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Top 20 Paris Restaurants
By Rosa Jackson
Paris Notes restaurant editor, Paris Notes monthly restaurant columnist, multiple French food guidebook writer and editor, longtime French food magazine writer, owner of Edible Paris food itinerary service and Les Petits Farcis cooking classes
What does it mean to eat well in Paris today? For me, it could just as easily mean a freshly made bowl of Japanese noodles with a side order of gyoza as a thick strip of steak doused in creamy pepper sauce and served with French fries cooked in suet. French tastes are growing more cosmopolitan by the day, and the three-course meal washed down with plenty of red wine is no longer compulsory at lunch and dinner.
That said, most people come to Paris for a French experience and you can find the alternatives easily enough without my help. Anglo-style soup, juice and sandwich bars have popped up all over the city—some of them good, others less so—and there are dozens of international cuisines to choose from, ranging from Afghan to Rwandan. Convincing as some of these can be, foreign cuisines do get watered down to suit French tastes and you should be especially wary of the hundreds of restaurants claiming to serve Italian food.
My main job, as restaurant critic for Paris Notes for the past eight years (click on the Paris Notes issue graphic to download a free sample of Paris Notes, containing my Paris Bites monthly column), editor of six editions of the Time Out Paris Eating and Drinking guide, and longtime updater for the Fodor’s Paris guidebook has always been to seek out the kind of French restaurants that people are willing to fly across the ocean to experience—the restaurants that couldn’t exist anywhere but Paris. Even if the Paris dining scene is changing at an unprecedented pace there are still plenty of these to be found, perhaps more than ever as ever-younger chefs open their own creative bistros.
Value is increasingly an issue for visitors, and if the days of the €10 bistro lunch are well and truly over there are still ways to eat well and cheaply in Paris. You can graze your way through the markets and food shops at lunch and save your pennies for dinner, or do the opposite and take advantage of alluringly priced lunch menus in bistros and haute cuisine restaurants. A result of the government's crackdown on drinking and driving is that all restaurants now serve wine by the glass as well as the bottle, and allow you to take unfinished bottles home. Wine bars can be a great alternative to bistros, allowing you to nibble on a plate of cheese or charcuterie, slurp a few oysters or tuck into a surprisingly good plat du jour.
I’ve chosen the restaurants on this list not just for the quality of the food but also for their reliability: these are all restaurants where I would happily become a regular, if my job (and budget) allowed me that luxury. I feel confident recommending all of these Paris restaurants, but should your experience not match your expectations please don’t hesitate to let me know about it by visiting my website (see banners below) and sending me an e-mail. I’m all too aware of how fast things change in Paris, and the least predictable aspect of dining in this city is the service. I have no qualms about bumping a restaurant off this list if I receive complaints or have a bad experience; I regularly update this list with my latest great finds.
Even this carefully thought-out selection would be meaningless unless I explained my Paris restaurant criteria, which you’ll find at the end of the list. I have chosen Paris restaurants that represent a range of prices, food styles—regional, traditional, modern, fish, haute—and neighborhoods. This was more of an accident than anything, reflecting the fact that I don’t like to eat the same food or spend time in the same neighborhood every day. Restaurants are listed by arrondissement order, as it would be impossible to list them in order of preference.
Unlike the feared Michelin inspectors, I don’t consider any restaurant sacred—and, with very rare exceptions, I dine anonymously and pay my own bill. I am confident that if you try every restaurant on this list you will have a complete—and encouraging—picture of Paris dining today, one that will keep you coming back to this city for the food alone.
The List
Ordered by Arrondissement
Criteria used for inclusion at bottom of page
Average price listed is for a three-course meal, without wine or berverage
RESTAURANT DU PALAIS-ROYAL
There can hardly be a more romantic setting for dinner in Paris than the Restaurant du Palais-Royal, looking onto the serene symmetrical gardens across from the Louvre. You can’t help but feel privileged to be here—especially if you nab a prized seat on the summer terrace. In winter, the jewel-toned interior makes an equally stylish setting for an intimate meal. The contemporary yet simply prepared French food lives up to the surroundings: among the specialties are risotto, such as a glamorous squid-ink version with lobster (the menu changes seasonally); an elegant take on steak-frites favored by the businessmen at lunchtime; some standout fish dishes; and millefeuille with seasonal fillings for dessert (chestnut in winter, strawberries in summer). •110 Galerie Valois, 1st. Tel: (1) 40 20 00 27. Closed Sun. Average €50.
WILLI'S WINE BAR
Run by a pair of British wine aficionados with a penchant for the Côtes du Rhône, Willi’s has been around since 1980—yet this is one place where quality never seems to flag, even if the service can be a little uneven. Chef François Yon works wonders with seasonal ingredients: the great-value daily changing menu (€25 at lunch, €32 at dinner) might bring you a Tatin of pearl onions with salad, roast cod with eggplant and basil "marmalade," and roast pear with spiced caramel and hazelnut cake. The dining room decorated with wine-themed art is perfect for a leisurely meal, but you can also drop in without a reservation to eat at the long oak bar. •13 Rue des Petits-Champs, 1st. Tel: (1) 42 61 05 09. Closed Sun. Average €32.
AUX LYONNAIS
This belle époque bistro with stunning painted tiles was languishing in mediocrity until star chef Alain Ducasse bought it a few years ago, dusted it off and put a fine young chef at the helm. Now it’s widely acknowledged to be one of the finest regional bistros in Paris, with a Lyonnais theme. Lyonnais cooking is not known for its lightness, but here the chef revisits classics such as coq au vin, quenelles de brochet (pike-perch dumplings) and frogs’ legs with a deft touch. Desserts are just as sophisticated and satisfying, and there are some interesting wines from the Lyon region. Some Paris Notes readers have noted that the service can be a little rushed, so this is not the place for a lingering meal. •32 Rue St-Marc, 2nd. Tel: (1) 42 96 65 04. Closed Sun. and Mon. Average €45.
L'AMBASSADE D'AUVERGNE
Few restaurants in Paris are as proud of their regional origins as L’Ambassade d’Auvergne, which serves the rib-sticking cooking of the volcanic Auvergne region in central France. Whether you order the vinegary lentils in goose fat with bacon, the aligot (cheesy whipped mashed potatoes) or the unapologetically dense chocolate mousse, the serving dish is left on your table and you are jokingly scolded for failing to polish it off. The setting is that of an old country auberge—strike up a conversation with then handlebar-moustached maître d’, who has many a story to tell. •22 Rue du Grenier St-Lazare, 3rd. Tel: (1) 42 72 31 22. Average €35.
LE GAIGNE
Mickaël Gaignon worked at Le Pré Catelan, Pierre Gagnaire and the chef’s seafood offshoot Le Gaya before opening this little plum-tinted bistro on a hidden-away street in the Marais. At age 29 he already knew what he wanted: to focus on natural and often organic ingredients, with an emphasis on vegetables. As at Le Pré Catelan, dishes have a simple title—perhaps l’oeuf bio (the organic egg) or le veau (veal)—followed by a concise description. Typical of his style are the légumes au pistou, a bright combination of beans, snow peas, carrots and celery root topped with bright purple beet sprouts and served with ginger sablé biscuits. Take advantage of the bargain, limited-choice lunch menu (€16 for two course, €22 for three) served Tuesday-Friday. •12 Rue Pecquay, 3rd. Tel: (1) 44 59 86 72. Closed Sun. and Mon. Average €50.
LE PAMPHLET
If you like everything about haute cuisine except the price, chances are you will love Le Pamphlet. The red-and-ochre dining room feels unusually calm and comfortable for a bistro—the cushy chairs even allow for the inevitable waist expansion—and chef Alain Carrère could probably get away with charging twice as much for his southwest-inspired food (though it would be wise not to mention this to him). The €35 menu, available at lunch and dinner, changes often, but you might run into squid ink risotto, cod fillet on a bed of white beans, glazed suckling pig with root vegetables and an intriguing banana cake. Prices are higher if you order à la carte, but still good value considering the quality of the food. •38 Rue Debelleyme, 3rd.Tel: (1) 42 72 39 24. Closed Sun. No lunch Mon. or Sat. Average €35-€60.
LES PAPILLES
Wines from small producers, most of them organic or “natural,” line the shelves of this bistro near the Luxembourg gardens. There are no tablecloths and few pretensions, but the food by a former Taillevent cook is always skillfully prepared and delicious, often served straight out of cast-iron pots at the table. The €29 four-course menu (you can order fewer courses at lunch) provides the best demonstration of his skills with dishes such as pumpkin soup with chorizo and chunks of farmers’ chicken in a light curry sauce with colorful spring vegetables. The foie gras, served straight out of its glass jar for €32, is also exceptional – not surprising since the owners are from southwest France. You can pick your wine straight off the shelves for an €8 corkage fee. •30 Rue Gay-Lussac, 5th. Tel: (1) 43 25 20 79). Average €29.
LE PRE VERRE
Given the caliber of cooking at this lively plum-painted bistro adorned with framed vintage jazz album covers, the prix fixe menu for €28.50 (€13.50 for a no-choice starter, main course, glass of wine and coffee at lunch) is an incredible bargain. Chef Philippe Delacourcelle, who honed his technique in Asia, might rustle up such unusual dishes as crisp-skinned cod with smoked mashed potatoes, suckling pig in a creamy cassia bark sauce, spice-crusted rump steak with a squash-filled spring roll, and tangy rhubarb compote with ginger-spiked white chocolate mousse. Be warned that the dining room can get crowded and noisy, making Le Pré Verre a less-than-ideal choice for a romantic dinner. •8 Rue Thénard, 5th. Tel: (1) 43 54 59 47. Closed Sun and Mon. Average €28.50.
CHEZ DUMONET - JOSEPHINE
Chez Dumonet should be declared a national monument, so well does it represent the old-world bistro. Its menu illustrates why I came to Paris in the first place: help-yourself marinated herrings with warm potato salad, potent boeuf bourguignon, crisp-skinned duck confit, pan-fried foie gras, monkfish with white beans, and some spectacular desserts such as a millefeuille big enough for three and a Grand Marnier soufflé whose architecture rivals the Eiffel Tower’s. I pray that Josephine will never change, with its 1930s light fixtures, white-linen-draped tables, and jokey waiters (who speak a little English). Just don't try to order your steak well done or ask for cream with your coffee, as the staff cannot bring themselves to commit such heresy against French tradition. •117 Rue du Cherche-Midi, 6th. Tel: (1) 45 48 52 40. Closed Sat and Sun. Average €50.
LES COCOTTES DE CHRISTIAN CONSTANT
Christian Constant has already proved his ability to relate to the Parisian masses with his nostalgic bistro Le Café Constant and his reinvention of Le Violon d’Ingres as a contemporary brasserie. His winning streak continues with Les Cocottes, in the same street as his three other successful restaurants (including Les Fables de la Fontaine, a seafood bistro). The concept is simple: diners choose a high seat along the long counter and mix-and-match from a menu of salads, soups, verrines, cocottes and savory tarts. No reservations are taken, but you can be in and out within 45 minutes (which is the idea). The authenticity of his “vraie salade Caesar” is arguable, but green pea velouté with chorizo and sea bream with ratatouille in a cast-iron cocotte are just what you expect from modern bistro cooking. Desserts, scribbled on the blackboard, are homey French classics. •135 Rue Saint-Dominique, 7th. Tel: (1) 45 50 10 31. Average €30.
LE CINQ
If you follow the haute cuisine scene you might remember Eric Briffard as the chef who lost his job when Alain Ducasse took over the Plaza Athénée’s restaurant. After a stint at the Elysées du Vernet, he has now landed has the most prestigious chef’s job in town, heading the kitchens of Le Cinq at the George V hotel. Though his cooking is rooted in classical technique like that of all French chefs at this level, there are many signs that he is not afraid to look beyond his country’s borders: take, for instance, his Perle Blanche oysters presented in an aspic of granny smith and wasabi, in a “chaud-froid” with lemongrass, and unadorned. If you’re tempted to read no further because of the cost, consider that you can try his €85 lunch menu for the price of two or maybe three bistro meals; almost a bargain if you also take into account the grand surroundings complete with extravagant floral arrangements and all the little extras like the sweets cart. •31 Avenue George V, 8th. Tel: (1) 49 52 70 00. Website: www.fourseasons.com/paris. Average €200.
LA TABLE DU LANCASTER
The Troisgros restaurant in Roanne, Burgundy has attracted international foodies since the 1970s, but only in 2004 did current chef Michel Troisgros open a Paris outpost in this discreet boutique hotel. Just as striking as the food itself is the Japanese-style terrace with red walls and bamboo plants, which reflects owner Grace Leo Andrieu’s Asian origins. The menu explores often under-appreciated ingredients, such as sardines, eel and frogs’ legs, alongside luxury foods such as langoustines and scallops. If you find yourself hesitating, order the signature cod in a seaweed bouillon with koshi hikari rice (the finest Japanese rice). Desserts are splendid—Troisgros has a special fondness for tart flavors. •Hôtel Lancaster, 7 Rue de Berri, 8th. Tel: (1) 40 76 40 18. No lunch Sat and Sun. Average €60.
TAILLEVENT
The most expensive restaurants in Paris generally excel at making their customers feel uneasy. Not so at Taillevent, where even relative paupers are treated like royalty —ask the valet to park your moped and he won’t turn a hair. Since the arrival of chef Alain Solivérès the kitchen has been on a roll, turning out flawless dishes such as a superb spelt risotto with frogs’ legs, bone marrow and truffles, and wild duck with Reinette apple and persimmon. Choose the subdued front room for a romantic (or illicit) meal, the livelier and more crowded back room to really feel part of this Paris institution. •15 Rue Lamennais, 8th. Tel: (1) 44 95 15 01. Closed Sun and Mon. Average €150.
SPRING
This pocket-sized modern bistro run by young chef Daniel Rose has fast become one of the most sought-out foodie destinations in Paris. Rose might be American but he has a solid foundation in French technique, having worked with Yannick Alléno at Le Meurice among other greats. Once you’ve booked your table you’ll be in the chef’s hands: Rose serves a single, prix-fixe menu every night with no substitutions, based on the fresh ingredients he picks up at the Place des Fêtes market. These might range from spring cauliflower, which goes into a remarkably creamy cream-free soup, to juicy guinea fowl with parsnip, carrot and beet. It’s not a restaurant for fussy eaters, but if you’re open-minded and have a good appetite it’s hard to do better in Paris at this price. •28 Rue de La Tour d’Auvergne, 9th. Tel: (1) 45 96 05 72 (moving to a new location in mid-2009; address to be announced). Average €48.
CHEZ MICHEL
It’s well worth venturing out to this quiet neighborhood near Gare du Nord to taste Thierry Breton’s unexpected take on the cooking of Brittany in a cozy wood-beamed dining room. One of a group of young chefs who has reinvented the Paris bistro by offering a bargain prix-fixe menu (€32) based on seasonal ingredients, he is famed for his game dishes in winter (you might try wild boar stew in a cast-iron pot with little grenaille potatoes) and for his take on Breton classics such as kig ha farz (hearty pork stew with a bread stuffing) and the signature Paris-Brest (choux pastry filled with hazelnut buttercream). He also runs the even more reasonably priced Chez Casimir a couple of doors down. •10 Rue de Belzunce, 10th. Tel: (1) 44 53 06 20. Closed Sat and Sun. No lunch Mon. Average €30.
BISTROT PAUL BERT
This little street east of the Bastille has become a bit of a gastronomic haven in recent years: on the same street you’ll find the popular modern bistro Le Temps au Temps (whose original chef, Sylvain Sendra, now cooks at Itinéraires in the 5th), the buzzy Argentinian restaurant Unico and the Bistrot Paul Bert’s seafood annex L’Ecailler du Bistrot. This vintage bistro offers a quintessential experience, with its lived-in décor, classic French fare and lively cosmopolitan crowd. A meal might start with lamb pâté or lamb’s lettuce salad with truffles in season, followed by exemplary steak-frites (served “blue, rare or badly cooked”) and an enormous île flottante dotted with pink pralines and toasted almonds. The wine list is unusually extensive (and expensive) for a bistro, but you can also choose from the more affordable wines on the chalkboard. The prix fixe menu costs €34. •18 Rue Paul Bert, 11th. Tel: (1) 43 72 24 01. Closed Sun. and Mon. Average €34.
JADIS
Jadis means “in days gone by” and a glance at the menu in this out-of-the-way bistro leaves no doubt that this is a serious restaurant. Alongside the brief seasonal menu is a list of pricier specials nearly as long, several of them featuring game or truffles in winter. The youthful Guillaume Delage was chef at Pierre Gagnaire’s annex Gaya before opening this restaurant in late 2008, but his own style strays in a much more subtle way from French classics. Escargots in puff pastry with oyster mushrooms and romaine lettuce proves to be a relatively light take on classic flavor combination, and main dishes such as salmon trout with a sauce of butter, slivered almonds and parsley on a bed of potato and watercress purée come with no superfluous flourishes, their simplicity and freshness speaking for themselves. The oozy cheeses are tempting, but so is the modernized chocolate mousse, served in quenelles with ginger, streusel and meringue on a long, boat-like plate. •208 Rue de la Croix Nivert, 15th. Tel: (1) 45 57 73 20. Closed Sun. No lunch Sat.
LE TROQUET
Those who consider Le Troquet their neighborhood haunt are very lucky indeed, since this restored 1920s dining room serves cooking several notches above ordinary bistro fare. Chef Christian Etchebest is from the Basque Country, and his allegiance to this region shows in dishes such as axoa de veau (veal stewed with bell peppers) and an inventive salad of snails with lamb’s lettuce, capers, bacon and pistachio vinaigrette. The current pastry chef trained at Le Grand Véfour, which explains why the hand-whipped soufflé rises so high. Etchebest rewrites his menu every three weeks, but the price remains accessible at €32 for three courses at dinner and €26 at lunch. •21 Rue François-Bonvin, 15th. Tel: (1) 45 68 89 00. Closed Sun. and Mon. Average €32.
ASTRANCE
It’s famously hard to get a reservation at Astrance, where chef Pascal Barbot has created a contemporary French cooking style that relies on purity of flavor rather than fat. His multi-course tasting menu for €190 (€120 for a slightly shorter seasonal menu and €70 for the lunch menu) leaves you feeling surprisingly sprightly thanks to Barbot’s instinctive sense of balance. Dishes rely on textures and colors as much as flavors, frequently drawing on Asian ingredients such as miso (in lacquered eggplant) or lemongrass and chili pepper (in a palate-cleansing sorbet). The dining room is sober gray, the waiters serious about their work—the only thing missing is an affordable lunch menu. •4 Rue Beethoven, 16th. Tel: (1) 40 50 84 40. Closed Sat-Mon. Average €190.
LA TABLE LAURISTON
If too many frothy sauces have left you longing for simplicity, you’ll appreciate Serge Barbey’s straightforward yet sensual cooking at La Table Lauriston. The setting feels surprisingly warm for a restaurant in the business-minded 16th arrondissement, with pink, orange and silver-striped walls and chairs in indigo and gold. The frequently changing menu of bourgeois classics draws on seasonal ingredients, such as asparagus from the Landes (in south-west France) and morels in spring, and his pan-fried steak is gargantuan. Best value is the €25 two-course lunch menu, which gives you access to one of the most extravagant baba au rhums in town, doused in a choice of three rums. •129 Rue Lauriston, 16th. Tel: (1) 47 27 00 07. Closed Sun. No lunch Sat. Average €50.
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Critera for Inclusion on This List
To qualify for the Paris Notes Top 20, each of the restaurants had to satisfy all of the following requirements:
A great overall experience
Years of restaurant reviewing have convinced me that food alone does not make a great meal. A lovingly prepared dish slammed down on your table with a scowl will turn your stomach before you’ve even taken a mouthful. That’s why I value service almost above everything else, even the talents of the chef. Helpful, professional and discreet are the qualities I look for, but what really wins me over is a dose of well-judged humor. The best restaurant meals are those in which everything comes together —food, atmosphere (whether jovial, low-key or festive), and service. Décor can add a great deal to a meal, but bad décor can occasionally prove endearing.
Good value for money
This has become much more of an issue since the euro was introduced in 2002. Where once restaurateurs might have bumped their prices up by a few francs they now do it by a few euros, with disastrous results for those who have to keep an eye on their budgets (that is to say, most of us). Some of the restaurants on this list are expensive, but at all of them you should feel that you are getting your money’s worth in terms of the quality of the ingredients, the effort being made in the kitchen, the surroundgs and the service.
Consistency
Remember the Paris branch of Nobu? New Yorkers can’t get enough of Robert De Niro’s restaurant, yet it only lasted a few months here. This list consists mainly of well-established restaurants that have proved their ability to be consistent. I won’t include a new restaurant unless it’s truly exceptional, from a chef with an impressive track record.
That extra something
Each of the restaurants on this list stands out in some way—it might have a lovely terrace, a dazzling view, a vintage dining room or a jaw-dropping wine list. Never, though, will any of these extras serve as an excuse to skimp on the essentials.
French food
With a little luck, talent or help from well-informed friends, you can find excellent Moroccan, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, Jewish, Indian and even English food in Paris. International cuisine, however, is not the subject of this Top 20 list—it would require an entirely separate list, or several lists if I were to do it thoroughly
