113 Best Restaurants in France

Founded in 1903 and patronized by literary luminaries like Marcel Proust and Gertrude Stein, Angelina is famous for its chocolat "l'Africain"—an ultrarich hot chocolate topped with whipped cream. The beautiful chestnut "Mont Blanc" pastry is the ideal accompaniment. Fashionistas should be sure to stop for a photo op at table #10, Coco Chanel's favorite.

An easy walk from Place de la Bastille and the Marais, this sleek 2,000-square-foot café is a favorite spot for breakfast, veggie-centric nibbles, and exceptional scones, breads, and sweet rolls served all day, seven days a week. Mornings are a good time to enjoy the fragrance of fresh roasting coffee, performed in full view.

This charming courtyard café-tearoom grew out of an adorable pastry shop (next door) specializing in the French sablé, those classic melt-in-your-mouth butter cookies, with an assortment of ethereal cream fillings. Marble-topped tables, velvet chairs, and other vintage-like touches make this one of the neighborhood's most charming spots for lunch, brunch, or dessert. The excellent food, homemade drinks, and stellar pastries are all icing on this scrumptious cake.

Eating a crêpe in Paris might seem clichéd, until you venture into this modern offshoot of a Breton crêperie. The plain, pale-wood decor is refreshing, but what really makes the difference are the ingredients—farmers' eggs, unpasteurized Gruyère, shiitake mushrooms, Valrhona chocolate, homemade caramel, and extraordinary butter from a Breton dairy farmer. You'll find all the classics among the galettes, but it's worth choosing something more adventurous like the cancalaise (traditionally smoked herring, potato, crème fraîche, and herring roe). You might also slurp a few Cancale oysters—a rarity in Paris—or try one of the 20 artisanal ciders on offer.

Here, the gluten-free pancakes, brownies, and cheesecake are irresistible. Add in delicious brunches, lunches, and specialty coffees, and you’ve got the perfect place for the whole family to eat.

If you're serious about what's in your coffee cup, head straight to this streamlined café near the Place des Vosges, where you'll find only the best from roasters around Paris. A short but spot-on menu features avocado toast with a poached egg, cinnamon buns, and homemade cakes and cookies. The weekend brunch is very popular; arrive early or prepare to wait a little.

A mandatory stop for pastry- and chocolate-lovers alike, this master pâtissier excels in classic French confections with all the bells and whistles. Light as air and made with the best ingredients, Cassel's award-winning creations are as beautiful as they are scrumptious. The sinful mille-feuille comes in five flavors, including sweet chestnut and Earl Gray tea; the tarte duo de cerise mixes tart and sweet cherries with almond cream; and some say his classic macaron is one of the best in France. Chocolates are freshly made on the premises. Don't miss the lovely tea salon for lunch or a midday break, where you can choose from a gourmet menu of hot and cold dishes for lunch and a large selection of Dammann Frères teas, coffee, chocolat chaud, and pastries.

If this weren't one of Paris's most outstanding wine bars, the wait and the metal tractor seats might be a deterrent. Yet wine lovers would be hard-pressed to find a better venue for sampling a great list of French wines and inspired selections from Italy and Spain—every one of them sold by the bottle or glass—with superb tapas to match. Feast on yummy small plates like the "coleslaw" of citrusy calamari, black-olive coulis, and a sprinkling of pine nuts; bresaola with apples, spicy mizuna leaves, and dollops of creamy horseradish; and a wedge of Stilton served atop a paste of speculoos biscuits with poached pears and smoked walnuts. Get here right at 7 pm when the restaurant opens or shortly afterward to avoid waiting for a table.

For fresh, homemade, gelato-style ice cream offered in a rainbow of flavors and colors, stop at Glacier Fenocchio any day of the week from 9 am to midnight, March to November. There's also a choice of sorbets made with locally grown citrus, including orange, mandarin, and lemon.

This ever-popular eatery near the canal is the go-to spot for locals and expats with a hankering for all those breakfast comfort foods Mom used to make, but with a gourmet twist. Stacks of ethereally light pancakes or eggs and bacon come with bourbon butter and maple syrup, or a side of fennel sausage, baked beans, hash browns, or a copious serving of green salad. Fruit, yogurt, and granola bowls and other homemade sweets are equally soothing: chia pudding, pecan cake, and an extra-light cheesecake. Wash it all down with a gourmet coffee, homemade soda, a sparkling mimosa, or a bloody Mary.

Master chocolatier Jacques Genin's sophisticated carrés are like small jewels, perfumed with ganaches of exquisite subtlety in seasonal flavors like rosemary, Szechuan pepper, or bergamot. The glorious pastries served in this tearoom and chocolate boutique (one of the loveliest in Paris) are no longer available for takeaway but rather are assembled to order, to be eaten fresh on the premises. Don't forget a cup of velvety, bittersweet chocolat chaud (hot chocolate); the melt-in-your-mouth caramels are also deservedly famous.

For a fresh, seasonal lunch, try this chic little outpost that is part restaurant and part gourmet grocer. Imaginative Mediterranean-inflected salads and light dishes are healthy and delicious, and they pair well with a gourmet soda, Marseille microbrew, or a local rosé. After your meal, you can stock up on such southern delicacies as unrefined olive oils from Tête Dans Les Olives, tinned bonito fish, and handcrafted local herbs.

Watch the world go by on the street-side terrace at this small but lively café on a picturesque square at the foot of the hill leading to Croix Rousse. Low-key and casual, the focus here is squarely on the java—every kind of caffeinated beverage can be conjured up here, and coffee aficionados are reassured by the fact that the meticulously sourced beans are roasted on the premises. Freshly baked carrot cake or cheesecake, tarte au citron, and warm chocolate fondant are irresistibly decadent alongside a luscious café crème. There's also a great choice of magazines and newspapers and free Wi-Fi access.

This was Paris's first coffee bar, founded by former Guatemalan ambassador to France turned coffee ambassador, Gloria Montenegro. With three spacious rooms, all coffee preparations under the sun, and a daily special brew chosen from among dozens of varieties of meticulously sourced beans from plantations around the globe, this is a Paris institution.

This chic, laid-back bar à vins is part of Michelin-starred chef Jean-Baptiste Lavergne Morazzani’s trio of gastronomic outposts set in Versailles’s beautiful Cour des Senteurs, a few minutes' walk from the palace entrance. Here you can sit back and taste wines by the glass or order a bottle chosen from the astute wine list, accompanied by locally sourced gourmet snacks like Bayonne ham, buffalo burrata from the Ile de France, or crème de Camembert from nearby Yvelines. Its early opening hours make it a good spot for a pre-dinner apéro or a quick snack before heading back to Paris.

You don't have to be a chocoholic to appreciate this cozy little nook of a café focused on all things derived from the cocoa bean: decadent cakes and pastries, chocolates and tablettes (bars of chocolate), and a most sinful chocolat chaud. There are also coffee and other beverages to linger over inside or at a sidewalk table.

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.

Though delicious coffee, croissants, and pastries are on the all-day menu, Swedish chef Connie Zagora and her pastry chef husband, Laurent Ozan, dish up one of the more exciting gastronomic lunches in town in this luminous little café. A new concept that's catching hold in Paris and Lyon alike, the restaurant is open from 8 am to 6:30 pm, serving an all-day menu of sweet or savory breakfast foods (think broiled eggs with soy sauce, trout gravlax with dill cream, homemade granola, and fromage frais) and a range of homemade pastries. But the real star is the three-course (€29) lunch menu, offering such gourmet delights as velvety green parsley and leek vichyssoise, followed by marinated cod or steak with parsnip cream black sesame and shiitake mushrooms. All ingredients are locally sourced and the chef is vegetarian friendly.

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.

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.

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.

He's an indefatigable champion of small-producer wines, and you'd have to be a stone not to be swept up in Sébastien Milleret's passion. A congenial atmosphere prevails at this wineshop and bar, and excellent small dishes—luscious burrata cheese served with fruity olive oil and capers, freshly shaved bresaola and lardo, or briny smoked eel—are complemented by reasonably priced wines by the glass. On Saturday afternoon, wine barrels are rolled out for tastings that draw a neighborhood crowd.

A dazzling array of gourmet pastries here includes all the classics in imaginative and delicious flavor combinations. There are also impossibly moist individual cakes, Paris's best baba au rhum, sublime cookies, and the specialty guimauve, a flavored, melt-in-your-mouth marshmallow. Be sure to sample the gorgeous Rosy Rosa dome cake with almond, rose-infused almond milk, and creamy dark chocolate all on a black sesame biscuit topped with rose petals. Next door, savory gourmet breads, quiches, sandwiches, and other takeout foods make this the perfect refueling stop after a visit to the Centre Pompidou. There's also outdoor seating in warm weather.

You'll never feel more like a kid in a candy shop than when you feast your eyes on the scintillating pastries, candied fruits (a specialty of the Vaucluse since Roman times), chocolates, and other local sweets sold here. At the charming café next door you can enjoy your selection with tea or coffee; there's also a small menu of savory lunch dishes.

Back in Monet's day, this pretty-in-pink villa was the favorite hotel of the American painters' colony. Today it remains one of the most charming spots in the Île-de-France (despite the tourists), although the surroundings retain more historic charm than the simple cuisine (mainly salads large enough to count as a main course in their own right, or straightforward, if unremarkable, dishes like an omelet or gigot d'agneau [lamb and mutton]). A decent three-course prix-fixe menu is available at lunch and dinner. Renovated to appear as it did in Monet's time, the dining room is stage-set rustic; and there’s an extraordinarily pretty rose garden out back with embowered paths that lead to the studio Cézanne once used.

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.

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.

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.