Our Favorite Paris Restaurants

34 Replies to “Our Favorite Paris Restaurants”

1. Good list. I think Juveniles is hands down one of the best, friendliest, most delicious and authentic bistro-restaurants in Paris, or anywhere else. A jewel. Chef Romain and his wife-maitre Margaux are talents and delightful people as well. Though…don’t…feed the dog. Margaux is formidable when aroused and doggie-feeding is prohibe’. I think Tour d’Argent is not a ”cliche’ ”, but rather a jewel. The food is excellent with a talented chef, service is formal but always kind, lunch is a bargain and you will never see wines again-anywhere-as those La Tour still offers. The view is ok too. I fear Paul Bert deserves to be smacked around the ears and then forgotten. Badly over-rated, kept alive by, I am sorry to say, places like Paris by Mouth —that for some reason still will not say what is now clear- Paul Bert is a loser. Plus they are nasty. I speak fluent French and am in Paris monthly for over 35 years now. In my last visit to Paul Bert, I got a lousy unchewable ”steak” and asked the waiter to please send it back and perhaps find a piece of meat that a tooth might penetrate. I got a lecture on ”what an authentic steak is.” I said ”fine…you eat it” and stood up…and…walked out. Adieu Paul Bert. You will not be missed. Arpege is as special, brilliant, focussed, delicious as it gets. Diamantine, with both heart and profound intellect. If Miles Davis had been a chef, he’d be Alain Passard- a genius and a soul. My last meal there, Alain came out and I told him ”not just superbe- mais sublime.” And it was, as is Alain himself….who can play every note, scale and flavor there is. A final thought on Garance. I think Garance is a very serious and genuinely pleasant, elegant-laid back restaurant, with compelling food and very interesting wines, run by talented and delightful people. A winner. Let’s hope all, and we, survive our current disaster and return to enjoy life, dining and Paris again. Soon.

2. I fell in love with these two restaurants. Frenchie and Je The me. They were memorable.

3. I would consider revisiting Chateaubriand. It has fallen off in a pretty severe way. From a flavor standpoint: overly sweet fish dishes, what person has ever wanted St Germaine flavored spinach. To basic cookery skills: found bones in our fish and shells in our crab. They seem to resting heavily on their laurels.

4. The wine & food at Paul Bert is good, but unless you are French don’t bother. In all likelihood you will be shunted to the ‘salle des étrangers’ – the long, narrow corridor upstairs & to the right of the main dining room – to dine out-of-sight amongst the various Anglo-Saxons, Japanese & Chinese.

5. Great list. Sadly, I tried to book Tomy & Co for lunch in March and they told me they were already fully booked, then I asked for a previous day and strangely I was told they were on holidays…

6. Restaurant Will, a great find By chance and reasonably priced for the quality, over in the 12th.

7. We had a really delicious meal tonight at L’ assiette in the 14th arr. Coquille St Jacques a la grenobloise and Cassoulet were both excellent! Friendly service. Enjoyed a superb bottle of rose wine.. Thanks for the recommendation!

8. Thanks for the feedback, Phil. We’ll revisit soon.

9. Love your palate however I would suggest a revisit to Bistro Paul Bert. I went last night (after a long hiatus) & had a very mediocre meal. Perhaps not surprisingly, there were virtually no French & they had a chalkboard in English. Tant pis. Au revoir Bistro Paul Bert.

10. Went to Racine’s in Passage Panorama at opening time (7:30) and got seated as long as we assured them we’d finish by 9:00. That was not a problem and the food was great and at a good price. We highly recommend it.

11. Had lunch at Clamato, Septime’s next door neighbor and partner. It was wonderful! We highly recommend it.

12. This is a wonderful list and I can concur completely having eaten at most of these over the years. Well done!

13. Nice Top. I went to “La tour d’argent” 2 years ago, it was a soooo good experience ! I’ll check more deeply your post soon and try to find a new place to go with my darling. Thank you ! 😉

14. Astrance was wonderful, and a steal at lunch. David Toutain was great as well. Paul Bert is a perennial. Looking forward to trying some others from this list in a couple of weeks.

    PS We’ve been on one of the food tours and recommend them unreservedly.

15. What a wonderful list.
    Thank you especially for having the good taste and good sense to post Tour d’Argent topping the “haute” list.
    It was one of the most memorable meals I have ever had anywhere. Claude Terrail was still alive then. I had the most delicious caneton, à l’orange (with many other wonderful courses) anyone could ever enjoy.

    I thank you because it seems some people love to trash Tour d’Argent as an expensive “tourist trap” and not one of Paris’s best. 9 times out of ten I later find out their source was hearsay and they never even actually ate there. It remains a great restaurant and I wish Claude’s son André continued decades of success and prosperity.
    All the best to you. Great post.

16. This is a terrific list! My wife and I used it last week to eat at Verjus, La Bourse et La Vie and a few others as well…plus we managed to do several on a previous trip – you can see some pics here – bravo!

    https://johnrieber.com/2016/01/09/bite-into-paris-7-days-10-michelin-stars-an-amazingly-tasty-adventure/

17. Awesome post.

18. This list is a great summary of restaurants in Paris. Although I disagree with some of the entries (most notably Tour d’Argent, where you really aren’t experiencing Paris, but some strange version of what tourists might think of Paris), it is an interesting list of choices when you visit the City of Light.

    Andy Herbach, author of Eating & Drinking in Paris, Wining & Dining in Paris, and Paris Made Easy.

19. Hi Emily, this list has more restaurants on the right bank than on the left bank. We get more comments that our list is too focused on the north and east side of Paris 🙂

20. Hi Emily, this list has more restaurants on the right bank than on the left bank. Some people tell us that our list is too focused on the north and east side of Paris 🙂

21. Fantastic list! In a city so full of culinary delights and wonderful restaurants, its incredibly difficult to pick only a handful! This list helps to put many of them in perspective, especially for someone who won’t be in Paris long – they can pick and choose from this list and not be led astray. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us!

22. I agree wholeheartedly with Septime. One of my favorite restaurants in the world.

    I would add Restaurant A.T to the tasting menu list.

23. Hello,

    A lot of these are on the left bank / in the south of Paris. Are you able to do a list of restaurants in the north too?

24. Thank you for this list.

25. love your recs-can you help with an outdoor summer terrace setting restaurant?

26. Hope u see this Paris Bound. I’ve been to Septime twice for lunch and it had the best food, setting & service. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

27. Absolutely! Lunch is always cheaper at restaurants like this and a great way to try a chef’s cuisine at a lower price.

28. Hi would you recommend Septime for lunch? They have a lunch menu for 30€. I’m eager to try the restaurant after I saw you rated it as top 1, but I can’t afford the six course tasting menu.

29. We have eaten at Guy Savoy several times. The new restaurant is beautiful. The food this time was the best it has ever been. I know it is old school but to me, it is what three star should be.

30. Cosi- on rue de Seine!

31. Why didn’t A La Biche au Bois in the 12th make the classic bistro cut?

32. any recommendations around palais royale, louvre,,1st arr.??
    thanks ..Ann

33. Hi Richard, for the moment we don’t have any absolute favorites in the 8th arrondissement. That may change in the future. Let us know if there’s something in that neighborhood you think we should consider.

34. What about 8 arr, ?