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A new wave of culinary confidence has been running through one of the world's great food cities and spilling over both banks of the Seine. Whether cooking up grand-mère's roast chicken and riz au lait or placing a whimsical hat of cotton candy atop wild-strawberry-and-rose ice cream, Paris chefs—established and up-and-coming, native and foreign—have been breaking free from the tyranny of tradition and following their passion.
Emblematic of the "bistronomy" movement is the proliferation of "gastrobistros"—often in far-flung or newly chic neighborhoods—helmed by established chefs fleeing the constraints of the star system or passionate young chefs unfettered by overblown expectations. Among the seasoned stars and exciting newcomers to the scene are Yannick Alléno, who left behind two Michelin stars at Le Meurice to open his locavore bistro Terroir Parisien at the Palais Brogniart and earned three stars at the storied Pavillon Ledoyen within his first year at the helm; David Toutain at the exceptional Restaurant David Toutain; Sylvestre Wahid at Brasserie Thoumieux; and Katsuaki Okiyama's Abri.
But self-expression is not the only driving force behind the current trend. A traditional high-end restaurant can be prohibitively expensive to operate. As a result, more casual bistros and cafés, which reflect the growing allure of less formal dining and often have lower operating costs and higher profit margins, have become attractive opportunities for even top chefs.
For tourists, this development can only be good news, because it makes the cooking of geniuses such as Joël Robuchon, Guy Savoy, Eric Frechon, and Pierre Gagnaire a bit more accessible (even if these star chefs rarely cook in their lower-price restaurants) and opens up a vast range of new possibilities for exciting dining.
Like the chefs themselves, Paris diners are breaking away from tradition with renewed enthusiasm. New restaurants, wine bars, and rapidly multiplying épicieries (gourmet grocers) and sandwich shops recognize that not everyone wants a three-course blowout every time they dine out. And because Parisians are more widely traveled than in the past, many ethnic restaurants—notably the best North African, Vietnamese–Laotian, Chinese, Spanish, and Japanese spots—are making fewer concessions to French tastes, resulting in far better food.
Founded in 1903 and patronized by literary luminaries like Marcel Proust and Gertrude Stein, Angelina is famous for its chocolat "l'Africain"—an ultra-rich hot chocolate topped with whipped cream. The beautiful chestnut "Mont Blanc" pastry is the ideal accompaniment. Book well in advance online to avoid being disappointed.
At this restaurant set on a pretty street leading right into the Place des Vosges, it's hard to know if you've landed in someone's chic private salon or their woodworking studio. Carpenter and wine lover Eric Wilmot shares his passion for wood and wine (and Harley-Davidsons) in this stylishly intimate space, featuring Persian rugs and velvet chaises, where you can indulge in some stupendous wines handpicked by the owner and served alongside a tempting array of nibbles—homemade foie gras, smoked salmon, artisanal cheeses, and some seriously decadent desserts.
Don't expect to be mobbed by tourists at this bright café two minutes from the Champs de Mars. Locals love it for the sidewalk terrace and garden seating in the back—not to mention the good coffee, tea, and stellar brunch. Even if you don't snag a seat outside, the charming interior is a cheerful spot to tuck into a heaping plate of eggs Benedict, smoked salmon tartine, or avocado toast. There are also fresh fruit smoothies and home-baked pastries. Its all-day hours (seven days a week) makes it the perfect place for a well-priced lunch or teatime. Reservations are always a good idea, especially on weekends.
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 vintagelike 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.
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.
This world-renowned, cavernous spot with Art Deco murals practically defines the term brasserie. It's been popular since Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir were regulars, and today it attracts a mix of bourgeois families, tourists, and lone diners treating themselves to a dozen oysters. Recent additions to the classic brasserie menu are a tart of caramelized apple and pan-fried foie gras, beef fillet flambéed with cognac, and profiteroles made with Valrhona chocolate.
With 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, ice cream, pastries, 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.
Set in a bright, modern space on a tiny street in the lower reaches of Montmartre, the popular Le BAL Café Otto caters to a diverse clientele who come for the great coffee, delicious homey food, lively crowd, and the art gallery/bookstore. Italian- and French-inspired cuisine (like spelt risotto with mushrooms, hazelnuts, and creamed spinach) during the week rests alongside a traditional weekend brunch menu featuring items like tender pancakes, fried eggs with ham and roasted tomatoes, and buttery scones with jam. On Sunday in spring and summer, brunch is truly an event, with artists, hipsters, expats, and young families enthusiastically enjoying all of the above. Note that the café closes at 10 pm on Wednesday and Thursday and 7 pm on Friday and Sunday, so perhaps look elsewhere for dinner.
This lively and popular brasserie is open from 8 am to 2 am every day, serving a copious morning breakfast, brunch on weekends, and an excellent full menu of everything from warm goat cheese salad to magret de canard from noon until 1 am. 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.
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.
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 attracts plenty of locals and remains a fairly sure bet in the area, especially because it's open every day.
As its impressive facade attests, this café has a special history. It opened in 1846, when Balzac was a regular, and Rue Montorgueil was the place to buy oysters, though these days, the menu is more modern with salads, burgers, and brunch options, as well as a handful of classics like escargots and French onion soup.
Without changing the vintage 1912 setting, superchef Alain Ducasse and Thierry de la Brosse of L'Ami Louis have subtly improved the menu, with dishes such as marinated salmon, frogs' legs in a morel-mushroom cream sauce, and an outstanding cassoulet served in a cast-iron pot. It's a splurge to dine here, so go all the way, and top off your meal with the caramelized tarte tatin or a rum-doused baba.
There's nothing quite like a good old-fashioned Paris brasserie ... except, perhaps, for a good old-fashioned Paris neobrasserie, a lively new genre that takes the best of the classic eatery—lively atmosphere, copious menu options, all-day hours, classic decor—and adds a 21st-century vibe, all at reasonable prices. At Dubillot, you'll find the French classics—oeufs mayonnaise, house-made country pâté, steak tartare, smoked trout, leg of lamb, crispy frites—along with well-priced wines by the bottle or glass. Everything is homemade, and the chef is dedicated to preserving France's gastronomic heritage by sourcing all meats and produce locally. This is tradition brought up to date at its finest—and it's a lot of fun to boot!
This most stalwart of Breton addresses in the French capital is known for its savory buckwheat galettes and sweet wheat-flour crêpes, best enjoyed with a glass of local Breton cider. The city boasts several outposts of this restaurant; this one quite near the Les Halles market area is known for its cozy vaulted cider cellar, with more than 40 ciders to sample.
Picasso, Chagall, Sartre, and de Beauvoir, attracted by the luxury of a heated café, worked and wrote here in the early 20th century. Today you'll find more tourists than intellectuals, and prices are hardly aimed at struggling artists, but the outdoor terrace is popular with Parisians and great for people-watching.
A pinnacle of Second Empire opulence, this Paris landmark was once an obligatory stop on the sophisticated gastronome's tour of Paris and a favorite watering hole among the likes of Victor Hugo, Gustave Flaubert, Arthur Conan Doyle, Josephine Baker, and Marlene Dietrich. While super-fresh heaping seafood platters are your best bet here, you'll do just as well with a classic French dish or an apéro on the terrace as the sun sets over the Opéra Garnier across the street—a magical Parisian scene indeed. A recent renovation has buffed the frescoed walls and ceilings to their original gilded luster.
A true neighborhood haunt, this bustling little bistro near the Musée Picasso offers a convivial slice of Parisian life at a good value. Traditional French bistro fare is adapted to a modern audience. The best choices are the old tried-and-trues: hand-cut tartare de boeuf; rare entrecôte served with a side of golden-crisp frites and homemade béarnaise; and the classic Parmentier, with pheasant instead of the usual ground beef.
Best known for the literary prizes awarded here since 1914, Drouant has shed its dusty image to become a forward-thinking restaurant. The playful menu revisits the French hors d'oeuvres tradition with starters that come as a series of four plates; diners can pick from themes such as French classics (like a deconstructed leek salad) or convincing minitakes on Thai and Moroccan dishes. Main courses similarly encourage grazing, with accompaniments in little cast-iron pots and white porcelain dishes. Even desserts take the form of several tasting plates. Pace yourself, since the portions are generous and the cost of a meal quickly adds up.
With a cheerfully bright and tiny, wood-beamed dining room—there's more space in the loft-like upstairs—this spot is devoted to the egg in all its forms. Whether you like yours baked with smoked salmon, whisked into an omelet with truffle shavings, or beaten into fluffy pancakes, there will be something for you on the blackboard menu. It's perfect for a late breakfast or light lunch on weekdays (it opens at 10 am and closes in the late afternoon), though rather mobbed for weekend brunch (10 am to 6 pm).
Proving that an organic, vegetarian, lactose- and sugar-free menu can, indeed, be delicious, Judy was founded with the conviction that our well-being is directly connected to what we eat and how we live. The cheerful, inviting space comes with a sunny sidewalk terrace where seats are coveted by locals. If they’re taken, grab some takeout at the attached shop on Rue de Fleurus and walk one short block to the Luxembourg Gardens for an outdoor picnic.
Set at a leafy crossroads on the lively Rue des Martyrs, this is a top pick in this vibrant neighborhood for a quick stop or to linger with a device. The coffee (roasted at their atelier-café Back in Black) is always good, as are the many other beverage options, both hot and cold, and the food—from healthy salads and sandwiches to yummy pastries—exactly what's needed to get you revved up for your next Paris adventure.
Regulars grumble about the uneven cooking at Le Balzar, but they continue to come back because they can't resist the waiters' wry humor and the dining room's amazing people-watching possibilities. The restaurant attracts politicians, writers, tourists, and local eccentrics—and remains one of the city's classic brasseries: the perfect stop before or after a film in a local art-house cinema. Don't expect miracles from the kitchen, but stick to evergreens like snails in garlic butter, onion soup, traditional choucroute with sautéed potatoes, and baba au rhum for dessert.
Now a fancy fish brasserie serving seafood delivered fresh from Normandy every day, this restaurant began as a dingy meeting place for exiled artists and intellectuals like Lenin and Picasso. The family-owned institution hired star Japanese chef Yoshikiko Miura to modernize its menu while keeping some enduring classics. Try the sole meunière or the bouillabaisse, the ingredients of which are on display in their raw form in the restaurant's outstanding fish shop next door. The famous millefeuille (Napoleon) is a must for fans of this rich, creamy dessert. You can still drop by the covered terrace for a cup of coffee or a drink.
Equal parts café, bar, and restaurant, Le Fumoir is a timelessly popular place to sip coffee and read the paper or enjoy an after-dinner drink. Reservations are recommended for the prix-fixe dinner as well as for the copious Sunday brunch from Chef Henrik Andersson.
With its globe lamps and molded ceilings, this neighborhood institution feels elegant yet not overpolished, attracting a wonderfully Parisian mix of elderly lone diners, business lunchers, tourists, couples, and the post-theater crowd, all of whom come for the enormous seafood platters, duck foie gras with Sauternes jelly, steak tartare, and roasted chicken rendered famous by Diane Keaton in Something's Gotta Give. Open every day, Le Grand Colbert is also a pleasant destination for a quick bite between 3 pm and 6 pm, when most everything else is closed.
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