216 Best Restaurants in France

A mere six months after chef Christophe Chiavola’s arrival at this romantic, vine-clad dining room, Michelin bestowed a coveted star. Now the restaurant draws diners from Avignon and far beyond for a refined seasonal menu featuring top-quality local meat, fish, shellfish, and produce in dishes that are prepared with a Mediterranean flair and incorporate luxurious touches. Whether you’re seated inside or out on the flowery garden terrace, you’ll enjoy one of the best meals in town.

Enjoy a drink in the elegant library sitting room or modern dining room before tucking into local specialties that two-Michelin-star chef Michel Kayser transforms into works of art on his seasonal menus. Indulging in scallops from the Camargue coast served with a luscious ravioli stuffed with celery cream and black garlic or thyme-infused Aveyron lamb with root vegetables and kumquat may not leave room for a dessert of tender strawberries from the Gard infused with kaffir lime and served with sage sorbet. The terrace opens to an extensive park with century-old trees, and often apricots and peaches plucked from the overhanging branches will appear on your plate, magically transformed into some delicious creation. Though the restaurant is outside Nîmes proper, it's a favorite Provence pilgrimage spot.

Tucked away in a quiet garden across from the Petit Palais, Ledoyen—open since 1779—is a study in Empire-style elegance (this is where Napoléon first met his eventual wife Joséphine). Star chef Yannick Alléno injects the three-star dining room with a frisson of modernity by putting fresh farmhouse ingredients front and center in his €415, nine-course tasting extravaganza (a seven-course menu is a slightly more reasonable €295, and there are à la carte options). This may seem de trop, but in Alléno's hands dishes like smoked eel soufflé with watercress coulis and candied onion, tender mussels with tart green apple and caviar, or artichoke-and-Parmesan gratin are rendered as light as a feather. The desserts are tiny masterpieces.

When you've had your fill of crêpes, head over to this outstanding gastronomic dining room, beautifully set in its own kitchen garden, where each dish is a small work of art. With a wonderful backstory (the restaurant opened with the help of a crowd-funding campaign), flawless presentation, and seasonal organic cuisine that incorporates local (from its own garden) and wild whenever possible, it's no mystery why a Michelin star was earned in 2019. For a comprehensive experience of this marvelous cuisine, the tasting menu is obligatory, but leave yourself at least two and half hours for the six-course Allium menu (€125, other menus are a steal at €38 and €58). Outdoor dining is a pleasure here, and the chef is responsive to food sensitivities.

Architect, artist, creator, whatever you call him, one thing's for sure—you won't soon forget the master chef who was awarded a Michelin star within nine months of opening his namesake restaurant and now holds three stars—Michelin's top honor. Dishes such as charred satay tuna in tapioca speckled with bright green fish eggs and served with wasabi ice cream showcase his experience working in French, African, and Asian kitchens. While at one of the 24 seats in the minimalist setting, a small card on the table provides you with a choice of four set menus. Following your selection, Mazzia will serve a series of inspired dishes. Dining here will set you back some, but you will not find its likeness anywhere in France. 

At one of the temples of Alsatian-French haute cuisine, you get a real taste of old Alsace with a nouvelle spin. Founded in the early 1800s, its grand salon is still aglow with skylights, and a spectacular 19th-century painting showing the Strasbourgeoisie at a country fair continues to set the tasteful tone. Chef Romain Brillat heads the team and presents some of the most dazzling dishes around. Drawing inspiration from classic produce such as foie gras, truffles, lobster and seasonal game, Chef Brillat creates sublime dishes that are delightful on the palate and the eye. Not surprisingly, the wine list is extensive.

For anyone who's never dined in one of France's grand old restaurants, this two-star stunner would be a fine start, set in a century-old chalet-inn in the tiny storybook village of Talloires on the incomparably beautiful Lac d'Annecy. From start to finish you'll be pampered in the old style. Although chef Jean Sulpice has updated the cuisine, dishes like veal carpaccio with white caviar and horseradish cream; poulet de Bresse stuffed with truffles and foie gras; and steamed lake fish with scallops, fennel, and ginger beurre blanc feature all the luxe ingredients that distinguish French gastronomy. On a warm day, a table on the gracious terrace overlooking the lake is a must. Prices are not for the fainthearted, but good memories are priceless.

You half expect Balzac himself to come strolling in the door of this delightful half-timber auberge, so little has it changed since the 19th century, including its centuries-old dining room, now warmed by a fireplace, floral bouquets, and rich wood tables. Balzac's ample girth attested to his great love of food, and he would no doubt enjoy the sautéed lobster or the nouvelle spins on his classic géline chicken favorites served here today. Dessert is excellent, and so is the coffee—a beverage Balzac drank incessantly (which may explain how he had the energy to create 2,000-plus characters). The restaurant and inn is nearly opposite the great author's country retreat.

Nadia Sammut, the third generation of female chefs in her family and the second to hold a Michelin star, crafts a cuisine of such sensuality, refinement, and soul that her dedicated fan base stretches well beyond France. Sammut's passion for fresh, local, and "living" foods is backed by the notion that each ingredient expresses itself differently, and she creates extraordinary flavor pairings in the dishes on her prix-fixe tasting menus. Options such as radishes prepared four ways on a melt-in-your mouth buckwheat cake or lightly crusted Camargue oysters perfumed with shiso and yuzu in an iodized gelée are revelations. The Auberge also has five charming, Provençal-style guest rooms in case you want to stay overnight and enjoy a stellar gluten-free breakfast.

There's some serious magic happening at this off-the-radar retreat set in one of Paris's oldest buildings (from 1407), once the laboratory of alchemist Nicolas Flamel. The intimate space, mixing ancient beams, stone, and wood with a streamlined contemporary design, is perfect for the chef's bewitching combinations in signature dishes like Breton langoustine with herbs crowned with caviar or roasted monkfish with tender carrots and bottarga. Deliciously subtle and surprising dessert pairings include pear William with Kalamata olives and sage. Prices are steep, but you'll appreciate leisurely savoring your meal accompanied by excellent wines and top-notch service.

Dining under the shade of mulberry trees, with views of Les Baux’s rocky cliffs, you’d hardly know you’re at the Baumanière resort’s number-two gastronomic restaurant (the resort’s first, three-star L’Oustau de Baumanière is a tough act to follow). Chef Michel Hulin’s Mediterranean-inspired cuisine plunders the resort’s kitchen gardens and the nearby Alpilles and Camargue for the freshest ingredients in dishes like wild shrimp with tart fennel-and-cucumber tartare and herb sorbet, Camargue oysters poached in olive oil and served with dulce-infused focaccia, or seared red tuna. Desserts made with summer fruits are light as air.

Set inside the gorgeously refurbished Saint James Hotel, one of the city's stand-out lodgings, the beautiful Bellefeuille has quickly become popular thanks to chef Grégory Garimbay's refined menu of inspired dishes with an emphasis on the freshest seafood and vegetables from the hotel's own gardens outside Paris (there's also honey from the hives on-site). The six-course tasting menu (with excellent desserts by pastry chef Coline Doussin and paired with natural and biodynamic wines handpicked by the restaurant's gifted sommelier) is highly recommended, but you'll be wowed no matter which menu you choose. Options like briny oysters paired with beets and tangy mustard, the freshest St-Malo scallops, melt-in-your-mouth squid in its own velvety ink, and salt-marsh lamb from the Mont St-Michel bay deliver subtlety and sweetness. In warm weather, arrive early for a cocktail in the hotel's lovely garden or a glass of Champagne in the British-style library, among the most beautiful in Paris. 

This handsome historic bistro highlights the extraordinary synergy that can happen when French technique meets Asian flavors. Classics like pigeon or beef come alive with pickled daikon radish, tamarind, or saké. You'll still find dishes firmly anchored in the French repertoire, like trout with trout caviar and whipped anchovy butter with lovage, or a caramel and quince dacquoise for dessert. The six-course dinner menu (€76) provides an excellent introduction to chef Louis de Vicari's outsized talent, and with five wine pairings for €60 you'll get a primer in French wines too. This is a restaurant Parisians in the know will cross town for, and that's saying a lot.

Five minutes by foot from the Anvers métro station, the well-kept secret Braisenville has been serving inventive small plates to locals for more than a decade. “Casual gourmet” sums up the wood-fired-oven fare, the lively ambience, and the friendly, unfussy service that patrons experience as they share dishes like raw scallops in a maracuja vinaigrette with red meat radish and Granny Smith apple or crispy quail with umeboshi, romanesco cabbage tabbouleh, and currants. The three-tiered menu (vegetarian, sea, land) offers something for everyone, and the chef’s selection (five plates, €59) is a sure bet; the excellent paired wines (five glasses, €33) are worth the extra splurge.

Though this brasserie is less formal (and less expensive) than its sister restaurant, three-star La Villa Madie, its dishes are no less tasty. Depending on what's in season and available from local growers and fishermen, the menu in the handsome dining room or on the terrace might include artisanal sausages and braised fennel with squid-ink gnocchi; tandoori monkfish medallions with asparagus, lime crème Chantilly, and Indian spices; or the catch of the day straight from the wood-fired oven. The three-course €70 menu is a steal, and, unlike many area restaurants, this one is open year-round.

Chef Justin Schmitt earned a Michelin star just seven months into his tenure at the restaurant in the Château Eza hotel—a testament to his inventive approach to gastronomy. Inspired by nature (all dishes include a hint of green, his signature stroke), his travels, and his love of cycling through the region’s landscapes, Schmitt’s dishes are a celebration of Mediterranean flavors, and his seafood-centric creations, like roasted satay octopus with whiskey and sweetcorn (a must-try), blend artful presentation with culinary mastery. The intimate 50-seat dining room, perched 1,400 feet above the Mediterranean, features floor-to-ceiling windows that open in summer, offering a semi-alfresco experience with jaw-dropping vistas.

The culinary experience here is a progression of delights, from your first luscious sip of carrot vélouté to a light-as-air chocolate soufflé contrasted with a zesty yuzu macaron. In between, the set menu (€120 for four courses; €150 for five) may include dishes like butter-poached lobster with beets, onions, and horseradish cream or foie gras en terrine with quince, walnuts, and dates—all meticulously sourced from the finest producers around France—which will surprise, comfort, and deeply satisfy. Every detail in this Michelin-starred gem, from the stemware to the service, is poised, elegant, and precise.

At this restaurant, beach club, and bar, the highly talented Colombian chef Juan Arbelaez, infuses South American–inspired dishes with Mediterranean flavors. Savor lunch over sharing plates amid the vibrant bougainvillea and the lovely sea views. The cocktails delight, especially the signature Copal Picanté—a spicy mix of Mahani Mezcal, chipotle, St. Germain, lychee, cucumber, and honey. Don't feel like leaving? Rent a sun lounger and spend the day, and, on Saturday, stick around until 8 pm to enjoy "House is ok" music. Don’t miss the spectacular Sunday brunch (€55) with live piano performances.

Since its 2023 opening, the local enthusiasm for Manon Fleury’s minimalist dining room has deepened into devotion for its passionate, conscientious cuisine that not only prioritizes fruits and vegetables, but also addresses every link in the dining chain, from ethical growers and handlers to minimizing food waste. On the plate, this translates to a refined, meticulously prepared and presented experience that highlights texture and color and offers a complexity of flavors that can be subtle or bombastic, but rarely off-key. Vegetarian diners will be at home here, although fish, shellfish and meat are only enhanced by the chef’s exquisite sensitivity to what plants can bring to a dish.

Although two-Michelin-star chef David Toutain's approach may be exasperatingly conceptual for some, others find his earthy, surprising, and inspired concoctions, served in a sleek modern space, utterly thrilling. Each dish is a lesson in contrasts—of temperature, texture, and flavor—as well as a feat of composition: briny oysters, brussels sprouts, and foie gras in a warm potato consommé; creamy raw oysters with tart kiwi and yuzu; crispy pork chips alongside velvety smoked potato puree. Toutain has a particular soft spot for root vegetables and truffles, which he sprinkles liberally throughout dishes like salsify broth with lardo and black truffle. 

Despite overseeing 33 eponymous restaurants, it’s clear that 21-Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse has put heart into his newest culinary endeavor, set in the beautiful Maison Baccarat, home to the esteemed glassmakers’ newest collections. In partnership with talented chefs Christophe Saintagne and Robin Schroeder, there’s a palpable synergy expressed in dishes that artfully balance myriad flavors and textures: sea scallops infused with coriander-spiced kumquat and accompanied by tender lobster and John Dory in a wine-infused cream; or duck with tender cabbage, foie gras, and crispy oysters with spaghetti squash and flecks of cacao. Though the superimposition of a contemporary sculpture sadly obscures the original gilded and frescoed walls, the dining room sports a more contemporary appeal.

Duende, that irresistible magnetic force radiated by a performer to transport an audience, is precisely what chef Nicolas Fontaine (channeling Pierre Gagnaire, who designed the menus) conjures in the two-Michelin–star dining room of the Art Deco–era Hotel L'Imperator. A sophisticated spot to be sure, but it's also expressive of Nîmes's earthy, independent spirit in dishes such as Mediterranean jumbo shrimp à l'Amontillado with local Camargue rice and mango in a passion fruit emulsion or a butter-poached catch of the day with camus artichokes, green olives, and a parsley-anchovy sauce. Lamb comes from the nearby Alpilles, and produce is sourced from the Gard's top organic farmers.

Run by four entrepreneurial friends just down the road from the famous Abbaye de St-Michel de Cuxa, this hip bistro serves fine locally sourced fare in large portions, like pork tenderloin in corriollette (fairy-ring mushroom) sauce. Like the food, the setting is stylish: its sleek glass-walled building and steel-framed terrace were constructed by the village specifically to house this Bistrot de Pays (a government-subsidized network of village restaurants promoting commerce in rural areas).

If you think the Pic empire has a lock on Valence gastronomy, think again: the extraordinary precision and refinement of Baptiste Poinot's cooking makes a foodie stopover in Valence an absolute must. Though the dining room itself is a bit on the quirky side, there is nothing to quibble over when it comes to the gorgeous presentation and scintillating tastes in dishes like melt-in-your-mouth trout fillet with salsify puree and crunchy grains of roasted buckwheat all in a cloud of curried foam. Desserts are equally tantalizing and the bountiful cheese cart is a sight to behold. The €38 lunch menu is a good introduction to this marvelous Michelin-starred cuisine.

Emmanuel Renaut's Flocons de Sel ("flakes of salt"), located in Leutaz, brings new meaning to the world of haute cuisine—and even with the drive out of town it's more than an excellent Megève dining option, it's a pilgrimage point. Though the extravagant 10-course tasting menu is pricey, it offers a rare experience from one of France's great three-star chefs, based on simple but carefully selected ingredients—freshwater crayfish, scallops en croute with sea salt, and roast wood pigeon are just a few of the creatively prepared specialties. The dining room is rustic-simple, allowing the food to take center stage. Surrounded by a series of chalets and much natural splendor, the establishment also offers nine exquisite guest rooms and two private chalets for crawl-away convenience.

Set in a brick- and stone-walled building on a pedestrian street near Rue Montorgueil, Frenchie has quickly become one of the most hard-to-book bistros in town, with tables reserved months in advance, despite two seatings each evening. This success is due to the good-value, €145 five-course dinner menu (prix fixe only); boldly flavored dishes such as calamari gazpacho with squash blossoms or melt-in-the-mouth braised lamb with roasted eggplant and spinach are excellent options. Service can be, shall we say, a tad brusque, but for some that's a small price to pay for food this good.

If you can't fathom paying hundreds of euros per person to taste the cooking of Pierre Gagnaire, one of France's foremost chefs, at his eponymous restaurant, but would still like to encounter one of his outstanding culinary experiences, book a table at his Left Bank fish restaurant. At Gaya, Gagnaire uses seafood as a palette for his creative impulses. Expect small portions of artfully presented food. Vegan options are offered upon advance request. 

In the village of Vonnas, a simple 19th-century inn with 30 rooms full of antique country furniture doubles as one of the greatest gastronomic addresses in all of Gaul. Poulet de Bresse, truffles, and lobster are just some of the divine dishes featured on the legendary menu created by three-Michelin-star chef Monsieur Blanc, whose culinary DNA extends back to innkeepers from the French Revolution. He serves his traditional-yet-nouvelle delights in a vast dining room, renovated—overly so, some might say—in a stately manner, replete with Louis XIII–style chairs, fireplace, and floral tapestries. Wine connoisseurs will go weak at the knees at the cellar here, overflowing with 130,000 bottles. The guest rooms range from (relatively) simple to luxurious. A block south you can repair to Blanc's cheaper, more casual restaurant, L'Ancienne Auberge, most delightfully set in a 1900s fabrique de limonade (soda-water plant) and now festooned with antique bicycles and daguerreotypes.

Elegant and relaxed don’t usually come together so seamlessly in this upscale neighborhood, but this beautiful, cozy dining room—luminous in the daytime and romantic at night—is the perfect setting for a meal that’s ambitious without being pretentious or fussy. Chef Maxime Le Meur, finally on his own after stints in top Parisian kitchens, crafts beautiful dishes with surprising pairings that combine meat and fish, but can be tailored to your desires: tuna ceviche and foie gras with apple, grapefruit, and a vibrant watercress sauce; or velvety veal on a bed of salsify with sweet burnt onion and shaved black truffle. For dessert, the signature chocolate soufflé and Paris Brest are not to be missed. Prices for this quality, especially in this neighborhood, are exceedingly gentle (€90 for 5-course menu, €140 with five wine pairings; 7-course menu €110, €180 with wines). Dining outside on the sidewalk terrace is a delight in summer.