706 Best Restaurants in France

Although lunch and dinner are delicious, this the place to come for a breakfast of freshly sliced country breads, mouthwatering Ö Jardin Sucré jams (say, raspberry and violet or apple-pear with hazelnut), and organic yogurts—all made in France. Sure, you can still have your flaky croissant, but here the friendly owners deliver a toaster to your table to grill the bread exactly to your liking. Throw in Alain Milliet vineyard juices and creamy café au lait, and you’ll be planning to come back before you can wipe the jam off your chin.

Tucked away on a tiny village square, this contemporary bistro has become the town’s go-to eatery. Set under ancient stone vaults with a wooden zinc bar, the cozy dining room contrasts old-world charm with an up-to-the-moment menu featuring adventurous cuisine that prioritizes local ingredients but doesn’t shy away from bold contrasts. You might seeing pairings like sea bass tartare with passionfruit and Timut peppercorns; langoustine raviolis in a luscious bisque perfumed with kaffir lime-leaf; scallop risotto flecked with vanilla bean and morel mushrooms; and for dessert, lemon tart with Balinese white pepper.

Exposed beams, stone walls, and rustic tomette tiles assure a picturesque dining experience at this 1846 stone grange set among pretty gardens 3 km (2 miles) outside Cahors. But the real spirit of the place lies in the menu of deeply traditional French favorites: pig's cheeks, truffle omelet, beef onglet (hanger steak), local lamb, and Rocamador cheeses, all accompanied by Cahors wine. Despite the soaring ceilings, it's a cozy place, made all the cozier by friendly service and happy diners from near and far.

This cozy restaurant with cheerful planters and original art is run by a young husband-and-wife team and specializes in pasta dishes and regional French comfort food (from Savoie, Nice, and Provence). Dishes such as basil-and-cheese ravioli, stuffed peppers farci, and crème anchoïade (anchovy cream) are seasonal, beautifully prepared, and deeply satisfying. In warmer temps, the outdoor terrace is a favorite spot for the locals. Pair dinner with a stunning glass of the local red, and then marvel at the modest check. 

Don't be fooled by this unassuming bistro's laid-back atmosphere and streamlined Scandinavian decor; here you'll discover some of the most deliciously inventive (and well-priced) cuisine to be found in Nantes. Fresh, local, and organic products are a big part of the alchemy, but it's the culinary wizardry of chef Léo Huet that really sets this dining room apart. There's plenty of deliciousness for vegetarians here too, and at €20 or €24 for the three-course menus at lunch and €33 or €38 at dinner, this is one of the city's best deals.

A decor that mixes distressed walls with minimalist industrial-style lighting and sleek designer chairs is your first clue that this neobistro and wine bar in Marseille's emerging Noailles neighborhood is impossibly hip. British chef Harry Cummins, lately of Paris's gastronomic mecca Frenchie, uses local, seasonal ingredients to craft subtle, imaginative dishes that are highly satisfying to all yet also sensitive to the needs of vegetarians and those with food allergies. The three-course lunch menu (€35) and the five-course dinner menu (€62), served inside or on the secluded outdoor terrace, are good introductions.

This is a legendary location in Lyon—even more so now that Mathieu Viannay, one of the top names in the city's contemporary cuisine scene, has honored gastronomy pioneer Eugénie Brazier—the founder of nouvelle cuisine and the first woman to gain three Michelin stars, in 1933—by opening a restaurant in her former space. Winner of the coveted Best Craftsman in France designation and having earned a second Michelin star in 2023, Viannay continues to experiment with taste, textures, and ingredients in this carefully restored and recently remodeled traditional house. He describes the menu as \"mixed\" between completely modern cuisine and \"Mère Brazier recipes revisited,\" such as the poularde de Bresse demi-deuil (Bresse poultry in \"half mourning,\" that is, with black truffles under the breast skin).

The elegant La Mère Germaine restaurant earned a Michelin star within seven months of reopening as part of the hotel of the same name, and now, with chef Adrien Soro at the helm, it has further refined its locavore offerings. Dishes on the seasonal, five-course menus (€98 at lunch, €118 at dinner) might include celery root and shredded truffle ravioli with fermented shiitake or melt-in-your-mouth quail suprème with almond hummus and artichoke hearts. Settle in for an afternoon or evening, either in the dining room with its charming frescoes or out on the terrace with its sweeping views.

The back-to-bistro boom climaxed here when Dominique Le Stanc retired his crown at the Negresco to take over this tiny, unpretentious landmark of Provençal cuisine. For decades he has worked in a miniature open kitchen creating ultimate versions of stuffed sardines, tagliatelle with pistou, slow-simmered daubes (beef stews), and the quintessential stockfish (the local lutefisk)—but don’t worry, pizza is an option, too. There are two seatings at both lunch and dinner. You'll have to stop by in person or book via the website to reserve entry to the inner sanctum as there's no phone—and note that credit cards are not accepted either.

Whether you dine under the 14th-century coffered ceilings, surrounded by exquisite paintings and Renaissance tapestries, or in the intimate garden under the walls of the Palais des Papes, this restaurant transports you to another time. Chef Florent Pietravalle offers original haute-cuisine dishes with a focus on local products, perhaps wild cèpes with caviar and razor clams, line-caught dorade with roasted cucumber and a Granny Smith apple emulsion, or aged beef with Jerusalem artichokes and wild blackberries. Foodies, take note: Tuesday and Wednesday dinners are table d'hôtes, and one week every month the restaurant's cooking school, La Table Haute, invites guest chefs to teach casual, multilingual cooking classes for 6–12 people around a large table in a charming, authentic 19th-century kitchen, followed by a convivial feast—there are classes for children, too.

Chef Jean Imbert celebrates his two great loves, gastronomy and cinema, at this Michelin-starred restaurant named after the highest award bestowed at the Cannes Film Festival. On the menu, which is designed like a film script, locally sourced seafood such as John Dory, spiny lobster, and scorpion fish have pride of place. A three-course seasonal tasting menu is priced at €140; five-courses is €220. The priceless memorabilia on display includes Leo's Wolf of Wall Street sunglasses, Harry Potter scripts, and Robert De Niro’s boxing shorts from Raging Bull.

Nestled on a charming cobbled square beside a babbling fountain and adorned with pastel blue shutters, La Place de Mougins offers the quintessential area dining experience. Each month, chef Denis Fétisson, a Marseille native, expertly showcases regional flavors on a creative menus of dishes that highlight a produit à l'honneur, that is to say, one seasonal ingredient, such as truffle, foie gras, or asparagus. A standout is the Gourmandise à Mougins tasting menu (€85) featuring Fétisson's renowned Golden Egg with ossetra Kaviari caviar.

Back when your grandmother's grandmother was making the grand tour, La Pyramide's Fernand Point had already perfected haute cuisine for a generation and become the first superstar chef, teaching a regiment of students who glamorized French dining the world over. Many decades later, La Pyramide has dropped its museum status and now offers contemporary classics by acclaimed two-Michelin-star chef Patrick Henriroux, accompanied by a peerless selection of wines featuring local stars from the nearby Côte-Rôtie and Condrieu vineyards. Both classical and avant-garde dishes triumph here, from crème soufflée de crabe au croquant d'artichaut (creamy crab soufflé with crunchy artichoke) to the veau de lait aux légumes de la vallée (suckling veal with vegetables from the Drôme Valley). For those who wish to sleep off the feast, there are contemporary guest rooms at hand.

After taking over the original La Régalade, chef Bruno Doucet kept some of what made the old restaurant so popular (country terrines, reasonably priced wines, convivial atmosphere), but he also had a few tricks under his toque, notably creating a successful haute-cuisine-meets-comfort-food destination. With its reasonable €52 prix-fixe menu, this chic bistro has evolved into a staple of the neighborhood.

Open since 1830, this chic bistro perched on a stony outcrop at the heights of Les Baux‘s old town has had lots of time to perfect its game. You’ll dine on French stalwarts, featuring grilled aged beef and seafood, accompanied by breathtaking panoramas of the Baux valley through wraparound windows.

Located right in the middle of the charming village of Gevrey-Chambertin, this 18th-century stone mansion features a gastronomic restaurant (Table d'Hôtes), a bistro (Bistrot Lucien), and nine smartly decorated rooms. Diners are drawn here by the cozy, chalet-style decor (think plank floors and wooden beams), the spot-on service, and the stellar cuisine that takes terroir dishes to new gastronomic heights. Traditional Burgundy dishes are given a complete makeover, such as snails in a foamy sauce topped with garlic flowers; hand-cut steak tartare with ginger, grated hazelnut, and clover leaves; and pork loin prepared by the in-house butcher. Table d'Hôtes, the gourmet restaurant, offers €62 lunch and €102 dinner prix-fixe menus while the bistro Lucien on the ground floor offers a trimmed-back menu and an outdoor terrace.

Chef Stéphanie le Quellec's gleaming dining room on the elegant Avenue Matignon is the perfect setting for the refined, scintillating cuisine that earned the former Top Chef winner a loyal following among Paris gastronomes as well as two Michelin stars. Whether you're having lunch in the ground-floor brasserie, with its burnished bronze bar, or downstairs in the elegant 30-seat dining room with an open kitchen, Le Quellec doesn't skimp on luxury ingredients in signature dishes like Pompadour potato soufflé with Osetra caviar, poached langoustine, and the famous foie gras tart, all masterfully paired with handpicked small-producer wines. Unlike some other two-star chefs, le Quellec is always in the kitchen, and in plain view of the dining room. Pastry chef Pierre Chirac's irresistible desserts round out a perfect meal.

Although an odd couple at first glance, the marriage of two seafood-centric cuisines—Japanese and Breton—actually makes perfect sense, especially once you've experienced the miracles of flavor that hail from the kitchen of Michelin-starred chef Raphaël-Fumio Kudaka. Imaginative, locally sourced dishes find just the right balance between French gourmandise and Japanese delicacy: lobster dumplings with pine nuts, crisp pork belly, morel, and shiitake mushrooms in a yuzu broth; langoustine, scallop, and foie gras tempura in a bonito-kombu broth; and for dessert, a luscious orange-crème mousseline, with blood-orange gelée and Brittany saffron coulis served over a melt-in-your-mouth Wasabon biscuit. Pair your meal with a natural French wine—you won't mind spending a little extra for something so far beyond the ordinary. This place is in the same building (and has the same owners) as the legendary crêpery, Breizh Café.

This cozy bistro's namesake studied at the prestigious Ferrandi school and cut her teeth at Joël Robuchon in Paris before returning to her hometown to open her own "bistronomique" restaurant (meaning gastronomic bistro). The refined menu offers seasonal dishes made with ingredients from sustainable farms when possible, and all the wines are organic. Dining on the terrace, overlooking the fountain on Chartres' pretty Evora Square, is a joy in warm weather.

Chef Christophe Bacquié spent a dozen years at the renowned Hotel & Spa de Castellet, where he earned three Michelin stars, before he and his wife, Alexandra, set off on their own in 2022. Now Alexandra presides over their welcoming restaurant (which won its second Michelin star in 2024) and chambres d'hôtes (guest rooms), set amid vineyards and lavender fields, and the chef is just as likely to serve your amuse-bouche as he is to whisk away your plate—and then ask you what you thought. You'll visit the cellar to choose your wine before feasting on a succession of sophisticated dishes made with ingredients like trout from the nearby Sorgue River, vegetables straight from the kitchen garden, or Alpilles lamb raised on garrigue herbs. Though the menu is prix-fixe only, the chef is happy to adapt dishes as needed.

With a Michelin star in his pocket, rising chef Jean-Baptiste Lavergne-Morazzani has answered the city's dire need for top-quality and well-priced dining at La Table du 11. A small menu features the freshest market dishes: maybe line-caught daurade with candied citrus, Argentine beef with roasted pumpkin and velvety burratina cheese, and a spectacular cheese plate for pre-dessert. The chic and pleasingly sparse dining room is bright in the day and elegant but cozy at dinnertime. The three- to seven-dish prix-fixe menus are fairly reasonable for this level of quality.

Ewan and Caroline Scutcher established this waterside gem in 1989, which has since earned its place among the finest restaurants on the Riviera. In a fun and relaxed atmosphere, they offer the freshest fish and seafood on the coast—certainly the politicians, royalty, and film stars (think Leonardo DiCaprio) who dine portside here among the locals don't complain. Selection is simple, uncomplicated, and the lunch menu, which is served on market days (Thursday and Sunday between mid-June and mid-September) is a deal with wine and coffee included. Avoid traffic and ask Le Table to arrange for a water taxi when you make a reservation.

This legendary Michelin-starred restaurant and its setting overlooking the Seine remains magnifique; if you don't want to break the bank on dinner, treat yourself to the somewhat cheaper four-course lunch menu. This entitles you to succulent slices of one of the restaurant's numbered ducks (the great duck slaughter began in 1919 and is now well past the millionth mallard, as your certificate will attest). Don't be too daunted by the vast wine list—with the aid of the sommelier you can splurge a little and perhaps taste a rare vintage Burgundy from the extraordinary cellars, which survived World War II.

You wouldn't expect to find a restaurant with two Michelin stars set in a residential area, 10 minutes by car from La Croisette, but Bruno Oger promises you an unforgettable experience in this très cozy spot surrounded by centennial trees and gardens. Yes, it's pricey (six-course set lunch menu €160 or €175 with drinks, six-course set dinner menu €325 or €395 with drinks), but you'll have bragging rights that you and Robert De Niro have shared the same chef. That's right, Oger is official chef of the Cannes Film Festival. If this is beyond your means, opt for the three-course Formule Bistrot menu (€45) at Le Bistrot des Anges (Michelin Bib Gourmand), under the same management. While waiting, sink into an armchair, and watch the fashion parade at L'Ange Bar.

Chef Dimitri Droisneau may profess his cuisine to be humble, but it’s worth changing out of your beachwear (closed-toe shoes are required) to dine at the three-Michelin-starred restaurant he runs with his wife, Marielle. Standout dishes include the delicately grilled Mediterranean rouget with almonds and fennel that's drizzled with an urchin-and-saffron sauce. Overseeing a cellar with 550 wines, regional and beyond, the knowledgeable sommelier can suggest accompaniments, whether you opt for one of the two set menus (€195 lunch and €295 dinner) or go the pricier à la carte route. Allow time to linger over pre-dinner cocktails by the waterfront Brasserie du Corton.

One of 100-plus locations worldwide, the largest branch of the Ladurée tea salon empire is worth the splurge, thanks to the sumptuous pastries, which steal the show. In addition to more than a dozen flavors of macarons, it has assorted cakes, sundaes, pastries, savory dishes, and beautifully boxed treats ideal for gift-giving. Reserve a table in the elegant wood-paneled rooms upstairs or the glassed-in storefront, or grab a bite in the secluded Art Nouveau bar in the back. Though pricey, the menu promises generous salads and flavorful plats du jour. If you run into a long line, keep in mind the charming, historic flagship salon de thé on the Rue Royale (near Place de la Concorde) and the cozy tearoom on the second floor of St-Germain-des-Prés's Rue Bonaparte outpost. 

A cave (wine store) by day and a happening wine and tapas bar by night, this is a great place to sample the famous wines of the Côtes du Rhône—perhaps a local Beaume-de-Venise, which goes nicely with the house-made foie gras. Whether you sit inside or out on the terrace, charming, knowledgeable staffers will pour samples until you've found the perfect pairing for your charcuterie or artisanal cheese plate.

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.

As evidenced by the happy crowds seated at the long bar and enjoying artisanal charcuterie or cheese plates and biodynamic wines, food and drink are serious fun at this otherwise casual spot. The chef, who cut his teeth as a sommelier in London, offers a short daily menu of dishes—perhaps, Camargue oysters with salted gooseberries and crème cru or lamb shoulder paired with green beans, walnuts and roasted prunes—that make good use of local bounty.

You won't find any "concept" cooking here, just pure French bistro fare at its finest—beef salad with anchovy dressing, butter risotto with truffles, sliced leg of lamb, and traditional pork casserole. Save room for the day's dessert, perhaps the wonderfully warm peach-and-frangipane tart. The prices here are as appealing as the menu. If you can't score a reservation, try one of the two Peixes restaurants (4 rue de l'Opéra and 5 rue Bonaparte), where chef Antoine Crespo serves delightful seafood tapas.