706 Best Restaurants in France

This lively café in the heart of the Left Bank theater district specializes in meats, wines, and cheeses from the Auvergne region of France, famous for its prize beef cattle. If you don’t want meat but love cheese and mashed potatoes, try the aligot, a hearty recipe of potato puree, melted cheese, cream, and garlic.

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. 

Located in Vendeville, about 8 km (5 miles) south of Lille, Le Potager des Demoiselles used to merely sell organic fruits and vegetables before eventually deciding to devote its ecological passion to the restaurant business. The space is divided into two sections, with the lavender-colored lunch space on one side and green bistro on the other, both providing farm-fresh dishes. Côté Lunch offers quiches, soups, salads, and sandwiches, while Côté Bistro serves a more elaborate menu.

While not on the Mont itself, Le Pré Salé makes up for this with a tasty menu of Normandy favorites, including a preparation of salt-marsh lamb, presented roasted or grilled, filleted or as a chop. Three set menus also call attention to non-lamb dishes, like locally sourced oysters, steak with Camembert sauce, and a rich gourmet salad with duck, ham, and foie gras.

This photo op–ready corner café draws a quirky mix of hipsters, artists, and discriminating tourists. The food is good and includes classics like steak tartare and escargots from Burgundy. For a weekday lunch, check the ardoise (slate blackboard) for the daily special. If you're craving a taste of home, the excellent cheeseburger comes with a heap of crispy fries.

At the foot of the famous Cathar castle of Lastors, this Michelin-starred treat comes as something of a surprise. Headed by the talented Jean-Marc Boyer, the restaurant serves inventive and artistic meals based on local ingredients. There are three tasting menus to choose, with prices at €75, €95, and €129.

French country specialties and fish are served at this rustic restaurant—one of Barbizon's very best—with a big open fire and a large terrace shaded by lime and chestnut trees. The three-course weekday menu is a good value, but wine here is expensive and cannot be ordered by the pichet (pitcher). Reservations are essential on weekends and highly recommended in summer.

When Hell’s Kitchen presenter and chef Arnaud Tabarec left to open Beam! in Toulon, Lori Moreau stepped in at this trendy restaurant occupying the fifth floor of a former post office (now the Five Seas Hotel) with fabulous views over Le Suquet. She shortened the menu, but there is still a good selection of fish and vegetarian dishes, as well as beef and chicken options. There’s also a stellar brunch menu if a lazy Sunday appeals.

Deep blues and pearly grays dominate this elegantly streamlined dining room where chef Élie Michel-Villaz has made seasonality and simplicity his hallmark. Dishes change weekly, but diners have come to rely on his ingenious combinations of local grass-fed meats and organic vegetables with exotic accents, like tonka bean or smoked eel. What's more, the wine list is outstanding, prices are gentle, and you're encouraged to taste, sip, and savor this reliably delicious cuisine at your leisure.

The Cours Saleya's desirable terrace tables provide an excuse for many of the restaurants along this strip to get away with culinary murder, but that's not the case at Le Safari, which pays more attention than most to ingredients and presentation. Choose from traditional Niçois dishes—the fish soup served with croutons, spicy mayonnaise, and cheese is particularly good—and Italian-inspired fare such as creamy risotto. Inside the colorful dining room is where the locals eat, and some even claim the food is a notch better there. Wherever you'd like to sit, it's a good idea to make a reservation.

You’re in excellent hands at this wine bar and “bistronomic” (bistro with gastronomic cuisine) dining room helmed by two accomplished chefs and set in a restored 18th-century inn in St-Saturnin-lès-Apt, a hilltop village 9 km (5½ miles) north of Apt. Cozy up to the old-fashioned wooden zinc bar for a homemade pastry and coffee, lunch, a snack, or a glass of wine expertly chosen from the Provence region and beyond. In the refined dining room (or balcony terrace), expect a casual bistro menu at lunch, but at dinnertime the linens and candles come out for a gourmet meal accompanied by spectacular views. All the ingredients, including the meats, artisan cheeses, and market-fresh fruits and veggies support local, sustainable, and organic agriculture.

The hearty brasserie menu at this unpretentious old-school eatery features Alsatian favorites like flammekueches (savory pancakes), spatzle, and pork knuckle. You can sit inside or on the cobbled square in the Saint-Pierre quarter, and to add to the atmosphere, a life-sized suit of armor guards the downstairs restrooms.

This sleek, modern dining room has managed to garner serious accolades—not to mention a Michelin star—in a town where culinary talent is in no short supply. Chef Luc Mobihan's cuisine brilliantly blends flavors to draw out the intrinsic qualities of local meat and seafood without overpowering it. Lobster-and-bacon risotto is both rich and light, and langoustine ravioli with coriander and Parmesan literally melts in the mouth. With three prix-fixe menus to choose from, diners have the pleasure of sampling a range of dishes.

Wondering where locals drink their coffee on touristy Île St-Louis? Try this old-time café that also features a menu of classic French dishes—it's open until 2 am daily.

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.

You'll find your bonheur (happiness) in this popular and centrally located gem of Dutch owner-chef Lodewijk Schröder. From a hearty black Angus steak to a mouthwatering chicken vol-au-vent, the selection is classic French gastronomy (so definitely not vegan or vegetarian-friendly). There are a few chic surprises for the middle of a tourist town, like the Indonesian Nasi Rames spicy rice dish. Too bad about the trucks and motorcycles roaring past.

Before you plunge into the dense tangle of streets in old St-Paul-de-Vence, stop on the ramparts under the century-old lime tree for a meal or snack at this atmospheric café, where the breezy terrace looks onto the valley and the Alps. The kitchen turns out colorful salads (crispy goat cheese salad with figs) and pastas at lunch and more serious fare in the evening. Pop by for the Salon de Thé (daily 3–6 pm), which offers much more than Mariage Frères tea: red berry tiramisu, crêpes, and coffee on a separate menu. Across the street, Le Tilleul sells freshly made, sorbet and ice cream for takeout in flavors like wild peach and almond milk with sour cherry.

A quiet residential street shelters one of Paris's great neighborhood bistros, which retains its moleskin banquettes, blackboard menus, and small wooden tables where you'll touch elbows with your neighbors. Expect fresh market ingredients in a gastronomic menu that's liberal with deluxe details. A typical meal might include vegetable soup with foie gras and cream, truffle tagliatelles, panfried scallops in crab sauce or axoa de veau (a Basque veal sauté), and a vanilla soufflé with cherry jam. All this plus a great choice of wines by the glass keep happy regulars filling the dining room. Prix-fixe menus start at €32 at lunch.

It's well worth the slog up the hill to the château simply to linger on the terrace of this long-established restaurant and savor the view over Mont Ventoux, Avignon, the Luberon, and the Rhône—and you can visit the restaurant's well-stocked wine cellar on your way to the top. The tarte à la tomate confite with goat cheese and iced white cheese is a specialty that reveals a love for the region's cuisine. The owners, the Estenevins, have lived in Châteauneuf-du-Pape for three generations; Philippe and Jean-Pierre took over the restaurant from their parents.

Smack in the city center, overlooking the river, this convivial cave à manger has everything necessary for a satisfying, affordable dining experience. Opt for small plates of artisanal charcuterie and cheese, or go for a satisfying main course—like chicken breast served with cream and chorizo sauce or house-made foie gras with a confit of red onion.

From just outside the walled village, you can see this restaurant that was once a 17th-century oil mill. Owner Frédéric Rossi hired the young chef Olivier Depardieu, who did his apprenticeship at the Colombe d'Or and worked at Château Saint Martin, to create regional dishes like risotto with artichokes and langoustines or sea bass with pole-fried vegetables. This place is best for a hearty dinner rather than a light lunch, especially since the terrace doesn't get much shade.

With their warm welcome and attentive service, chef Jean-Paul Bartoli and his wife make this year-round restaurant at the port a popular dining spot. The couple serves carefully selected and prepared seafood, including seared tuna steaks and a mixed dish of octopus, cuttlefish, and squid, along with fine Corsican sausage and traditional cuisine from soups to fiadone (cheesecake).

At this eatery about 10 minutes from downtown Ajaccio, simple furnishings and decor are comfortably overshadowed by a spectacular ocean view and a fine seafood menu, which has featured everything from cuttlefish to octopus. Family-run since 1956, this restaurant flourishes with secret recipes handed down from generations. History can still be found in the fireplace lounge, where velvet chairs and family paintings date back to 1920.

Wine and spirit lovers should head to this convivial wine bar, where you can sample more than 1,000 wines (many of them biodynamic, organic, or pesticide-free) and 200 whiskies, rums, and Chartreuses, all by the glass (and starting at €5). There are plenty of tasty small plates to highlight the deliciousness of the wines: artisanal charcuterie, copious cheese boards, foie gras, and other homemade terrines, tapenade, and hummus, all served with delicious crusty bread. There's a small selection of tempting desserts too. Join the enthusiastic patrons at the endless wooden table or enjoy a more intimate tasting at a smaller round table or banquette. 

This lively brasserie opposite Beauvais Cathedral offers sturdy if unadventurous lunch fare (duck, steak, and the like) along with a wide variety of fresh seafood. There is a good selection of generous salads and warming soups, too.

As the experienced chef (ex-Ducasse) here specializes in meat-focused restaurants, the house special is le boeuf Paradis—finely sliced sirloin steak, seared to perfection, served with the signature Paradis sauce, and accompanied by unlimited homemade French fries.

Steven Thiebaut Pellegrino, veteran of some of Lyon’s most innovative kitchens, strikes out on his own at this small but mighty dining room where his stunning, Asian-influenced pairings always feel inspired. Dishes might include smoked haddock and cèpes with whipped butter and pumpkin seeds; Puy lentils with house-made ponzu, spinach, and saké; or sea bass with litchi and daikon radish. Wine, saké, and non-alcoholic pairings are just as imaginative.

Located in the heart of medieval Chinon, at the foot of the royal fortress, this popular spot welcomes diners with a venerable 16th-century facade that contrasts with the chic contemporary interiors. But the real star here is the food—combining fish, seasonal veggies, game, and regional specialties—prepared with a light, modern touch. In warm weather, dining outdoors on the spacious terrace is a delight. There are three different set menus to choose from, one at lunch (€26) and two at dinner (€39, €49) that come with a glass of wine and an after-dinner coffee.

At this red-walled, library-like haven in a stylish book-and-boutique complex of a renovated arsenal, you can have a sophisticated regional lunch and read while you're waiting. If you've had your fill of fish, indulge in the grilled fillet of beef with fried artichokes and sweet onion. The terrace (on the Italian-scale Cours d'Estienne d'Orves) is as pleasant as the interior.