64 Best Restaurants in Paris, France

Two young chefs bring their heritage (Argentine and Japanese) and impressive cooking credentials to bear in their beautiful restaurant, steps from the Marché d'Aligre, that's almost worth a visit for the decor alone. But it's the food that has earned them a passionate following among Parisians, for its range, imagination, quality, and sheer deliciousness. The €49 tasting menu at lunch is an excellent introduction to this fine cuisine.

The name of this contemporary bistro might not be inspired, but the cooking shows creativity and a sense of fun. From a deliberately deconstructed menu featuring raw fish, soups, pastas, and grills, you can choose a five-course (€95) or a seven-course (€115) menu. If on offer (the menu changes constantly and inventively), consider the chicken with dates, sesame, and yuzu, or the scallops in a citrus, turmeric, and bergamot sauce. A tireless experimenter, chef William Ledeuil buys heirloom vegetables directly from farmers and tracks down herbs and spices in Asian supermarkets.

Young, talented, and now famous chef Cyril Lignac has nabbed three small sites all within a few feet of each other to create a trio of intimate signature spaces. The main address is Au Prés, which serves Angus rib-eye steaks and Japanese-inspired delights such as teriyaki lamb chops or miso-carmelized black cod. Lignac oversees every detail, including the choice of marble countertops, brass lamps, dark leather booths, and the preservation of the original 1950s floral wallpaper. Next door at number 25 is another elegant, more modern style bar called Le Bar des Prés, which specializes in Japanese maki and sashimi for lunch and dinner. Finally, Dragon, just across the street is an evening-only private cocktail and sushi bar. A good cocktail is as much a part of the Lignac experience as the delicious and carefully prepared food.

Without changing the vintage 1912 setting, superchef Alain Ducasse and Thierry de la Brosse of L'Ami Louis have subtly improved the menu, with dishes such as marinated salmon, frogs' legs in a morel-mushroom cream sauce, and an outstanding cassoulet served in a cast-iron pot. It's a splurge to dine here, so go all the way, and top off your meal with the caramelized tarte tatin or a rum-doused baba.

Spectacular doesn't even begin to describe the cocktail bar and restaurant du jour on the 15th and 16th floors of the SO/Paris hotel—the tallest building in the lower Marais. The panoramic vistas of Paris from the all-glass bar, dining room, and wraparound terrace are easily some of the best in the city, and in a brilliant sleight of decor, the terrace's mirrored overhang—by artist Olafur Eliasson—give diners an upside-down view of the Seine's rippling water and boats passing both above and below. Although the food doesn't quite match the experience (what food could?), it's not disappointing, especially the lobster roll and cod beignets, a velvety Angus steak, and the perfectly light and buttery sole meunière for two. Cocktails are delicious but pricy. With the view thrown in, it's a bargain—and it's open for lunch and dinner seven days a week.

Run by legendary bistro chef Yves Camdeborde, this small, Art Deco restaurant gets booked up early for its satisfying menu of traditional French cuisine. Favorites include classics like rib steak with potato puree and grilled salmon. Reservations are not accepted, resulting in long lines and brisk service. Camdeborde also has two local tapas bars, one right next door and a much larger one (Le Comptoir du Marché) around the corner at the Marché Saint-Germain, where delicious small plates, good wine, and a festive atmosphere are guaranteed.

This casual-chic eatery within the Hotel Lutetia is the most relaxed of the hotel’s restaurants. The extensive menu has a respectable oyster and shellfish selection, plus classics like escargot, steak tartare, and roast chicken as well as fish and vegetarian options. The sun hits the corner terrace in the afternoon, making it a perfect spot to soak in a little sun while watching busy shoppers crisscross by. 

Though there are more outstanding restaurants in terms of cuisine, this gorgeous dining room in the Baccarat museum certainly ranks among the most beautiful in Paris. Its towering mirrors, gilded moldings, and stunning crystal chandeliers are enhanced by attentive service. And, bien sur, you will sip your Champagne from the finest Baccarat cristal. Plan on reserving ahead for dinner; lunch requires no advance notice and is a reasonable €29 or €35.

This spot is on Ina Garten's must-visit list in Paris, and it's not hard to see why. The succinct menu of seasonal cuisine is fresh and light, served in a simple dining room with lovely decor including wooden windowpanes and white marble tables.

One of the most admired chefs in Paris, Éric Fréchon recently celebrated 23 years at the helm of Le Bristol Hotel's revered restaurant, 13 of them with Michelin's top three-star award, which he's retained since 2009. Fréchon creates masterworks—say, farmer's pork cooked "from head to foot" with truffle-enhanced crushed potatoes and his famous truffle lasagna—that are both deeply satisfying yet unpretentious. In summer, dining out in the hotel's French garden is a rare delight. Prices are steep (€420 for the standard prix-fixe menu without wine), but this is commensurate with the three-star experience, especially with a chef as revered as Fréchon. 

It's all about oysters at this bright 14-seat restaurant with crisp white tablecloths and pleasant service, popular with the area's chic set. If you find yourself puzzled over the relative merits of fines de claires and spéciales, you can always go with the €39 prix fixe that includes a glass of white wine and a dozen No. 3 (medium) oysters—or ask the knowledgeable waiters for advice. This simplest of meals can be supplemented with foie gras and toast followed by the fromage du moment.

Some Japanese expats say you won't find anything closer to authentic Japanese cooking in Paris than the kitchen in Kifuné. Sit at the bar to admire the sushi chef's lightning-quick skills, or opt for a more intimate table for tasting the sublime crab-and-shrimp salad starter or a deeply comforting miso soup with clams. To follow, you can't go wrong with the sashimi. Eating here will leave a dent in your wallet (though there is a €35 set menu at lunch), but for fans of Japanese cuisine, the meals are worth it. With only 20 seats, it often turns away would-be customers, so book in advance.

Run by Yoichi Kino, a 30-year master sushi chef whose family has specialized in smoked eel for generations, and Ryuma Takubo, who earned a Michelin star in Japan, Komatsubaki specializes in the exquisite vegetarian cuisine favored by Japanese monks. Choose from three sophisticated menus, including a stunning vegetarian version, all served on delicate dishes and accompanied by rare selection of white Burgundies, sakes, and teas. Watch the chefs at work in a tiny jewel-box setting, complete with an elegant authentic dining room that seats six on tatami mats. 

Eric Martins ran a popular bistro in the far reaches of the 15e arrondissement before opening this contemporary restaurant off the Champs-Élysées, and his background in haute cuisine makes this ambitious dining room an easy transition. The spot turns out seasonal dishes with a touch of finesse from the open kitchen. Foie gras confit with rosemary-poached quince and wild-rose jam, or scallops à la plancha (from the grill) with vanilla and spaghetti squash might be featured. There is no à la carte, and if the dinner menus seem steep at €135 (€205 with wine pairing), try the lunch menu for €79. Watch out for the pricey wines by the glass.

At the Maison Delano hotel's chic restaurant, three-star Michelin chef Dani García oversees a menu specializing in traditional ingredients and flavors from his native Andalusia. The spotlight is on seafood in starters like remoulade of king crab with crème fraiche potatoes and avocado "snow" or octopus carpaccio with lemon vinaigrette, followed by a melting Normandy beef or the chef's special paella for two, made with chicken, octopus, smoked eel, fish, or rabbit. A live DJ spins tunes until 11 pm (or later), or you can opt for the intimate dining room, complete with chinoiserie wallpaper and pristine linens. The inventive cocktail menu (also found in the gorgeous in-hotel bar) and mile-long list of the world's swankiest Champagnes deserves a special mention.

This Michelin-starred establishment from Anne-Sophie Pic features a Provençal-accented menu of specialties from the chef's native Valence, with produce-driven dishes and Southern cheeses. The dining room leans into the chef's feminine side, with pale pink accenting the cozy space otherwise decked out in leather and wood.

Though everyone talks about the "new Montmartre," exemplified by a wave of chic residents and throbbingly cool cafés and bars, the old Montmartre is alive and well at the untrendy-and-proud-of-it Mascotte. This old-fashioned café-brasserie—which dates from 1889, the same year that saw the opening of the Tour Eiffel and the Moulin Rouge—is a local favorite. Loyalists come for the seafood platters, the excellent steak tartare, the warming potée auvergnate (pork stew) in winter, and the gossip around the comptoir (bar).

When Jean-François Piège took over this restaurant overlooking the former Les Halles market, he gave it a much-needed makeover while also retaining its vintage appeal. Slide into one of the red leather banquettes and peruse the menu of exquisite upscale bistro classics hailing from the height of bourgeois bistro fare (the 19th century through the 1950s) with prices to match.

A second home to foreign artists and political exiles in the 1920s and 1930s, La Rotonde has a less exotic but still faithful clientele today. It's a very pleasant place to have coffee or a meal on the sunny terrace. For a quieter, smoke-free atmosphere, head inside for a traditional French dining experience in the plush, red decor.

Set in a quiet, aristocratic quartier near the Musée Rodin, postage stamp–size La Table d'Aki features cuisine centered on the sea. Chef Akihiro Horikoshi works all alone in an open kitchen while 16 lucky diners await the next course: lush, simple dishes like plump langoustine shimmering in a silky shallot-fennel sauce or delicate medallions of sole in a mellow red-wine-and-leek reduction. Although perfect for a long, leisurely lunch, the glaring lighting isn't ideal for a romantic dinner.

Self-described as a Maison de Plaisir (House of Pleasure) since 1766, this 17th-century wood-paneled town house flaunts its naughty history with a dark, boudoir-style decor; Émile Zola, George Sand, and Victor Hugo were regulars here, and the restaurant's mirrors still bear diamond scratches from the days when mistresses would use them to double-check the value of their jewels. The classic menu includes caviar and truffle-flavored specials. For a truly intimate meal, reserve one of the legendary private salons where anything can happen (and probably has).

Now a fancy fish brasserie serving seafood delivered fresh from Normandy every day, this restaurant began as a dingy meeting place for exiled artists and intellectuals like Lenin and Picasso. The family-owned institution hired star Japanese chef Yoshikiko Miura to modernize its menu while keeping some enduring classics. Try the sole meunière or the bouillabaisse, the ingredients of which are on display in their raw form in the restaurant's outstanding fish shop next door. The famous millefeuille (Napoleon) is a must for fans of this rich, creamy dessert. You can still drop by the covered terrace for a cup of coffee or a drink.

Equal parts café, bar, and restaurant, Le Fumoir is a timelessly popular place to sip coffee and read the paper or enjoy an after-dinner drink. Reservations are recommended for the prix-fixe dinner as well as for the copious Sunday brunch from Chef Henrik Andersson.

Parisian to its core, the Hotel Plaza Athénée's Art Deco dining room—including a mural that's a registered historic landmark—is a cherished neighborhood stalwart. Masterful updates of French classics include dishes like warm salad of delicate greens, thinly sliced artichokes, and Parmesan, flecked with shaved black truffles, and house-made foie gras with slices of fresh figs and a rich dried-fruit chutney. Go on the last Wednesday of the month, when the dining room is transported back to the 1940s with live jazz and an audience primed for a rollicking good time.

The operatically beautiful LiLi, in the Peninsula Hotel, puts sophisticated Cantonese cuisine in its rightful place—the gastronomic center of the world. The menu features all the classics, raised to the status of haute cuisine: small plates of dim sum (seafood, vegetable, or pork dumplings) alongside more substantial fare like fried rice studded with market-fresh vegetables, succulent Sichuan shrimp, and barbecued suckling pig. The chef's signature crème de mangue laced with pomelo pearls is an ethereal ending to an exceptional meal. At €75, the prix-fixe lunch menu is a wonderful introduction to this timeless cuisine.

There's not a brasserie in Paris with a view to match the one at this eatery set on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower (the Jules Verne, helmed by chef Frédéric Anton, is on the second floor). Multiple Michelin star chef Thierry Marx presides over this chic dining room, done up in creamy leather and blond wood, where everything is "stylish, sustainable, and cozy" (and we might add, expensive) with special attention to local products whenever possible. Like any good Parisian brasserie, this dining room is open from 10 am until 11:30 pm and serves every meal, from breakfast to late-night drinks at the bar. Views are equally stupendous day or night, but there's nothing so romantic as seeing the City of Lights at night—especially from within the tower, glittering madly for five minutes at the beginning of each hour after sunset. Online booking lets you choose your view; a window seat will cost you extra.

Michelin-starred chef Hélène Darroze made a name for herself decades ago, and her long-established restaurant in Paris has been revamped and renamed Marsan, a nod to her birthplace in the country's southwest. It's prix-fixe only, at lunch and dinner, whether you opt for the elegant upstairs dining room, the semiprivate table for six with a view of the open kitchen, or the more casual large table on the street level surrounded by the wine cellar. At the large table, you can choose between a simple three- or four-course menu (€45 or €95), which changes weekly. The more elegant dining room serves a four-course lunch menu on weekdays and a six- or nine-course tasting menu for lunch or dinner (€175 or €225, respectively) that features beautifully presented courses such as foie gras, lobster, hake fish, farm-raised squab, and Darroze's signature baba, an Armagnac-infused cake with vanilla syrup and candied pears. For truffle fanatics, there is a €325 six-course menu featuring Perigord black truffles in every dish. 

Housed in an 18th-century Marais mansion on a picturesque backstreet, this Japanese restaurant, bar, tearoom, pastry shop, and boutique redefines preciousness. It took four years for the architect and owner to construct, and every detail is a triumph of Japanese craftsmanship—from the rough wabi-sabi walls to the graceful sculptural touches to the ethereal porcelain tea and dinnerware used in the restaurant and for sale in the boutique. Walk-ins are welcome at the boutique and pastry shop, featuring a wealth of organic Japanese teas and exquisite pastries, but don't expect to get a seat at the tearoom or restaurant without a reservation—and don't forget your platinum card.

Chef Jason Gouzy won a Michelin star less than a year after the 2020 opening of this sought-after restaurant, where each dish resembles a gemlike work of art. The sleekly romantic dining room perfectly mirrors what's on the menu: dishes of exceptional imagination and refinement with an emphasis on seasonal market-fresh vegetables, seafood, and meticulously sourced meats. Watch Gouzy perform his small miracles—imaginative smoked vegetables and exquisite, unexpected pairings—from behind the kitchen window or wait to be surprised. It's never a disappointment.

This is a great opportunity to sample chef Yannick Alléno's cooking for a (slightly) less lofty price tag than at his three-star Pavillon Ledoyen on the same premises. Make no mistake, though guests are seated around a bar, this is as sophisticated an eatery as they come. Alléno's signature flourishes are everywhere, in dishes such as spring lamb with cardamom froth and curry and black lemon from Iran. On fine days it's a pleasure to dine on the terrace in the leafy park overlooking the Petit Palais.