
01 42 61 17 49
Splurge on this traditional Parisian standard on the Seine offering bistro classics. The main dining room is classy and expensive, or try its caf around the corner for a more relaxed atmosphere at a lower price.
Les Cocottes
135 rue Saint Dominique
Paris 75007
Métro: Ecole Militaire
No phone
Chef Christian Constant has made this little corner of the city his own, with four restaurants almost in a row: the upmarket Violin d’Ingres, the lower-key Café Constant, the seafood-oriented Fables de la Fontaine, and Les Cocottes, with a menu of sandwiches, plats du jour and long-simmered casserole dishes.
Les Ombres
27 quai Branly
Paris 75007
Métro: Alma-Marceau
01.47.53.68.00.
On the rooftop of the new Quai Branly museum, a beautiful, wood-paneled and glass-walled restaurant directly beneath the Eiffel Tower—quite a sight, especially when it sparkles at night. The modern French cuisine is top-notch too, with a few fusion elements recalling the museum’s focus on African, Asian, Oceanic and Amerindian art. The prices can be stiff, but there are very interesting fixed-price three-course menus at €38 for lunch and €65 for dinner, making a splurge relatively reasonable. And in fine weather the big outdoor terrace is magical.
Thoumieux
79 rue Saint Dominique
Paris 75007
01.47.05.49.75.
A glitzy remake of this vieille France institution
€60 per person without wine
8th arrondissement
Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée
Hôtel Plaza Athénée
25 ave Montaigne
Paris 75008
Métro: Alma-Marceau
01.53.67.65.00.
The very formal, three-star Paris flagship of multi-star chef Alain Ducasse. Price had better be no object here.
Café Lenôtre
Carré Marigny, 10 ave des Champs-Elysées
Paris 75008
Métro: Champs-Elysées–Clemenceau
01.42.65.85.10.
A spacious modern restaurant with a big summer terrace, part of the renowned Lenôtre pâtisserie empire, in the garden section of the Champs-Elysées. Light, Mediterranean-oriented cuisine, famous desserts, medium prices.
Café Prunier
15 Place de la Madeleine
Paris 75008
01.47.42.98.91
The rival caviar boutique to Caviar Kaspa!
Dominique Bouchet
11 rue Treilhard
Paris 75008
Métro: Miromesnil
01.45.61.09.46.
Formerly chef at the Hôtel Crillon, the gracious and gregarious Bouchet opened this small, elegantly simple restaurant several years ago and quickly won a well-merited Michelin star—everything on his fairly short menu is an object lesson in fine French cuisine. Moderately expensive.
La Cave Beauveau
4 rue des Saussaies
Paris 75008
01.42.65.24.90.
A 1950s vintage vest-pocket bistrot across the street from the Elysée Palace.
€35 per person without wine
Ladurée
16 rue Royale
Paris 75008
Métro: Concorde/Madeleine
01.42.60.21.79.
The original pastry shop and tea salon that made the macaron famous. A good stop for lunch.
Le Cinq
31 ave George V
Paris 75008
01.49.52.70.00.
The elegant restaurant of Paris's Hôtel Four Seasons George V
€230 for two without wine
Le Mini Palais
Perron Alexandre III, Ave Winston Churchill
Paris 75008
01.42.56.42.42
A restaurant behind the majestic colonnade on the Grand Palais's eastern flank.
€60 per person without wine
Les Ambassadeurs
Hôtel de Crillon
10 pl de la Concorde
Paris 75008
Métro: Concorde
01.44.71.16.16.
One of the most spectacular restaurants in Paris, in a glittering 18th-century ballroom with marble floors and crystal chandeliers, where two-star chef Jean-François Piège combines classical training with lavish, inventive, wildly expensive contemporary cuisine.
L’Alsace
39 ave des Champs-Elysées
Paris 75008
Métro: Franklin D. Roosevelt
01.53.93.97.00.
A big, bustling Alsatian-style brasserie now run by one of the city’s ubiquitous big chains, but it’s on the Champs-Elysées and it’s open 24/7.
L’Angle du Faubourg
195 rue du Faubourg St-Honoré
Paris 75008
Métro: Ternes
01.40.74.20.20.
The one-star restaurant of Jean-Claude Vrinat, the owner of long-time three-star restaurant Taillevent, and now run by his heirs. Bright contemporary decor, excellent food and a great selection of wines. The prices are fair, but it’s still a splurge.
L’Arôme
3 rue St. Philippe du Roule
Paris 75008
Métro: St. Philippe du Roule
01.42.25.55.98.
A colorful modern restaurant whose Chef Thomas Boullault serves light, bright contemporary food, reasonably priced for this downtown neighborhood.
Makoto Aoki
19 rue Jean Mermoz
Paris 75008
01.43.59.29.24
Having mastered the technical skills of a classical French culinary education, Aoki creates dishes that marry Gaul to Japan with brilliant subtlety.
Relais Plaza
Hôtel Plaza Athénée
Avenue Montaigne
Paris 75008
01.53.67.64.00.
A fashion crowd favorite at the Hotel Plaza Athénée.
French, Classic
€50 per person without wine
Spoon
12 rue de Marignan
Paris 75008
01.40.76.34.44.
A showcase for health-conscious, ecologically correct cooking, proving that environmental responsibility and gastronomy aren't mutually exclusive.
€50 per person without wine
Stella Maris
4 rue Arsène Houssaye
Paris 75008
Métro: Charles de Gaulle-Etoile
01.42.89.16.22.
It’s hard to beat the superlative French haute cuisine served here by chef Tateru Yoshino—there’s no confusing fusion, just inspired excellence, well worth the elevated prices.
9th arrondissement
Brasserie Printemps
Printemps de la Mode, 6th floor
64 blvd Haussmann
Paris 75009
Métro: Havre-Caumartin
01.42.82.58.84.
Under the sensational Art Nouveau stained-glass dome of the famed department store, a restaurant with a colorful contemporary decor by designer Didier Gomez, a circular oyster bar in the center, and furniture by Philippe Starck. It’s good fun, and the food isn’t bad if you stick to the simple stuff.
Chartier
7 rue du Faubourg Montmartre
Paris 75009
Métro: Grands Boulevards
01.47.70.86.29.
A Paris institution, with an authentic 1896 decor, still serving the simplest of old-fashioned French bistrot food at prices that remain well below average.
Corneil
19 rue Condorcet
Paris 75009
Métro: Anvers or Poissonnière
01.49.95.92.25
A fine example of the bobo (bohemian bourgeois) style, this delightful little bistrot has won a name for itself by serving a gargantuan côte de boeuf (rib steak) for two for the sweetheart price of €44.
€40 per person without wine
L'Aromatik
7 rue Jean-Baptiste Pigalle
Paris 75009
01.48.74.62.27
Accurately named, nice-looking bistrot with an original Art Deco decor.
Lunch menu €15.90, prix fixe dinner €35. Prices are per person without wine.
Le Jardinier
5 rue Richer
Paris 75009
Métro: Cadet
01.48.24.79.79.
A charming restaurant with an eclectic, eccentric flea-market decor, offering inventive contemporary French cuisine at reasonable prices. Serves until 11 pm.
Les Comédiens
1 rue de la Trinité
Paris 75009
Métro: Trinité
01.40.82.95.95.
Solid French fare at moderate prices in this old-fashioned theater district restaurant that stays open late for after-the-show dining.
10th arrondissement
Brasserie Julien
16 rue du Faubourg St-Denis
Paris 75010
Métro: Strasbourg-St Denis
01.47.70.12.06.
In the gorgeous Art Nouveau setting of a historic restaurant now run by the Groupe Flo chain, reliable French fare at moderate prices.
Chez Casimir
6 rue de Belzunce
Paris 75010
Métro: Gare du Nord
01.48.78.28.80.
The annex of Chez Michel’s chef Thierry Breton, where the simpler food is almost as good, the prices slightly lower and the atmosphere less supercharged. Small summer terrace.
Chez Michel
10 rue de Belzunce
Paris 75010
Métro: Gare du Nord
01.44.53.06.20.
One of the first of the revolutionary good-value bistrots of the 1990s, more popular than ever, where chef Thierry Breton still turns out reliably good, interesting dishes relished by his faithful, noisy clientele. Avoid the basement room if possible.
Chez Prune
36 rue Beaurepaire
Paris 75010
Métro: République
01.42.41.30.47.
The funky, charming neighborhood café that is the mainstay of the Canal Saint Martin district. The simple food is just fine.
La Cantine de Quentin
52 rue Bichat
Paris 75010
01.42.02.40.32
The perfect destination after a walk along the romantic canal St-Martin as it doglegs through the ever trendier 10th arrondissement
€30 per person without wine
La Grille
80 rue du Faubourg Poissonnière
Paris 75010
01.47.70.89.73.
French, Bistrot
La Grille, with a curious collection of dusty dolls dominating the decor, offers a wonderful anthology of bistrot dishes prepared by Geneviève's hard-working husband Yves. His pièce de résistance is grilled turbot with the best beurre blanc in Paris.
€40 per person without wine
Philou
12 ave Richerand
Paris 75010
Métro: Goncourt
01.42.38.00.13
Near the Canal Saint-Martin, a cozy bistrot opened by restaurateur Philippe Damas. A recent meal included an excellent starter of scallop-and-oyster tartare and first-rate main courses of fresh cod with Le Puy lentils and wild duck with honey-braised eggplant.
Terminus Nord
23 rue de Dunkerque
Paris 75010
Métro: Gare du Nord
01.42.85.05.15.
An old Parisian favorite opposite the Gare du Nord railroad station, now owned, like so many other of the city’s traditional brasseries, by a large chain. The Art Deco decor is dazzling, the atmosphere is bustling, and the food is usually at least correct.
11th arrondissement
Astier
44 rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud
Paris 75011
01.43.57.16.35
Long a legendary institution on the Paris bistrot scene, Astier has been spruced up but not changed. Vieux parigot atmosphere and a roster of traditional staples including chicken-liver terrine, foie gras, guinea fowl grand-mere, but also lighter contemporary dishes like a thin tart of sea bream and herb risotto. The 400-reference wine list maintains its reputation for excellence, too.
Au Vieux Chêne
7 rue Dahomey
Paris 75011
Métro: Faidherbe-Chaligny
01.43.71.67.69.
Old-fashioned charm in a wood-paneled bistrot with tiled floors, and new-fashioned takes on home-style cooking by laid-back chef Stéphane Chevassus. A treat.
Auberge Pyrénées-Cévennes
106 rue de la Folie Méricourt
Paris 75011
01.43.57.33.78.
French, Bistrot
A truly Rabelaisian address hidden away in a blessedly ungentrified corner of the 11th arrondissement. The delicious smells of honest slow cooking fill the air as soon as you step inside, and with a warm welcome from Françoise, the world seems a much better place. Sausages dangle from big beams overhead, and for me every meal here is blissful agony in deciding what to have. If you love salade frisée aux lardons (curly endive with chunks of hot bacon) as much as I do, you've come to the right place, and the cassoulet and ris de veau au Porto (veal sweetbreads in port-wine sauce) are wonderful, too.
€30 per person without wine
Bistrot Paul Bert
18 rue Paul Bert
Paris 75011
Métro: Faidherbe-Chaligny
01.43.72.24.01.
One of the oldest of the excellent bistrots on the small street that has become a remarkable restaurant row. Great value for money.
Coup de Feu
48 rue Léon-Frot
Paris 75011
Metro: Charonne
01.43.67.23.48
A very simple neighborhood bistrot serving a mix of traditional and slightly more contemporary dishes.
La Vache Acrobate
77 rue Amelot
Paris 75011
01.47.00.49.42
A reasonably-priced, very simple and very good neighborhood bistrot in the trendy 11th arrondissement.
€30 per person without wine
Le Chateaubriand
129 ave Parmentier
Paris 75011
Métro: Goncourt
01.43.57.45.95.
A simple no-decor neighborhood bistrot that has become one of the hot spots on the Parisian food scene, where chef Inaki Aizpitarte conjures up fixed-price dinner menus featuring sometimes wildly inventive cuisine. Lunch is reasonably priced, simpler fare.
Le Marsangy
73 ave Parmentier
Paris 75011
Métro: Parmentier
01.47.00.94.25.
A very reasonably priced, old-fashioned Paris bistrot, serving well-prepared classic bistro dishes.
L’Ecailler du Bistrot
22 rue Paul Bert
Paris 75011
Métro: Faidherbe-Chaligny
01.43.72.76.77.
The seafood annex of the Bistro Paul Bert, serving fresh fish and oysters direct from the Atlantic coast. Moderately priced.
Rino
46 rue Trousseau
Paris 75011
Métro: Ledru Rollin or Faidherbe-Chaligny
01.48.06.95.85
Young Italian chef Giovanni Passerini has made this nondescript little spot a destination table with intriguingly inventive, market-driven menus he revises daily. Dishes might include barley risotto with orange zest and strips of squid or pork shoulder garnished with cabbage and crushed hazelnuts. No atmospheric decor, but a great address for intrepid gourmets.
12th arrondissement
A La Biche au Bois
45 ave Ledru-Rollin
Paris 75012
01.43.43.34.38
A jolly, sometimes raucous, no-nonsense bistrot not far from the Gare de Lyon train station.
€40 per person without wine
La Gazzetta
29 rue Cotte
Paris 75012
Metro: Ledru-Rollin
01.43.47.47.05.
Swedish chef Peter Nilsson made his name in the delightful restaurant Trois Salons in Uzès, near Nîmes, before bringing his inventive, Mediterranean-inspired cuisine to this spot near the Bastille.
Le Quincy
28 ave Ledru-Rollin
Paris 75012
Métro: Gare de Lyon
01.46.28.46.76.
Vieux Paris straight out of an old movie set, checkered tablecloths, pâté maison, pot-au-feu and all.
Le Train Bleu
Gare de Lyon, Place Louis Armand
Paris 75012
Métro: Gare de Lyon
01.43.43.09.06.
The prodigiously ornate Belle Epoque restaurant inside the Gare de Lyon, named after the famous Paris-Nice night train. Open all day. The food is not great, but the decor is worth the trip.
13th arrondissement
Au Petit Marguery
9 blvd de Port-Royal
Paris 75013
Métro: Gobelins
01.43.31.58.59.
A treasured Paris institution that has recently changed hands, but so far the traditional menu and the delightful ambiance remain intact. Generous portions, great game dishes in season.
Le Comptoir du Petit Marguery
9 blvd de Port Royal
75013 Paris
01.42.17.43.43.
A new, less-expensive annex to Le Petit Marguery, with copious main courses including luscious lamb shoulder baked in a slow oven for seven hours and a steamed sturgeon filet served with seasonal vegetables. An excellent address for a low-key, low-budget and very satisfying meal.
€25 per person without wine
L’Avant Goût
26 rue Bobillot
Paris 75013
Métro: Place d’Italie
01.53.80.24.00.
A contemporary bistrot a little off the beaten track but offering very interesting, imaginative cuisine at reasonable prices.
L’Ourcine
92 rue Broca
Paris 75013
Métro: Glacière
01.47.07.13.65
A fun and funky restaurant in an out-of-the-way neighborhood, with innovative cooking by Sylvain Danière, who trained with star bistrot chef Yves Camdeborde. Moderate prices.
14th arrondissement
La Coupole
102 blvd du Montparnasse
Paris 75014
Métro: Vavin
01.43.20.14.20.
The famous brasserie of 1920s Paris, renovated but now run by a restaurant chain. It may be worth a nostalgic visit, but not for the food.
Le Dôme
108 blvd du Montparnasse
Paris 75014
Métro: Vavin
01.43.35.25.81.
Another 1920s Montparnasse institution, now converted into an excellent but wildly expensive seafood emporium.
Le Duc
243 blvd Raspail
Paris 75014
Métro: Raspail
01.43.20.96.30.
Serving some of the freshest seafood in town, but extremely expensive.
Les Petites Sorcières
12 rue Liancourt
Paris 75014
Métro: Mouton-Duverney
01.43.21.95.68.
The new address of chef Ghislaine Arabian, who formerly had two Michelin stars at Ledoyen. She’s known for her Flemish specialties, served here at reasonable prices.
L’Entêtée
4 rue Danville
Paris 75014
01.40.47.56.81.
A minuscule bistrot just off the Rue Daguerre, one of Paris's liveliest and best market streets.
€30 per person without wine
15th arrondissement
Afaria
15 rue Desnouettes
Paris 75015
Métro: Convention
01.48.56.15.36.
A rustic bistrot where young chef Julien Duboué serves tapas and Basque-inspired contemporary cuisine.
Jadis
208 rue de la Croix Nivert
Paris 75015
01.45.57.73.20.
A brilliant bistrot on a quiet street in the outermost zone of the 15th arrondissement.
€30 per person without wine
La Beurre Noisette
68 rue Vasco de Gama
Paris 75015
Métro: Lourmel
01.48.56.82.49.
Chef Thierry Blanqui’s excellent, simple contemporary cooking has a solid following at this small, two room neighborhood restaurant—unfortunately a bit out of the way.
La Cantine des Tontons
36 rue de Dantzig
75015 Paris
01.48.28.23.66.
A charming little restaurant where guests serve themselves a three-course fixed-price menu of: tasty, made-on-the-premises dishes that might include terrine de campagne, rabbit in mustard cream sauce, or veal shanks braised with shallots and a selection of cheeses and desserts.
Fixed-price three-course menu €21 per person without wine
Le Cassenoix
56 rue de la Fédération
Paris 75015
Métro: Bir-Hakeim or Dupleix
01.45.66.09.01
Chef Pierre-Olivier Lenormand has fitted out this charming old atelier with flea-market furniture, and serves a changing great-value menu that might include marinated gravlax-style salmon with shaved fennel or an excellent pot-au-feu of beef cheeks and winter vegetables.
Le Concert de Cuisine
14 rue Nélaton
Paris 75015
01.40.58.10.15
Chef Naoto Masumoto's superb Franco-Japanese cooking has become a strong draw for stylish crowds in spite of a somewhat drab location. Recent meals included risotto with nutty-tasting Japanese pumpkin and irresistible lacquered suckling pig with celery root purée. Lunch menus €24 and €29; dinner €40 and €57.
Le Sept Quinze
29 ave de Lowendal
Paris 75015
Métro: Cambronne/Ségur
01.43.06.23.06.
A busy bistrot with an upbeat ambience, friendly service and well-prepared modern French food.
Le Suffren
84 ave de Suffren
Paris 75015
Métro: La Motte-Picquet-Grenelle
01.45.66.97.86.
A bustling neighborhood bistrot, popular with locals, serving classic bistrot fare, in generous portions and at reasonably priced.
16th arrondissement
L'Ogre
1 Avenue de Versailles
75016 Paris
01.45.27.93.40
A terrific wine list, well-drilled service, and the good atmosphere generated by a clientele of stylish Parisian professionals letting down their hair.
La Grande Cascade
Allée de Longchamp, Bois de Boulogne
Paris 75016
Métro: Porte Maillot then taxi
01.45.27.33.51.
A glamorous, formal one-star restaurant in an 1850 pavilion in the Bois de Boulogne, beside a rocky waterfall. Beautiful summer terrace. Very expensive.
La Table de Joël Robuchon
16 ave Bugeaud, 16th
Métro: Victor Hugo
01.56.28.16.16.
The second comeback restaurant of formerly-retired chef Robuchon (after the lunch-counter bar-stool L’Atélier in the 6th), this one with two Michelin stars. Excellent but dull.
Le Chalet des Iles
14 chemin Ceinture du Lac Inférieur du Bois de Boulogne
Paris 75016
Métro: Rue de la Pompe, then walk (15 min.) or taxi to the boat dock.
01.42.88.04.69.
Fairly expensive, but reasonable fixed-price menus. A rustic pavilion on an island in a lake in the Bois de Boulogne, reached by a two-minute ride in a flat bottomed boat. Cozy with a fireplace in the winter, but best in summer with its several outdoor terraces. The classic food is correct, the atmosphere—including peacocks strutting in the garden—is unique. See map on website
Le Petit Pergolèse
40 rue Pergolèse
Paris 75016
Métro: Argentine
01.45.00.21.40.
A lively, noisy local favorite in an upscale residential neighborhood, with very good food, reasonable prices and closely packed tables.
Le Pré Catelan
Route de Suresnes, Bois de Boulogne, 16th
Métro: Porte Maillot or Porte Dauphine then taxi
01.44.14.41.14.
An elegant three-star restaurant in a beautifully rejuvenated Second Empire pavilion in the Bois de Boulogne.
L’Astrance
4 rue Beethoven
Paris 75016
Métro: Passy
01.40.50.84.40.
Reservations at least three months or more in advance are the norm for this very small three-star restaurant run by Pascal Barbot and chef Christophe Rohat.
Lunch menus €70-€190, dinner fixed-price €190. Prices are per person without wine.
Tokyo Eat
13 ave du Président Wilson
Paris 75016
Métro: Iéna
01.47.20.00.29.
A big, surprisingly good canteen-style restaurant with an open kitchen in the oh-so-trendy Palais de Tokyo contemporary art center.
17th arrondissement
Frédéric Simonin
25 rue Bayen
Paris 75017
01.45.74.74.74
Frédéric Simonin's contemporary French cooking is light and full of flavor—recent main courses included tender squid with oven-roasted tomatoes, and veal sweetbreads garnished with morel mushrooms. It's pricey, but the superb cooking warrants the hefty tab. Fixed-price lunch €38, à la carte €70. Prices are per person without wine.
Guy Savoy
18 rue Troyon
Paris 75017
Métro: Charles-de-Gaulle–Etoile
01.43.80.40.61.
The three-star flagship of one of the city’s best chefs.
La Bigarrade
106 rue Nollet
Paris 75017
Métro: Brochant
01.42.26.01.02.
If you're avid for a cutting-edge sample of contemporary French cooking, you should reserve right away--there are only seven tables and Paris food lovers are keeping them filled.
Prix-fixe €45 per person without wine
Le Hide
10 rue du Général Lanrezac
Paris 75017
Métro Charles-de-Gaulle-Etoile
01.45.74.15.81.
Traditional Paris bistrot cuisine by a Japanese-born chef.
Les Fougères
10 rue Villebois-Mareuil
Paris 75017
01.40.68.78.66
An excellent little place with an attractive dining room dominated by a long banquette upholstered in fern-patterned cut velvet.
Fixed-price lunch menu €25, dinner €36; à la carte €70. Prices are per person without wine.
Paolo Petrini
6 rue du Débarcadère
Paris 75017
Métro: Porte Maillot
01.45.74.25.95.
A top-level Italian restaurant, with excellent contemporary alta cucina . Very expensive.
18th arrondissement
A La Pomponnette
42 rue Lepic
Paris 75018
Métro: Abbesses
01.46.06.08.36.
A Montmartre institution whose decor hasn’t changed for a century, offering well-prepared French comfort food, friendly service, moderate prices and a fun ambience.
Bistrot Poulbot
39 rue Lamarck
Paris 75018
Métro: Lamarck-Caulaincourt
01.46.06.86.00.
In place of the old Poulbot Gourmet, a new bistrot whose chef Veronique Melloul, from the Corrèze region of central France, serves family-style French cooking at reasonable prices.
Chamarré Montmartre
52 rue Lamarck
Paris 75018
01.42.55.05.42.
An opportunity to discover a very personal take on the fascinating cooking and produce of the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius.
A la carte €65, Lunch menus €29-€35, dinner €47-€52. Prices are per person without wine.
Chéri Bibi
15 rue André-del-Sarte
Paris 75018
01.42.54.88.96
Not only is it located in a pretty Montmartre street with an edgy bohemian personality, but it's serving what stylish young Parisians like eating these days--solid vieille France bistrot cuisine made with first-rate produce.
Open for dinner only.
€50 per person without wine
Guilo Guilo
8 rue Garreau
Paris 75018
01.42.54.23.92
An almost impossibly popular Japanese restaurant in Montmartre.
Fixed menu €45 per person without wine
Le Lapin Agile
22 rue des Saules
Paris 75018
01.46.06.85.87.
The 19th-century cabaret is still in action with comedy and song.
Le Moulin de La Galette
83 rue Lepic
Paris 75018
01.46.06.84.77.
Contemporary restaurant on the site of the famous 19th-century guinguette.
Le Winch
44 rue Damrémont
Paris 75018
01.42.23.04.63
The menu features a reasonably priced, imaginatively prepared catch of the day.
€25 per person without wine
Mon Oncle
3 rue Durantin
Paris 75018
01.42.51.21.48.
Think tasty old-fashioned French comfort food.
French, Bistrot
Menus: lunch €14 and €17, dinner €22 and €26. Prices are per person without wine.
Wepler
14 pl de Clichy
Paris 75018
Métro: Place de Clichy
01.45.22.53.24.
A big, brightly-lit old-style brasserie just like it used to be in the good old days.
19th arrondissement
Au Boeuf Couronné
188 ave Jean Jaurès
Paris 75019
Métro: Porte de Pantin
01.42.39.44.44.
The last of the traditional restaurants that once filled this former slaughterhouse district, with a beautiful Art Deco interior and a menu for meat-eaters only.
Café de la Musique
Cité de la Musique
213 ave Jean Jaurès
Paris 75019
Métro: Porte de Pantin
01.48.03.15.91.
A bright, modern café in the music museum of the Parc de la Villette, with fairly good modern fare including a bit of Asian fusion here and there.
