Our favorites for classic French, plus a long list of options reviewed over the past decade. Scroll down to find these organized by arrondissement.
Get our short-list of favorite Paris restaurants to help guide your exploring in Spring 2022.
Le Grand Bain is a small plates restaurant on the narrow rue Dénoyez, a Belleville destination for street artists. Helmed by chef Edward Delling-Williams (ex-Au Passage), this restaurant boasts an ever-changing chalkboard menu of small plates and natural wine. Expect loads of choice and loads of vegetables.
This small plates restaurant not far from République boasts a Japanese-accented assortment of dishes from French-American chef Robert Compagnon. Handmade pastas and yakitori are must-try items on the tasting menu. Ask for seat at the bar to see the binchotan grill at work. The team here easily caters to more (or less!) adventurous diners, with offerings like chicken sashimi and offal skewers. Co-owner Jessica Yang is the Taiwanese-American pastry chef behind the delectable desserts – save room.
The Bistrot Paul Bert boasts one of the most charming dining rooms and patrons in town, appearing to first-time visitors like the Paris bistro of their dreams.
Café des Musées is a reasonably-priced bistro in the heart of the Marais with a notable beef bourguignon.
While a chorus of Bonsoir, bienvenue! still sounds the moment you walk through the door at Vivant 2, these days, it’s underscored by a bop-filled soundtrack and service with a smile that make a seat at the open kitchen’s wrap-around bar feel more inviting than austere. Chef Rob Mendoza is a champion of delicate, plant-focused fare, his luscious, creative moles drape anything and everything from broccoli to Bresse hen. Elsewhere, he effortlessly blends international ingredients with French terroir: House-made potato flatbread is spread thickly with tahini and blanketed with swiss chard; tuna is served with a Korean gochujang-spiked tomato broth. This restaurant is a great option for vegetarians and is open on Monday nights. A curated list of natural and sustainable wines seals the deal.
This contemporary French restaurant in the 11th arrondissement is known for its handmade charcuterie, vegetable-driven (but not vegetarian) cooking, and desserts with a savory spin. The 400-reference-strong wine list and impeccable (Anglophone) service make this neighborhood restaurant one worth crossing the city for. Now helmed by chef Christopher Edwards, the menu in summer 2021 is featuring plenty of peak-season produce, line-caught fish, and an incredible selection of white wine and craft beer for sipping on the sidewalk terrace.
The 11th arrondissement may be flooded with phenomenal restaurants, but the seasonal menu at Massale stands out with far meatier market-driven options than most other spots leaning into the plant-based trend. Fish and seafood nevertheless abound here, and the wine list features specialties from France’s Jura and beyond.
Pompette is a small plates restaurant boasting a natural wine list from Australian sommelière Jess Hodges. Chef Jordan Robinson’s modest menu is mostly pescatarian with international and North American influences ranging from curry-spiked cockles to fried chicken with white barbecue sauce. Reservations are a must, whether for one of the 28 indoor seats or the dozen on the terrace.
This mission-driven restaurant gives local farmers top billing and finally offers Paris a restaurant where omnivores are happy but vegetarians are king.
This bistronomic Breton restaurant near the Gare du Nord serves a four-course feast featuring dishes that are baked in a massive dining room oven.
At Pantagruel, a modern & creative restaurant in the Sentier district, each main dish is actually a parade of three smaller ones. Meaty options abound, but vegetables are given star treatment here. Balance and precision are the hallmarks of chef Jason Gouzy’s cuisine at Pantagruel, one of our favorite Paris restaurants.
Without overtly marketing itself as a lesbian bar, Dirty Lemon seeks to create a space where queer women can eat and drink safely, comfortably, and happily.
Of Yves Camdeborde’s three Avant Comptoirs, this is the one worth making a special trip – a place where the scale of the site finally matches that Camdeborde’s ambition.
Le Petit Sommelier is a rare high-quality non-stop brasserie with a 1000-reference-strong wine list.
Read an old travel guide to France, and you’ll likely find mention of les routiers. At these roadside restaurants catering to truckers, grub was classic, cheap, and good. And despite the absence of any highway running through the trendy 11th arrondissement, Aux Bons Crus evokes these restaurants of yore.
Bouillon Pigalle offers cheap classic French food from noon to midnight, every single day.
Address: 32, rue Vertbois, 75003
Hours: Open Wednesday-Sunday for lunch & dinner. Closed Monday & Tuesday.
Telephone: +33 1 48 87 77 48
No website, no online booking, no Facebook, no Instagram
Well-sourced products plus unlikely Japanese touches put Breizh Café head and shoulders above most crêperies.
This bistro is a standout in a neighborhood often defined by industrial cuisine.
Augustin Marchand d’Vins – like Left Bank predecessors La Crêmerie & La Quincave – is a bare-bones cave-à-manger, a wine shop in which one can dine, slightly.
This modern, inexpensive brasserie offers classic French fare near Gare du Nord.
Pastore is a contemporary Italian restaurant near Grands Boulevards boasting a relatively spacious dining room as compared to many of its Parisian counterparts. The 250-reference wine list is sure to offer the perfect accompaniment to Sicilian chef Lorenzo Sciabica’s exquisite pastas or the city’s best burrata – served simply with a drizzle of infused olive oil.
Well-sourced products plus unlikely Japanese touches put Breizh Café head and shoulders above most crêperies.
Well-sourced products plus unlikely Japanese touches put Breizh Café head and shoulders above most crêperies.
Ten Belles’ new Left Bank outposts offers some of the charm and all of the flavor of the original.
La Bourse et la Vie is one of our favorite Classic Bistros in Paris. It’s a place where you come to celebrate, to bring a date, and to devour one of the best steak-frites in Paris.
Le Maquis is a small French restaurant located on the far side of Montmartre boasting small portions of impeccable, contemporary bistro fare and a small, all-natural wine list. A slight Italian leaning pervades the menu, which also includes more classic French dishes. Lunch is a steal at 16-euro for two courses and 18 for three.
The overarching honesty and generosity of La Vierge’s concept places the restaurant alongside overachieving peers like Belleville’s Le Cadoret at the vanguard of a new generation of Paris bistrot that recognizes the value of virtue.
Cyril Lignac’s seafood-focused restaurant replaces an 11th arrondissement neighborhood bistrot.
Tatiana Levha, formerly at L’Arpège and L’Astrance, and her sister Katia opened this light, airy bistro with a central bar & hand painted ceiling. The short list of offerings changes each day, but expect seasonally driven cuisine inflected with international touches like tandoori spiced beurre blanc atop asparagus or harissa to spice up the line caught hake. Dessert left room for improvement, but otherwise Le Servan had reasonably priced, expertly executed dishes and friendly service in a beautiful space.
Le Cadoret is a French restaurant in Belleville offering traditional French fare, inexpensive natural wines, and craft beers. With sincere and efficient service and serious value for quality, it’s an excellent example of what a modern bistro can be.
This wine bar stands out in the natural wine-staturated 11th arrondissement mainly for its ostentatious design.