23 Best Restaurants in Eastern Paris, Paris

An easy walk from Place de la Bastille and the Marais, this sleek 2,000-square-foot café is a favorite spot for breakfast, veggie-centric nibbles, and exceptional scones, breads, and sweet rolls served all day, seven days a week. Mornings are a good time to enjoy the fragrance of fresh roasting coffee, performed in full view.

Anyone with a hankering for enticing, well-priced, gourmet-inflected Chinese fare in a chic setting need look no further. Friendly to both carnivores and herbivores alike, the fried tofu filled with Comté cheese, the cold noodles, and the cucumber salad are just as good as the perfectly crisp caramelized pork or fried chicken. Pairing their choices with a local craft beer, cocktail, or natural wine, Parisians couldn't be happier.

This ever-popular eatery near the canal is the go-to spot for locals and expats with a hankering for all those breakfast comfort foods Mom used to make, but with a gourmet twist. Stacks of ethereally light pancakes or eggs and bacon come with bourbon butter and maple syrup, or a side of fennel sausage, baked beans, hash browns, or a copious serving of green salad. Fruit, yogurt, and granola bowls and other homemade sweets are equally soothing: chia pudding, pecan cake, and an extra-light cheesecake. Wash it all down with a gourmet coffee, homemade soda, a sparkling mimosa, or a bloody Mary.

This laid-back, no-reservation wine bar near the Place d'Aligre market is a throwback to another era, with just a few tables plus giant wine barrels along the walls for filling and refilling your take-home bottles. A fun time to come is Sunday morning (yes, morning) when it's packed with locals who have just been to the market and want to linger over good food and that first petit blanc of the day.

The Paul Bert delivers everything you could want from a traditional Paris bistro (faded 1930s decor, thick steak with real frites, and good value), so it's no wonder its two dining rooms fill every night with a cosmopolitan crowd. The impressively stocked wine cellar helps, as do the laid-back yet efficient staff, excellent and abundant cheese trolley, and hearty dishes such as monkfish with white beans and duck with pears. The prix-fixe lunch menu is only €22, or you can order à la carte.

The impressive but unfussy gastronomic menu here features Asian-inflected dishes that express the food's far-flung influences. A starter of "zakouskis," several small dishes that may include deep-fried giblets, fresh radishes with anchovy butter, or herb-infused cockles, warms you up for a sublime entrée of whole lacquered quail, cod with spicy black-bean reduction, or crispy melt-in-your mouth pork on a bed of braised leeks. Deliciously nuanced desserts, a good selection of natural wines, and an unbeatable two-course €26 lunch menu add up to an essential Paris dining experience.

Paris's grandest Belle Époque beauty, hidden within the Gare de Lyon train station, has been fully restored to a culinary status almost befitting its eye-popping decor. The menu of French classics is not cheap, though the €56 "travelers menu" for lunch assures you'll be wined, dined, and on your train in 45 minutes. But why not linger? The chic bar is a great place to meet for coffee or a cocktail whether you're heading off on a train or not. Magnificent hardly describes this historic monument's lushly gilded boiserie, extravagant frescoes, and original globe lighting.

Classic bistros are making a comeback in Paris, and this neighborhood favorite embodies everything people love about this French institution. Here, traditional fare is lovingly prepared with top-quality ingredients and paired with a wine list that's so good it's a draw unto itself. The casual-chic atmosphere full of happy diners makes for a reliably delightful lunch or evening out.

Don't let the casual decor and laid-back atmosphere here fool you: this is a seriously ambitious restaurant full of Parisian foodies who would be happy to keep this gem all to themselves. Starters like smoked eel and cabbage topped with a delicate tuille of black rice, smoked zucchini ravioli with lemon butter, or roasted pigeon are gorgeously presented and so deliciously complex they defy description. Though a little out of the way, it's in a great up-and-coming neighborhood and well worth the trip.

The deep sidewalk terrace at this three-in-one gourmet grocer, restaurant, and café is a great place to linger over lunch and a glass of wine, or an early (for France) dinner. The daily menu of hot dishes, soups, and salads complements a wide selection of tasty pastries and classic sandwiches made with top-notch ingredients. In the gourmet shop, Plisson scoured France for all its specialties: cherry juice from Provence, ciders and biscuits from Normandy, the famous Paris ham, and wines and Champagne from the best producers everywhere. Prices are steep, but it's great for a splurge.

One of the city's best examples of the casual gourmet cafés popping up around Paris, Mokonuts is run by a talented husband-and-wife team who create delicious dishes and pastries that are as pleasing to the eye as they are to the palate. Prepare for crowds at breakfast and teatime, when you can choose from chunky multigrain cookies, sweet or savory muffins, tarts, and other sweet goodies. At lunch, locals elbow their way in for a variety of gourmet salads, sandwiches, and hot dishes. Accompany your meal with excellent coffee, a selection of teas, or a freshly made juice, like the refreshing orange-blossom lemonade. Dinner (€70) is served only by reservation for at least eight.

Chef Giovanni Passerini, a favorite Parisian chef, has done it again with this wine-focused spot, the companion to his wildly popular Italian restaurant just a few steps away. It's a wine bar, gastro-bistro, and pasta factory all in one, and the oh-so-good plates of highbrow Italian comfort food are served with his typically masterful selection of well-priced French and Italian wines. The atmosphere is casual and fun while diners get down to the real business of eating and drinking and enjoying every minute of it.

Don't be put off by the name—and the must-try signature dish—at this terrific eatery, where young chef Adrien Ferrand's complex dishes are as magnificent to taste as they are to behold. From a crisp-tender grilled suckling pig to the delicious smoked eel with apple, and a roster of exquisite desserts—Granny Smith broth with hazelnut sabayon or "craquant" of chocolate with caramel cream and banana marmalade—a meal here is a delight from start to finish. The tasting menu (at lunch €32 or €39; €89 at dinner) is a great introduction to this marvelous food.

Cotton-candy-color walls, comfy banquettes, and giant mirrors belie the fact that this cozy eatery is one of the city's top destinations to experience the flavors of the Philippines. Meals are served family-style with one plate for each diner to sample from a succession of dishes, each more delicious than the next, including Hainan soy-glazed burrata flecked with ginger; fried chicken wings with black coffee sauce; and a fish of the day in coconut milk with truffle. For dessert, the strawberry pavlova comes on clouds of pandan cream and a scrumptious lime-zest cheesecake on a bed of crumbled polvoron (a type of shortbread).

With amazing food and a convivial, unpretentious atmosphere, Septime has become one of the hottest tables in town. Seasonal ingredients, inventive pairings, and excellent natural wines bring in diners ready for exciting and sophisticated dishes like creamy gnochetti in an orange-rind-flecked Gouda sauce sprinkled with coriander flowers.

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.

There are three good reasons to go to Astier: the generous cheese platter plunked on your table atop a help-yourself wicker tray, the exceptional wine cellar with bottles dating back to the 1970s, and the French bistro fare (even if portions seem to have diminished over the years). Dishes like marinated herring with warm potato salad, sausage with lentils, and baba au rhum are classics on the frequently changing set menu, which includes a selection of no less than 20 cheeses. The vintage 1950s wood-paneled dining room and traditional red-checked tablecloths attract plenty of locals and remains a fairly sure bet in the area, especially because it's open every day.

Parc de La Villette once housed the city's meat market, and this brasserie devoted to fine beef (whether French or Irish) soldiers on as if nothing has changed. It's worth the trek here to sample one of the 16 takes on the beef theme (plus a gargantuan marrow bone) or good fish and seafood dishes, such as sole or scallops (in season). You'll find meat lovers from all over Paris in the buzzy dining room, feasting on the good-value, €40 three-course menu that includes an apéro, a half bottle of wine and a coffee.

From its traditional bentwood bistro chairs to its well-priced menu of contemporary French classics, this is the kind of neighborhood bistro we dream about when we think of Paris. Friendly service, a convivial atmosphere, a top-notch wine list, and delicious market-fresh fare all add up to the kind of place you want to keep all to yourself. Fixed-price lunch menus are €17; dinner is à la carte only.

One of Paris's first gastro-bistros, this deeply local restaurant is still one of the city's most beloved and sought-after out-of-the-way tables. The key to its success is the combination of fresh, comforting cooking and a lovingly selected list of organic and natural wines from small producers. The chef learned the art of making bouillons from none other than star Breton chef Olivier Roellinger, and uses them to bring out the best in any ingredient from fish to foie gras.

Pedigreed baristas cater to a hip crowd of good-brew connoisseurs here, with an accompanying menu of delicious sandwiches, soups, snacks, and pastries. For Sunday brunch, head over to sister café Ten Belles Bread, where the crusty organic breads and pastries are baked on the premises.

The two British chefs behind this bustling café in an industrial-style loft on an up-and-coming corner of the 11e are known around town for their gourmet take on healthy foods. Here the emphasis is on breakfast, lunch, and brunch, with a range of salads, savory pies, and pastries all made in the on-site bakery. Besides some of the best fresh-baked bread in Paris, you're also guaranteed great coffee and daily food specials. There are a couple of other branches, too.

At the entrance of Merci, a chic concept store, you'll find the perfect spot for a quick lunch or snack (or a place to catch up on the latest French novels) among rows of books and comfy chairs. Highlights include a small soup menu, a risotto of the day, and hearty vegetarian salads. You can also order a freshly pressed juice or iced tea with mint (or a crisp glass of rosé) to wash it all down.