60 Best Restaurants in Paris, France

Picasso, Chagall, Sartre, and de Beauvoir, attracted by the luxury of a heated café, worked and wrote here in the early 20th century. Today you'll find more tourists than intellectuals, and prices are hardly aimed at struggling artists, but the outdoor terrace is popular with Parisians and great for people-watching.

A pinnacle of Second Empire opulence, this Paris landmark was once an obligatory stop on the sophisticated gastronome's tour of Paris and a favorite watering hole among the likes of Victor Hugo, Gustave Flaubert, Arthur Conan Doyle, Josephine Baker, and Marlene Dietrich. While superfresh, heaping seafood platters are your best bet here, you'll do just as well with a classic French dish or an apéro on the terrace as the sun sets over the Opéra Garnier across the street—a magical Parisian scene indeed. A renovation has buffed the frescoed walls and ceilings to their original gilded luster. 

A true neighborhood haunt, this bustling little bistro near the Musée Picasso offers a convivial slice of Parisian life at a good value. Traditional French bistro fare is adapted to a modern audience. The best choices are the old tried-and-trues: hand-cut tartare de boeuf; rare entrecôte served with a side of golden-crisp frites and homemade béarnaise; and the classic Parmentier, with pheasant instead of the usual ground beef.

This Japanese-inspired minichain of coffeehouses is the place to be seen during Paris Fashion Week. There are four locations in Paris: one at  208 rue de Rivoli, one at  2 pl. André Malraux with a full restaurant menu, one at  30 rue du Vertbois that also serves as a roastery, and this one—the original and persistent favorite, thanks in large part to the views over the Palais Royal gardens.

A trailblazer on the Paris gastro-coffee scene, out-of-the-way Café Lomi first supplied expertly roasted single-origin coffees to the first wave of barista cafés and top restaurants. Now Lomi's industrial-chic loft is equal parts roaster, café, workshop, and pilgrimage stop for hard-core coffee lovers, serving a range of splendid brews along with cookies, cakes, and other confections.

Run by the Costes family, this café overlooking the main courtyard of the Louvre and its famous glass pyramid is a stylish place to meet for a drink or a coffee, whether in the chic, jewel-toned dining rooms or on the Louvre's long, sheltered terrace. Regular café service shuts down during meal times, when fashion-conscious folks dig into classic bistro fare like steak tartare or duck foie gras with a handful of lighter offerings like quinoa with avocado and pomeranate or vegetarian pasta with a slightly spiced tomato-basil sauce.

At this most retro of brasseries that's constantly teeming with life, everything screams Paris, from its tiled floors and bentwood chairs to its moleskin banquettes and giant mirrors. Even though it's located off the tony Rue du Bac, it still feels every bit the down-to-earth neighborhood stalwart that it is. Uniformed waiters deftly deliver your order and whisk away your empties, whether you’re there for an espresso or staying for lunch or dinner. The menu of brasserie classics remains one of the more authentic in Paris: think fat, buttery escargots; buttery steak with crispy frites; lush steak tartare; homemade duck terrine; and billowy mousse au chocolat for dessert. The café also serves a classic Parisian breakfast. All-day hours (from 7:30 am until 10:30 pm) are a big bonus and the sidewalk terrace is the best in the neighborhood.

A popular and pricey bar and restaurant, the Closerie is also a staple of Parisian literary tours for its storied history. Commemorative plaques are bolted to the bar as if they were still saving seats for their former clientele: an impressive list of literati including Zola, Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Apollinaire, Beckett, and, of course, Hemingway. "Papa" wrote pages of The Sun Also Rises here and lived around the corner at 115 rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs. Although the lilacs that once graced the garden—and shaded such habitués as Ingres, Whistler, and Cézanne—are gone, the terrace still opens onto a garden wall of luxuriant foliage. There is live music in the piano bar. There are two menus here; the brasserie menu, served near the bar, is less expensive and very good.

A lofty space between the Musée Rodin and the Bon Marché makes this the perfect pit stop. Look for healthy salads, sandwiches, snacks, desserts, and a delicious cup of any kind of coffee drink that takes your fancy. The meticulously sourced beans are freshly and lovingly roasted on the premises.

In a city where we all scream for ice cream (and wine), thank goodness for Folderol, where delicious handmade ice creams in flavors like nectarine hibiscus, jasmine-blood orange, spicy watermelon, pecan pie, or chocolate wedding cake are savored like the natural wines you can sip by the glass or bottle along with a plate of fine charcuterie and other small plates.

This place is irreverent in every way except about what goes into the product. From the flours to the chocolates, everything is meticulously sourced for the team's “food porn,” pastries that delight every sense, whether it's the chocolate and pistachio babka, almond croissants, praline brioches, fudge brownies, or “cruffins,” a melt-in-your-mouth croissant-style brioche dusted with cocoa or sugar.

One of Paris's first bento-box cafés (it's also a Japanese grocer), this cozy spot on storied Rue Ste-Anne offers an array of delicious eats, from smoked eel and grilled salmon to crispy chicken, fried tofu, and yummy veggie sides like marinated seaweed—a house specialty—and sesame spinach. For a meal on the go, this is the place. It's small, cafeteria-style, and no-frills, and crowds can snake down the block, so get there by noon for lunch. Bento boxes are also great to go.

Set at a leafy crossroads on the lively Rue des Martyrs, this is a top pick in this vibrant neighborhood for a quick stop or to linger with a device. The coffee (roasted at their atelier-café Back in Black) is always good, as are the many other beverage options, both hot and cold, and the food—from healthy salads and sandwiches to yummy pastries—is exactly what's needed to get you revved up for your next Paris adventure.

Sip tea (or lusciously thick hot chocolate) and sample tasty cakes at this atmospheric salon.

With so many of Paris's fabled brasseries co-opted by upscale chains, the 2013 opening by three-Michelin-star chef Eric Frechon of this modern take on the traditional brasserie in the St-Lazare train station was met with curiosity and joy. Though prices are commensurate with his status, Frechon doesn't skimp on the classics: steak tartare, escargot, and charcuterie all make memorable appearances. Bright and loftlike, Lazare riffs on familiar brasserie themes—think marble-top tables, globe lights, soaring ceilings, and mosaic floors. There's a dish du jour every weekday, like slow-cooked lamb with lemon confit and olives, or crispy grilled pork on a bed of turnip kraut, all well-prepared and comforting (just like grand-mère used to make).

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 Yoshihiko 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.

With its globe lamps, molded ceilings, and giant mirrors, this romantic neighborhood institution feels elegant yet not overpolished, attracting a wonderfully Parisian mix of elderly lone diners, business lunchers, tourists, couples, and the post-theater crowd, all of whom come for the enormous seafood platters, duck foie gras with Sauternes jelly, steak tartare, and roasted chicken rendered famous by Diane Keaton in Something's Gotta Give. Open every day, Le Grand Colbert is also a pleasant destination for a quick bite between 3 pm and 6 pm, when most everything else is closed and the restaurant offers a French-style teatime complete with a pastry.

Sink into a comfy armchair at this popular tearoom, whose name translates to "the Dormouse in the Teapot" (from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland). The savory tarts are good, but the real stars are desserts like the decadent chocolate crumble tart or mile-high lemon meringue pie. The restaurant's all-day hours are a bonus, especially for teatime, but its no-reservations policy means lines for weekend brunch can be dauntingly long.

From a wine-soaked boeuf bourguignon and garlicky snails to tasty slabs of homemade country pâté served with cornichons and a hearty red, this Art Nouveau–era bistro offers all the classics of southwestern France. Check the blackboard menu for the daily specials, delivered in generous portions.

What used to be a rare bookshop has been carefully reinvented into a coffee shop and gourmet deli serving casual fare like an egg and salmon breakfast, lactose-free dishes and pastries, and mixed veggie salads. The vintage hand-painted storefront and tile floors have been preserved and make the space utterly charming; these are the details that make people fall in love with Paris. There is a children's menu and a large choice of homemade desserts. 

Legendary performers and artists, including the likes of Isadora Duncan and Hart Crane, used to hang out here, and now it's a popular place for a coffee, glass of wine, or well-made cocktail. Stay for lunch or dinner and enjoy the brasserie menu, where the signature salade niçoise is outstanding and the classic French onion soup hits the spot. It may not be as hip as the equally historic cafés in St-Germain-des-Prés, but Le Select is a low-key way of soaking in the Left Bank historic café scene without the hubbub.

All of Paris seems to collide at this lively corner café in the heart of the Marais, where you'll find pretty much whatever is your pleasure any time of the day or night. Slide into a red banquette, or take a seat on the wide wraparound terrace to watch the world go by while indulging in generous servings of all the French classics, a glass of wine, or coffee and dessert.

Pastry chef Myriam Sabeta’s carved out a whole new niche in French sweets with her creations influenced by her childhood in Aleppo, Syria. Her signature “nids” are based on kadaïf, the buttery angel hair pastries of the Levant, which Sabet fills with cream and dried or candied fruit in original flavors such as Damascus rose, chocolate-sumac, or lemon-cardamom. Her ambrosial baklavas may be layered with Piedmont hazelnuts and lemon or Iranian pistachio and orange blossom.

Inside the Grand Palais, Mini Palais is a stylish dining room, but the menu is the real draw. The burger de magret et foie gras, a flavorful mélange of tender duckling breast and duck foie gras drizzled with truffled jus on a buttery brioche bun, underscores what's best about this place: a thoroughly modern cuisine with an old-fashioned extravagance. For a summer meal or a cocktail, the majestically pillared terrace overlooking Pont d'Alexandre III must be the most beautiful in Paris.

Part of a stylish new chain proliferating around Paris, this sleek café inhabits the entrance of a formerly run-down historic passage couvert on the picturesque, and newly chic, Rue Richer—home of the Folies Bergère. Coffee lovers can enjoy their cuppa (or matcha, chai, and so forth) from velvet banquettes or high up on a balcony overlooking the soaring, light-filled space with a views down Rue Saulnier.

A perfect fit in the Arts et Métiers neighborhood, this bustling spot is popular for its loft-like, industrial-style atmosphere and stellar coffee served with delicious homemade sweets. Custom coffees are roasted on the premises from beans sourced all over the world.

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.

You’ll find all of this brilliant young pastry chef’s latest and classic creations at this handsome pâtisserie and café, but good luck choosing between the tasty options. Known for his ambitious and subtle flavor pairings and over-the-top decadence, you'll be wowed by pastries like the Entremets Isatis, a pecan biscuit with pecan praline, creamy vanilla-bean ganache, and vanilla caramel; his exquisite lemon merengue tart topped with a tangy dollop of lemon crème; or the signature Mille Feuilles Madagascar.