706 Best Restaurants in France

Expect to have every sense engaged in the most delightful way at this warm, contemporary dining room overlooking the Odet River. Each dish is not just a pleasure for the eye, but a symphony of subtle flavors, mixing Japanese accents (ponzu, yuzu, shiso, ginger) with the freshest Breton seafood and local produce. A seat in the bay window with pretty views over the river is a bonus, but anywhere you sit you'll benefit from attentive service and an impeccable welcome.

Chef Alexandre Bourdas put Honfleur on the gastronomic map more than a decade ago with this spot, earning Michelin's Bib Gourmand for value. From the ravishing dining room to the impeccable presentation, his restaurant is a study in getting it right down to the smallest detail, with surprising combinations like sea bream with nori and marinated sanshō or cabbage tempura with a truffle crust. If you're just passing through town, stop by SaQuaNa's bakery, at 9173 cours Jean de Vienne, for high-quality breads and treats. 

Félix Gagnaire, a trained pastry chef, chose a quiet neighborhood near the river for his relaxed bistro, where the menu changes daily, always mixing a solid repertoire of market-fresh, Lyonnais comfort foods with the roving imagination of an innovator. You might sample the vélouté perfumed with nutmeg and served with a poached egg and crunchy bits of smoked sausage; a filet of sea bass baked in its skin with vegetable risotto; or a tarte à l’orange with cardamom ice cream for dessert. For a livelier, more casual experience, Gagnaire’s Sauf Imprévu Bar à Vins, around the corner at 15 Rue Vauban, serves trendier cuisine with excellent wines by the glass and outdoor seating.

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 Paris Hotel is the city's only Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant. As you sit in a jewel box of a dining room that features 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.

Don't be put off by the name—a blend of the initials of owners Sébastien Kieffer and Alban Barbette—because this restaurant has an enchanting shaded garden terrace and a seasonal menu by chef Damien Sanchez that will not disappoint. Crispy Provençal lamb with fresh vegetables makes for a great main dish, and for dessert there's poached apple on a crispy pastry with apple jelly, nougat, heavy cream, and gingerbread ice cream. Fixed-price menus run €98–€133, but the €53 weekday lunch menu is a great value—if you can get a table.

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 10-course set dinner menu (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 an eight-course lunch, Friday and Saturday only, still seems a relative bargain), but the vaulted room downstairs is totally traditional—and one of the loveliest in Paris.

The Arev hotel collection has breathed new life into this old St-Tropez favorite, where you can escape the tourist crowds and enjoy dishes that celebrate fresh, local ingredients, including daily-caught seafood and herbs from the hotel’s garden. Share the sole, or try truffle ravioli. Pull up a striped stool at the bar, and order the signature Margarita—a spicy blend of Maestro Dobel Diamante Reposado, mezcal, and pineapple liqueur.

After barely a year on his own, Takao Takano's eponymous restaurant earned off-the-charts accolades and a coveted Michelin star (now two) for his imaginative cuisine. Takano honed his craft during eight years as sous chef to Nicholas Le Bec (now in Shanghai), but he brings his own aesthetic to the fore in a warm, pared-down space outside the city center. Beautifully presented dishes, like tender Limousin lamb with artichokes and spicy olive oil; cucumber tarts with horseradish-inflected tarama and oyster-and-watercress gelée; roasted veal with bok choy, girolles mushrooms, and finely shaved lardo di Colonnata change according to the season.

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.

Whether you’re cozying up to the bar or at a table in the chic dining room, all eyes are on the simple but perfectly prepared seasonal dishes leaving the open kitchen. This lively eatery in the heart of Grenoble’s old town has gained an enthusiastic following for refined and delicious dishes like pigeon paired with perfectly cooked spring vegetables; eggplant raviolis with lardo di Colonnata in a mushroom bouillon; and fresh apricot tart with rosemary ice cream for dessert. Prices are gentle and the crowd wildly enthusiastic for a cuisine that perfectly suits contemporary tastes.

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 overly 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.

One of the most creative yet affordable tasting menus awaits at this restaurant founded by American husband-and-wife team Braden Perkins and Laura Adrian. The €98 prix-fixe menu sees plant-forward, seasonally driven food paired with a modern selection of wines. Order your own or opt for the €62 wine pairing.

Three km (2 miles) from Rambouillet near the small town of Gazeran, this ivy-clad 18th-century home is a romantic setting for an elegant gastronomic meal. Dishes like roasted cod in beef reduction with black-truffle risotto or fillet of venison with parsnip mousse are made with the freshest ingredients—many from the kitchen garden—and can be followed by a copious cheese plate or tempting seasonal desserts. A beautiful garden terrace is delightful in the summer. Three-course prix-fixe menus at both lunch and dinner are an excellent value.

At this sleek little wine bar, an understated decor belies splendid dishes that easily match the gastronomic fare served at Aix's pricier restaurants. In keeping with the wine bar ethos, plates are small (all the better to pair with wines by the glass) but beautifully conceived and sometimes thrilling—think foie gras with apricot confit, sea bream and wild mushrooms, or zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta and mint. Don't be shy to ask for advice on wine pairings; you'll be glad you did.

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.

Once described as the "center of the civilized world," this grand café was a meeting place for the Belle Époque's glitterati. It's an elegant spot to enjoy a drink (or meal) in the shadow of the Opéra Garnier.

This popular establishment is known for its traditional cuisine, fresh daily catches, and in-season game specials, served in the evenings as a five-course fixed menu. The rustic interior has a starry sky above, antique lanterns, and a stone fountain, where guests pour their own water into ceramic jugs.

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, teatime, wine and cocktails, or a quick pastry at any time of day. 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.

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.

For a taste of the Amalfi Coast on the Côte D'Azur, head to this chic yet welcoming spot with a prime quayside location. Dine on the terrace by the fountain and olive trees or amid the bougainvillea-draped interiors. There's an extensive pizza menu, the paëlla comes highly recommended, and the oven-baked rigatoni portion is enormous (thankfully, the restaurant provides a box for leftovers—not a given in France home—as it's too good to waste). 

Popping up all over—and winning converts faster than you can finish a double scoop—is the Amorino chain of gelaterias, which serves inventive frozen concoctions in the shape of flower blossoms. Popular flavors include rich bacio (dark chocolate with hazelnuts) and mascarpone with figs.

If Maison Pic, superstar chef Anne-Sophie Pic's gastronomic mothership, is too much of a splurge (and a splurge it is), her gourmet bistro just two steps away will set you right up. Named for her grandfather, founder of the Pic empire, the menu riffs on all the French classics that built the Pic name. The handsome wood-and-leather decor and swanky lighting feel both classic and contemporary, much like the menu of such timeless stalwarts as snails and parsleyed roasted potatoes, pâté en croute, filet de dorade royale, grilled entrecôte, and leeks vinaigrette, all at a fraction of what you'd pay next door.

Heavenly homemade macarons are the order of the day at this sweet little tea shop in the old town, just steps from Cours Saléya and its bustling market.

All-white decor complements the contemporary urban architecture of this iconic tree-inspired building designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujmoto. The upmarket brasserie-style cuisine includes a lineup of dishes such a saddle of lamb with thyme and turbot with butter sauce. There is a hip rooftop bar on the 17th floor that has a panoramic view over the city, out to the coast and Pic Saint Loup.

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

At this restaurant, a beacon to all fish lovers since 1953, well-trained staffers negotiate cramped quarters to lay down heaping seafood platters, shrimp casseroles, and piles of oysters shucked to order. It's always busy, though, so don't expect rapid service. Arrive early (noon for lunch, 6 pm for dinner) to get a table and avoid a line.