190 Best Restaurants in Paris, France

This all-in-one café-bakery-pâtisserie, a stone's throw from République, highlights classics from genius pastry chef Philippe Conticini, like his Paris-Brest (a crispy pâte à chou filled with delicate almond-hazelnut cream) and stellar line of viennoiserie (croissants, pains au chocolat, brioches, etc). Don't miss the Chignon Praliné, filled with an insanely tasty homemade Nutella topped with roasted hazelnuts; this treat redefines the breakfast pastry.

If you want to venture to the frontier of contemporary cooking—and if money is no object—dinner here is a must. Chef Pierre Gagnaire's work is at once intellectual and poetic, often blending three or four unexpected tastes and textures in a single dish. Just taking in the menu requires concentration (ask the waiters for help), so complex are the multiline descriptions about each dish's six or seven ingredients. The Grand Dessert, a seven-dessert marathon, will leave you breathless, though it's not as overwhelming as it sounds. The uninspiring prix-fixe lunch (€98) and occasional ill-judged dishes linger as drawbacks, and prices keep shooting skyward, so Pierre Gagnaire is an experience best saved for the financial elite.

A Paris institution since 1925, this absolute stunner of a seafood brasserie was also one of the first restaurants to champion French-raised caviar, after the Bolshevik revolution cut the Russian supply. Fast forward to 2023, when star chef Yannick Alléno took the helm of the Art Deco dining room (one of the most spectacular historic interiors in Paris), infusing the menu with a new elegance in dishes like a caviar-flecked salmon-and-seaweed hand roll, langoustine carpaccio with caviar cream, or a perfectly prepared filet of sole, all washed down with sparkly Champagne or a crisp Bourgogne blanc. Desserts are equally luscious. Dining here is a quintessential Parisian experience, whether for a leisurely lunch or an elegant candlelit dinner.

This stylish restaurant serves stunning gourmet cuisine to match its gorgeous location under the arcades of the Palais-Royal. Philip Chronopoulos's Michelin-starred menu often revolves around exquisite seafood, but there are also lovely meat-based options. Book in advance, especially in summer, when the terrace tables are greatly coveted.

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.

The premiere restaurant at the beautiful Shangri-La Hotel is Paris's only Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant. Set in a jewel-box of a dining room, featuring giant Chinese porcelains and inlaid jade paneling, you'll dine on lacquered Peking duck, sliced at your table and delivered with a flourish, and all manner of delicacies from one of the world's great cuisines.

This foodie sanctuary is where dishes like miso-lacquered foie gras or sake-glazed suckling pig—perfectly crisp on the outside and melting inside—pair traditional Japanese and French ingredients to wondrous effect. The seven-course set dinner menu (€150, with an option to add a pairing of five glasses of wine or sake), while not cheap, offers a choice of fish or meat and finishes with some stunning confections. Shoes stay on in the tranquil half-timber dining room (where lunch, Friday and Saturday only, will set you back €85), but the vaulted room downstairs is totally traditional—and one of the loveliest in Paris.

A five-minute walk from the Eiffel Tower, Terre de Café is a boon to coffee lovers. It also serves gluten-free pastries, healthy fruit smoothies, and gourmet brunch options.

Chef Tomy Gousset, who learned his skills in some of the city's most prestigious kitchens, flies solo at this wildly popular bistro, which won its first Michelin star in 2019. The appealingly spare dining room is an excellent backdrop for some truly dazzling dishes that taste every bit as sublime as they look. Best of all, despite being one of the best tables in the neighborhood, it's not wildly expensive.

Smoked chocolate . . . orange-carrot-ginger . . . coffee--black cardamom . . . these are just a few of the intriguing ice cream and gelato flavors featured at Paris's Instagram-famous glacier. Expect only the best seasonal ingredients plus cream and sugar in the ice creams and loads of fresh fruit in the nondairy sorbets. You can taste as many flavors as you like to help you decide, and servings, by the boule, are generous. There are lots of frozen cakes and pastries too.

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.

The closest thing the pastry world has to a rock star, Pierre Hermé and his wildly imaginative flavor pairings (think raspberry, rose, and lychee; chestnut and black wheat; or jasmine and fraise des bois) are renewed every season and are never humdrum. At 86 Champs, Hermé has teamed up with fragrance and cosmetics giant L'Occitane for a colorful carousel ride of a café, with a half-moon pastry-and-chocolates counter and bar, where you can enjoy breakfast, lunch, or a quick bite. Indoor seating can be cramped; in warm weather try for a seat on the popular sidewalk terrace. Like many places on the Champs-Élysées, the dishes here are very pricey, and the service can be glacial and indifferent.

Jean-François Piège has breathed new life into A l'Epi d'Or, harking back to the '20s, when Paris was filled with delightful classic bistros. The allure of the old-fashioned zinc bar, tiled floor, and dark wood tables invites you in; the mastery of authentic French cuisine—such as duck confit with potatoes, house-made sausage, or veal blanquette—begs you to stay.

The otherwise unexciting 15e arrondissement is home to much-lauded chef Ludivine Merlin and her Basque-inspired recipes. Basque cooking is known for its bold flavors and generosity, and the choices at Afaria are no exception. Crisp-skinned duck breast with balsamic-fig vinegar (for two) is served dramatically, inside a ceramic roof tile, with the accompanying potato gratin perched on a bed of twigs. Big chunks of spoon-tender, slow-cooked pork from Gascony come in an earthenware dish with cubes of roasted celery root. Tapas are served at a high table near the entrance and there's a large-screen TV for rugby matches.

This "best craftsman of France" revives the gastronomic art of French charcuterie in dishes like dreamy foie gras and succulent slabs of country terrine enrobed in a golden buttery crust. The small-but-choice menu also highlights specialties from the sea: shellfish soufflé or delicate fish quenelles (a specialty of Lyon, France's charcuterie capital).

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 attracts plenty of locals and remains a fairly sure bet in the area, especially because it's open every day.

If it's steak you're craving, put your faith in Jean-Luc Roulière, a fifth-generation butcher who opened this long, narrow bistro near St-Sulpice church. Partner Franck Pinturier is from the Auvergne region, which is also known for its melt-in-the-mouth meat, so start with a marinated octopus salad or a rich marrow bone before indulging in a generous slab of Limousin or Salers beef, excellent veal kidney, or, for the meat-shy, sea bream with fresh vegetables.

To see what well-heeled Parisians eat these days, book a table at this chic little bistro run by Jacques Lacipière as soon as you get to town. The contemporary dining room is unusually comfortable, and the sidewalk tables have an Eiffel Tower view, but it's the excellent, well-priced cuisine du marché that has made this spot a hit. The sophisticated fare sometimes features Salers beef and green asparagus, roasted lobster with mushroom risotto, and game in season. House-made desserts could include citrus terrine with passion-fruit sorbet or caramelized apple mille-feuille with hazelnut ice cream. The €39 prix-fixe menu for lunch or dinner, featuring dishes with distinct haute-cuisine touches, is one of the city's great bargains.

This handsome, contemporary Marais bistro and wine bar is the perfect place to enjoy traditional fare and excellent Burgundies served by the glass and bottle. Unusual for Paris, food is served nonstop from noon to 11 pm, and you can drop by just for a glass of wine in the afternoon. Always on the menu are Burgundian classics such as jambon persillé (ham in parsley aspic jelly), escargots, and boeuf bourguignon (beef stewed in red wine). More up-to-date picks include a cèpe-mushroom velouté with poached oysters, although fancier dishes are generally less successful.

This bistrot à vins has the lived-in look of a longtime neighborhood hangout—which it was until two veterans of the raging Paris wine-bar scene reinvented the place, keeping the vintage, laid-back atmosphere and adding a serious foodie menu that's one of the best deals in town. A blackboard lists a selection of tapas, including several house-made pâtés, fresh tomato or beet salads, a superb seafood carpaccio, and artisanal charcuterie and cheeses. For dinner, four or more diners can hack away at a crispy-succulent roasted lamb haunch.

This cozy bar is always packed, and tables often spill out onto the sidewalk. Come for a hearty meal, a cup of coffee, or a glass of wine.

You'll have no doubt what city you're in at this classic Parisian brasserie where you can sample all the French delicacies you'll never find at home, like quenelle de brochet with sauce Nantua (a sort of fritter made with pike—a traditional specialty of Lyon); tête de veau with tangy sauce ravigote (capers, shallots, tarragon, chervil, and parsley); poached haddock à l'Anglaise; and a fabulous millefeuille de boudin noir (blood sausage pastry). Be sure to try the excellent frites, and do not skimp on dessert: their crème brulée is legendary. 

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.

As its impressive facade attests, this café has a special history. It opened in 1846, when Balzac was a regular, and Rue Montorgueil was the place to buy oysters, though these days, the menu is more modern with salads, burgers, and brunch options, as well as a handful of classics like escargots and French onion soup.

Parisian gastronomic extravagance has largely disappeared in favor of leaner fare. But that is not so at this beloved stalwart, where you can revel in such Gallic classics as towering soufflés, buttery frogs' legs, or a hearty steak smothered in sauce béarnaise. A favorite among politicians and locals, who feel the fare is well worth the tweak to the pocketbook (and the waistline).

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.

Tile floors, mercury mirrors, bentwood chairs, and a menu of classic French comfort foods proffered by talented young chef Édouart Vermynck take you back to a charming Paris of old (the bistrot was first opened in 1922). Start with homey oeufs-mayo or croque-monsieur with jambon de Paris followed by golden Landes hen with morel cream or tender scallops in a delicate beurre blanc. For dessert, don't miss the billowy mousse au chocolat or grandma's tarte tatin with raw crème fraiche. Set on a quiet street between Bastille and the Place des Vosges, this is a quintessential black book spot.

Set in the Galerie Vivienne, Paris's loveliest covered passage, this charmingly authentic 19th-century bistro feels both cozy and welcoming, and the food and drink are well above average. With all-day hours as well as a double terrace either inside Galerie Vivienne or on a picturesque street a few steps from the Palais Royal gardens, this is a satisfying spot for a quick coffee or glass of wine, a snack, or a full meal.