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
Au Pied de Cochon
6 rue Coquillière, 1st
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, 1st
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, 1st
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.
Hôtel Costes
239 rue St-Honoré, 1st
Métro: Tuileries
01.42.44.50.25
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, 1st
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.
La Taverne Henri IV
13 place du Pont-Neuf, 1st
01.43.54.27.90.
French, Bistrot
€18
La Tour Montlhéry/Chez Denise
5 rue des Prouvaires, 1st
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, 1st
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, 1st
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, 1st
Métro: Pyramides
01.42.61.35.41
€30 per person without wine.
L’Ardoise
28 rue du Mont Thabor, 1st
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.
Yam'Tcha
4 rue Sauval, 1st
Paris, 75001
01.40.26.08.07.
€45
In March 2010, Yam'Tcha received its first Michelin star.
2nd
A Priori Thé
35 galerie Vivienne, 2nd
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, 2nd
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, 2nd
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, 2nd
01.53.40.84.10.
French, Contemporary
Prix-fixe dinner €39
Chez Georges
1 rue du Mail, 2nd
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.
Drouant
16-18 place Gaillon, 2nd
01.42.65.15.16.
French, Contemporary
Lunch €20; a la carte €55 and up
Le Mesturet
77 rue de Richelieu, 2nd
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.
Les Racines
8 passage des Panoramas, 2nd
Métro: Grands Boulevards
01.40.13.06.41.
Service is nonstop from noon to 11 pm in this great little wine bar in one of the city’s lovely covered passages—simple plats du jour, cheese and charcuterie platters.
3rd
Au Bascou
38 rue Réaumur, 3rd
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
01.42.74.44.32.
French, Classic
€ 30
Le Taxi Jaune
13 rue Chapon, 3rd
01.42.76.00.40
Lunch menu €13, dinner à la carte €30.
L’Auberge Nicolas Flamel
51 rue de Montmorency, 3rd
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, 3rd
01.42.78.55.89.
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.
French, Bistrot
€35
4th
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, 4th
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, 4th
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.
L'Impasse
Impasse Guemene, 4th
01.42.72.08.45.
French, Classic
€18
Le Gaigne
12 rue Pecquay, 4th
01.44.59.86.72
Lunch menus €16 and €22; five-course tasting menu €39; à la carte €45.
Ma Bourgogne
19 pl des Vosges, 4th
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, 4th
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, 4th
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.
5th
Au Coin des Gourmets
5 rue Dante, 5th
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, 5th
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
Brasserie Balzar
49 rue des Ecoles, 5th
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, 5th
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.
Le Bar à Huîtres
33 rue St-Jacques
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, 5th
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, 5th
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, 5th
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.
6th
Au Bon Saint Pourçain
10 bis rue Servandoni, 6th
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, 6th
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, 6th
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, 6th
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
La Ferrandaise
8 rue de Vaugirard, 6th
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, 6th
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
01.53.63.30.30.
French, Classic
€60
Le Comptoir du Relais
9 carrefour de l’Odéon, 6th
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..
Les Bouquinistes
53 quai des Grands Augustins, 6th
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, 6th
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, 6th
Métro: Odéon
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. 01.44.41.00.09.
Pères et Filles
81 rue de Seine, 6th
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.
Ze Kitchen Galerie
4 rue des Grands Augustins, 6th
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
Atelier de Joël Robuchon
5 rue Montalembert, 7th
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.
Au Pied de Fouet
45 rue de Babylone, 7th
01.47.05.12.27.
French, Classic
A la carte from €11
Cinq Mars
51 rue de Verneuil, 7th
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.
D'Chez Eux
2 ave Lowendal, 7th
01.47.05.52.55.
A terrific old auberge behind Les Invalides popular with the well-heeled bourgeoisie of the Faubourg Saint Germain neighborhood and with French politicians-former French president Jacques Chirac invited ex-German chancellor and fellow food-lover Gerhard Schroeder to lunch here several times.
French, Bistrot
€60
Gaya Rive Gauche
44 rue du Bac, 7th
01.45.44.73.73.
French, Contemporary
€23, a la carte, €30 and up
Jules Verne
Eiffel Tower, Pilier Sud, 7th
01.45.55.61.44
Fixed-price lunch menu €75; dinner €200.
La Fontaine de Mars
129 rue Saint Dominique, 7th
Métro: Ecole Militaire
01.47.05.46.44.
The very image of a bustling, red-checked-tablecloth Paris bistrot, reliable southwestern French specialties including foie gras and breast of duck.
La Laiterie Sainte Clotilde
64 rue de Bellechasse, 7th
01.45.51.74.61.
French, Comfort Food
Lunch menu €20, dinner €25
Le Clos des Gourmets
16 ave Rapp, 7th
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.
Les Cocottes
135 rue Saint Dominique, 7th
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, 7th
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 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, but the prices are stiff.
L’Agassin
8 rue Malar, 7th
Metro: La Tour-Maubourg
01.47.05.18.18
€35 per person without wine
Thoumieux
79 rue Saint Dominique, 7th
01.47.05.49.75.
€60
8th
Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée
Hôtel Plaza Athénée
25 ave Montaigne, 8th
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, 8th
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.
Dominique Bouchet
11 rue Treilhard, 8th
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.
Ladurée
16 rue Royale, 8th
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, 8th
01.49.52.70.00.
€230 for two
Le Mini Palais
Perron Alexandre III, Ave Winston Churchill, 8th
01.42.56.42.42
€60 per person without wine.
Les Ambassadeurs
Hôtel de Crillon
10 pl de la Concorde, 8th
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, 8th
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, 8th
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, 8th
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, 8th
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
01.53.67.64.00.
French, Classic
€50, prices are per person without wine
Stella Maris
4 rue Arsène Houssaye, 8th
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
Brasserie Printemps
Printemps de la Mode, 6th floor
64 blvd Haussmann, 9th
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, 9th
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, 9th
Métro: Anvers or Poissonnière
01.49.95.92.25
€40
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.
Le Cul de Poule
53 rue des Martyrs, 9th
01.53.16.13.07.
French, Comfort Food
Prix fixe lunch €17, dinner €30
Le Jardinier
5 rue Richer, 9th
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, 9th
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
Brasserie Julien
16 rue du Faubourg St-Denis, 10th
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, 10th
Métro: Gare du Nord
01.48.78.28.80.
The annex of Chez Michel’s chef Thierry Breton (see below), 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, 10th
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, 10th
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, 10th
01.42.02.40.32
€30 per person without wine.
La Grille
80 rue du Faubourg Poissonnière, 10th
01.47.70.89.73.
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.
French, Bistrot
€40
Terminus Nord
23 rue de Dunkerque, 10th
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
Au Vieux Chêne
7 rue Dahomey, 11th
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, 11th
01.43.57.33.78.
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.
French, Bistrot
€30
Bistrot Paul Bert
18 rue Paul Bert, 11th
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, 11th
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
7 rue Amelot, 11th
01.47.00.49.42
€30 per person without wine.
Le Chateaubriand
129 ave Parmentier, 11th
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, 11th
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, 11th
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.
12th
A La Biche au Bois
45 ave Ledru-Rollin, 12th
Métro: Gare de Lyon
01.43.43.34.48
€40
An old-fashioned Paris bistrot, a jolly, sometimes raucous, no-nonsense place not far from the Gare de Lyon train station.
La Gazzetta
29 rue Cotte, 12th
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
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, 12th
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
Au Petit Marguery
9 blvd de Port-Royal, 13th
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.
L’Avant Goût
26 rue Bobillot, 13th
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, 13th
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
L'Entêtée
4 rue Danville
01.40.47.56.81.
French, Bistrot
€30
La Coupole
102 blvd du Montparnasse, 14th
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, 14th
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, 14th
Métro: Raspail
01.43.20.96.30.
Serving some of the freshest seafood in town, but extremely expensive.
Les Petites Sorcières
12 rue Liancourt
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.
15th
Afaria
15 rue Desnouettes
Métro: Convention
A rustic bistrot where young chef Julien Duboué serves tapas and Basque-inspired contemporary cuisine. 01.48.56.15.36.
Café du Commerce
51 rue du Commerce, 15th
01.45.75.03.27.
French, Comfort Food
€40
Jadis
208 rue de la Croix Nivert, 15th
01.45.57.73.20.
€30
La Beurre Noisette
68 rue Vasco de Gama, 15th
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.
Le Sept Quinze
29 ave de Lowendal, 15th
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, 15th
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.
Restaurant du Marche
59 rue de Dantzig, 15th
01.48.28.31.55.
French, Classic
Lunch €16, dinner €24 up
16th
La Grande Cascade
Allée de Longchamp, Bois de Boulogne, 16th
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 Châlet des Iles
14 chemin Ceinture du Lac Inférieur du Bois de Boulogne, 16th
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
38 rue Pergolèse, 16th
Métro: Argentine
01.45.00.23.66.
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, 16th
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.
Tokyo Eat
13 ave du Président Wilson, 16th
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
Guy Savoy
18 rue Troyon, 17th
Métro: Charles-de-Gaulle–Etoile
01.43.80.40.61.
The three-star flagship of one of the city’s best chefs.
Le Hide
10 rue du Général Lanrezac, 17th
Métro Charles-de-Gaulle-Etoile
Traditional Paris bistrot cuisine by a Japanese-borm chef. 01.45.74.15.81.
Paolo Petrini
6 rue du Débarcadère, 17th
Métro: Porte Maillot
01.45.74.25.95.
A top-level Italian restaurant, with excellent contemporary alta cucina . Very expensive.
18th
A La Pomponnette
42 rue Lepic, 18th
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
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, 18th
01.42.55.05.42.
Lunch menus €29-€35, dinner €47-€52. A la carte €65
Chéri Bibi
15 rue André-del-Sarte, 18th
01.42.54.88.96
€50. Open for dinner only.
Guilo Guilo
8 rue Garreau, 18th
01.42.54.23.92
Fixed menu €45
Le Winch
44 rue Damrémont, 18th
01.42.23.04.63
€25 per person without wine.
Mon Oncle
3 rue Durantin
01.42.51.21.48.
French, Bistrot
Menus: lunch €14 and € 17, dinner € 22 and € 26
Wepler
14 pl de Clichy, 18th
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
Au Boeuf Couronné
188 ave Jean Jaurès, 19th
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, 19th
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.