706 Best Restaurants in France

It might look like just another pizzeria, but Le Serre is a family-run restaurant where more than just pizza is prepared with care. The warm welcome ensures that the restaurant attracts plenty of locals who have learned to tread carefully around tourist traps. Daube, the Provençal beef-and-wine stew with herbs, often tops the set menu; the chef starts its preparation at midnight for the next day.

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.

Perhaps the most traditional of all Paris luxury restaurants, this elegant two-star grande dame basks in renewed freshness under chef Giuliano Sperandio, who brings a welcome contemporary spirit that translates to daring on the plate. Dishes such as scallops meunière (with butter and lemon) are matched with contemporary choices like a splendid line-caught Saint-Pierre cooked over fennel twigs with a gratin of herb mussels and roasted langoustine or duckling poached in vin jaune with saffron-caviar sauce. One of the 19th-century paneled salons has been turned into a winter garden, and contemporary paintings adorn the walls. The service is flawless, and the legendary wine list is full of classics.

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.

A head-turning variety of luscious pastries, classic French breakfast sweets and breads, ice cream, chocolates, and homemade jams will tempt every sweet tooth at this charming bakery and tearoom. Tucked into the historic covered Passage Jouffroy, Le Valentin is a picturesque spot for breakfast, lunch, or teatime—or buy a box of irresistible French-Alsatian sweets to enjoy on the go.

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.

You could hardly beat the location of this (mostly outdoor) bistro in the shady, elegant courtyard of the Collection Lambert. Hearty lunches and dinners include a fish and meat choice with plenty of fresh local vegetables and salads on the side—perhaps, salmon gravlax with an Asian-inflected cabbage salad or roasted lamb with bright steamed veggies. Wines are mostly organic with plenty of choices by the glass, or spring for a fresh-pressed juice with a spritz of fresh ginger. Scrumptious desserts round out the meal or make a pleasant teatime break after exploring the collection.

With chef Alain Solivérès (formerly of Taillevent) at the helm, this much-beloved outpost has taken on a new shine—and a Michelin star. The food is sophisticated and the atmosphere is lively and chic; reservations are essential. Pastry chef Kimiko Kinoshita's gorgeous creations top off a ravishing, well-priced meal. With wines starting at around €40 (and €58–€65 lunch menus on weekdays), this is a wonderful place for a classic yet informal French meal.

Patrick Fischnaller returned to southern France from London and quickly won acclaim (and a Michelin star) with this dazzler just outside the town center. Start off by enjoying a glass of wine (from €8) while seated on the orange sofa in the Art Deco–style lounge before heading to a table for foie gras and smoked eel terrine, pigeon pie, or strawberry soup with basil and black olives from the €75 menu (or order à la carte). But be sure to try the sublime roast beef with cherry marmalade or the roasted cod with stuffed piquillo peppers. The philosophy that wine is as important as food is reflected in an extensive list. Did we mention that the Sorgue River runs underneath the terrace?

An easy walk from Château d'Amboise, this warm contemporary bistro is a big draw for its casual approach to fine gastronomic dining. The smallish menu ensures that every dish depends on the fresh and the seasonal, using local asparagus, artichokes, and strawberries in spring, the Loire's abundant produce in summer and fall, and quality local meats all year round. At €42, the Plaisir menu is a stellar value. The bistro's top-notch wine cellar accentuates the best of this stellar wine region.

It may not be the fanciest restaurant in Nantes or the most central, but Les Chants d'Avril is where the locals go for affordable \"bistronomic\" fare. Murals, dark-wood paneling, and leather banquettes lend a warm, traditional look; the attention to market-driven ingredients and interesting wines, however, puts it on par with the best modern bistrôts à vin. You can be sure you're getting the freshest seasonal ingredients, as the chef offers one menu each day based on what's best at market, though he will tailor to special needs. The prices for this caliber of dining are exceptional (3-course dinner, €38; lunch, €20, €25).

This lively and popular brasserie is open from 8 am to 1 am every day, serving a copious morning breakfast, brunch on weekends, and an excellent full menu from noon until midnight of everything including cheese and ham boards to share, French onion soup, and an excellent burger. In keeping with the area's literary past and its name (Les Editeurs means "the publishers"), the book-lined space hosts monthly discussions with best-selling contemporary authors.

Don't be fooled by the casual interior: this popular "gastrobistro," helmed by two brothers passionate about food and wine, is where local foodies go for a special lunch or evening out. Products fresh from Compiègne's wonderful farmers' market are transformed into only a few sophisticated dishes each day that change with the season and are as beautiful to look at as they are delicious. Near the Oise River and a quick walk from the château, this is a great place for a two- or three-course lunch, but linger over dinner to fully enjoy this marvelous cuisine.

The adventurous cuisine served at Les Feuillantines (one of Chartres’ few gastronomic restaurants) rarely falters and very often soars. Try the superb house-made terrine with tangy cornichons to start, followed by duck risotto topped with caramelized shallots or beef ravioli perfumed with lemongrass and smoked tea. For dessert, the copious cheese plate, vanilla-flecked baba au rhum, and divine melted-chocolate cake all hit the spot. In warmer months, the garden is an added bonus, as is a good, if slightly unimaginative, wine list. The location (on a tiny street near the cathedral) is convenient, and in terms of quality for price this cozy spot can’t be beat.

Tucked away on a quaint square, this restaurant charms with atmospheric surroundings and menu of delicious classics. The paleron de bœuf (braised beef shoulder) is cooked to melt-in-your-mouth perfection, and the toasted marshmallows in chocolate make the perfect sweet treat. The two-course lunch menu is a good value, and candlelight makes this cozy in the evenings.

Part wineshop and épicerie, part restaurant, Les Papilles has a winning formula—pick any bottle off the well-stocked shelf, and pay €7 corkage to sip it with your meal. You can also savor one of several superb wines by the glass at your table while enjoying the excellent set menu of dishes made with top-notch, seasonal ingredients. Your meal might begin with a luscious velouté, a velvety soup served from a large tureen, and proceed with a hearty-yet-tender meat dish alongside perfectly cooked vegetables, followed by a cheese course and dessert—well worth spending a little extra time for lunch or dinner.

A former coaching inn on the route to Santiago de Compostela now houses what some regard as the best restaurant in the Pyrénées. Created by renowned master chef Firmin Arrambide, it is now run by his son and daughter, Philippe and Sandrine, and the haute cuisine is still characterized by refined interpretations of Pays Basque cooking with a focus on Pyrenean delicacies. For dessert, the elder Arrambide's recipe for gâteau Basque has circled the world. After dining, you can bed down in one of the inn's 14 rooms and four suites; needless to say, you'll want to invest in one of the board plans.

The thirtysomething chef at the helm of this cozy wine bar is passionate about tracking down the best local ingredients, whether it's the juicy tomatoes with your roasted octopus salad or the Camargue rice with your succulent lamb. And he's no less scrupulous about wines, with a penchant for small natural and biodynamic producers from every region of France. It's a good idea to order several of the delicious, well-priced small dishes to taste as many as possible, but the fixed-price menus assure a great price-to-quality ratio. Be sure to reserve ahead, as the restaurant has only 20 spots and is an absolute favorite with locals.

In the center of town just a few minutes from the Musée Maurice Denis, this contemporary French-style bistro is popular for its bright decor and healthy Swedish-inflected recipes. Appetizers like toasts Skagen—tiny shrimps in homemade dilled mayonnaise on toast—and salmon gravlax or marinated herring are fresh, healthy, and delicious. There's also beautifully prepared dishes like veal and lamb for meat lovers. Homemade desserts are a must. Two- or three-course lunch menus are a good bet for dishes of this quality. Book ahead if possible, especially at dinnertime.

Market-fresh cuisine, industrial-chic decor with elegant touches of velvet and polished wood, and an adventurous wine list all help make this Michelin-starred bistro a standout on Nantes's culinary roadmap. Well-crafted dishes forego French fussiness in favor of innovative combinations like scallops with tamarind and roasted-red-pepper puree, seared monkfish with wild l'ail d'ours (French garlic) pesto, or succulent spring veal accompanied by tiny roasted veggies. The four, five, or six-course menus (€85, €105, €125) are your only option at dinner, an assurance of the freshest ingredients, though food preferences are honored. Don't let the lackluster area put you off, as this is a Nantes culinary benchmark.

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.

This tiny gem of a coffee shop may not have the ambience of Paris's historic brasserie cafés, but it does have something you won't find in any brasserie in Paris—reliably excellent coffee served with care and enthusiasm. What's more, a small menu of delicious homemade sweets and sandwiches and salads at lunchtime pretty much covers all your restorative needs.

The post-nouvelle haven for what is arguably Toulouse's finest dining departs radically from the traditional stick-to-your-ribs cuisine of southwest France, instead favoring Mediterranean formulas suited to the rhythms and reasons of modern living. Delicacies like the signature foie gras soup with Belon oysters proves that chef Michel Sarran's Michelin star is well deserved. Don't count on a Saturday-night fête here; the restaurant is closed weekends—the obvious mark of a sought-after chef who is free to choose his own hours. There are three menus to choose from: the €75 Capitole menu at lunch and the €145 Saveurs menu and €195 Surprise menu at dinner.

Chef Mauro Colagreco—who learned his craft in Latin America before working with the likes of Bernard Loiseau in Burgundy and both Alain Passard and Alain Ducasse in Paris—helms this innovative establishment, which has garnered three Michelin stars and is frequently cited as the world's best restaurant. Colagreco is one of the young chefs whose style has been dubbed la jeune cuisine—for him, the plate is a palette, and each of the ingredients, which are often gathered from the on-site vegetable garden, has its precise place and significance. The airy dining room overlooking a cascading garden and the sea on Menton's outer edge is the ideal setting for Colagreco's expressive (and expensive!) cooking; the nine-course €450 menu featuring roots, leaves, flowers, and fruits is particularly intense. In 2023, a glassed-enclosed kitchen was added, as was La Puerta, a space adjacent to the restaurant that offers a more intimate experience. Can't get a reservation? Don't fret. Colagreco is also at the helm of Casa Fuego, an Argentine asado (grill) restaurant, and La PecoraNegra, an artisanal pizzeria.

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.

One taste of this exceptional cuisine and you'll understand why dining on Syrian food in the center of Orléans makes perfect sense. Besides a powerful backstory—the owners fled the Syrian war with not much more than their recipes stowed in their suitcase and their hopes of starting anew—the warm atmosphere and fresh, traditional fare make this one of the most popular spots in town, serving up delicious comfort foods like slow-braised lamb and eggplant makloubeh, muhammara (a delicious walnut and red pepper dip), or slow-cooked beef kebab. Be sure to save room for the ethereal desserts, some inflected with rose or orange blossom.

This fine-dining restaurant located steps from Palais Royal breaks from tradition in more ways than one. In a converted stone cellar, just one massive dining table awaits guests who take their seats alongside strangers to embark on a nine-course culinary voyage from chef Matan Zaken. The menu embraces influences and ingredients from France and beyond, often playfully toeing the line between sweet and savory.

Tours may be an unexpected place for Japanese cuisine of this caliber, but this sleekly handsome dining room has become one of the city's most sought-after tables (and not always an easy one to get). A warm welcome and accomplished chef Jean-Nobuki Rémon's dazzling small dishes await you, along with expert advice on wine pairings. From light-as-air vegetable tempura and savory miso soup to the freshest seafood (raw and cooked), each dish is a symphony of flavors. Desserts are not to be missed: try the plum liqueur-poached apple served with ginger ice cream.

Modestly billed as a “chic deli,” the Hôtel de Crillon’s second restaurant is among Paris’s best grills—with plenty on the menu to tempt pescatarians and vegetarians too. Using top-quality meats, poultry, seafood and seasonal produce, chef Paul Pairet’s dishes are a marvel of flavor and finesse. The beef cut of the day, cooked to perfection, is flourished tableside and carved just how you like it, but you can also choose from a half-dozen beef dishes, along with roast chicken and deliciously tender line-caught fish. The starters, side dishes (don't skip the lettuce with garlic and aged-vinegar vinaigrette and the homemade fries), and desserts are equally good. Sit at the bar and order from the blackboard menu at lunch or dinner, or grab a table. It's quite popular, so be sure to reserve in advance.