83 Best Restaurants in Paris, France

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, 10-course tasting extravaganza (a seven-course menu is a slightly more reasonable €295). 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.

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.

Lodged in one of Paris's most picturesque historic passages, the Italian Caffè Stern—a listed monument updated by designer Philippe Starck—is loaded with the sort of antique charm that makes a cup of coffee and dessert feel like a romantic moment in time. Full meals are a more elegant—and expensive—affair, though teatime (3 pm–6 pm, €26) and the prix-fixe lunch make for a more manageable splurge.

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.

Although two-Michelin-star chef David Toutain's approach may be exasperatingly conceptual for some, others find his earthy, surprising, and inspired concoctions 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. 

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 booked months in advance, despite two seatings each evening. This success is due to the good-value, €140 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.

Within the beautifully restored Monnaie de Paris, you'll find star chef Guy Savoy's hallowed dining room. The market-fresh menu features à la carte classics such as artichoke truffle soup or red mullet fish, but if you want the ultimate gourmet dining experience, splurge on the 13-course, €630 tasting menu. The more modest eight-course lunch menu will only set you back €260, and these prices do not include wine. Whatever you order, every dish is a work of art. 

In one of the most anticipated announcements in the Parisian food world, the Plaza Athénée named talented young chef Jean Imbert, a protégé of his predecessor Alain Ducasse, as head of their new temple to gastronomy. A long marble table is the centerpiece of this opulently refurbished dining room (which seems to take Versailles as its model), and the menu is no less splendid, with options like Casparian imperial caviar, Bellevue lobster in a foie gras broth flecked with black truffle, and whole turbot masterfully boned table-side. Each dish goes the extra mile, and that goes for the desserts by pastry chefs Angelo Musa and Elisabeth Hot too. Even among the gilding, marble, Aubusson carpets, and towering chandeliers, a feeling of intimacy prevails, with splashes of candlelight for romance.

A favorite with the French and expats alike, this neighborhood bistro blends great dining with an inspired wine list and a handy location a stone's throw from the Louvre. Exquisite French ingredients are given an inspired, often slightly lighter, makeover by Chef Romain Roudeau, although hearty house-made terrines and foie gras as well as slow-cooked meat and game are frequently featured on the eclectic menu.

Michelin-starred chef William Ledeuil flexes his genius for France-meets-Asia flavors at this chic address—his third—a few blocks from Île St-Louis and Notre-Dame. Ledeuil is known and loved for his fearless pairings of bold and subtle flavors, like veal tartare pasta with crunchy peanuts and pungent bonito flakes or Thai beef soup with luscious Iberian ham, mushrooms, and sweet pear. Desserts are equally expressive and not to be missed. The affordable lunch prix-fixe menus are a fabulous deal.

Once a well-guarded foodie secret, a Michelin star brought this singular restaurant, tucked behind the Sacré-Coeur, richly deserved acclaim. Now the dining room is packed with diners enjoying impeccable contemporary French cuisine that's gorgeously presented and full of flavor. With no à la carte ordering, you are truly in the hands of chef Laurent Magnin, whose menus include the seven-course "temptation" menu (€135) and the eleven-course tasting menu (€180). Expect delights like lacquered suckling pig or roasted mullet in a sublimely creamy mushroom duxelle. It's the perfect end, or midday pause, to a day spent wandering the village-y streets of Montmartre.  There is also a five-course "menu dejeuner" for lunch that costs €65.

Pascal Barbot rose to fame thanks to his restaurant's reasonable prices and casual atmosphere, but after the passage of several years, L'Astrance has become resolutely haute. His dishes often draw on Asian ingredients, as in grilled lamb with miso-lacquered eggplant and a palate-cleansing white sorbet spiked with chili pepper and lemongrass. They offer à la carte, as well as a lunch menu for €125 and the full tasting menu for €285 (this is what most people come for). Each menu also comes at a (significantly) higher price with wines to match each course. Barbot's cooking has such an ethereal quality that it's worth the considerable effort of booking a table—you should start trying at least two months in advance.

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.

After taking over the original La Régalade, chef Bruno Doucet kept some of what made the old restaurant so popular (country terrines, reasonably priced wines, convivial atmosphere), but he also had a few tricks under his toque, notably creating a successful haute-cuisine-meets-comfort-food destination. With a good quality-to-price ratio, this chic bistro has evolved into a staple of the neighborhood.

You can't deny the splendor of this legendary Michelin-starred restaurant's setting overlooking the Seine; if you don't want to break the bank on dinner, treat yourself to the three-course lunch menu for €120. This entitles you to succulent slices of one of the restaurant's numbered ducks (the great duck slaughter began in 1919 and is now well past the millionth mallard, as your certificate will attest). Don't be too daunted by the vast wine list—with the aid of the sommelier you can splurge a little and perhaps taste a rare vintage Burgundy from the extraordinary cellars, which survived World War II.

The Paul Bert delivers everything you could want from a traditional Paris bistro (faded 1930s decor, thick steak with real frites, and good value), so it's no wonder its two dining rooms fill every night with a cosmopolitan crowd. The impressively stocked wine cellar helps, as does the heaping cheese cart, the laid-back yet efficient staff, and hearty dishes such as monkfish with white beans and duck with pears. The prix-fixe lunch menu is only €22, or you can order à la carte.

This charming Quartier Latin bistro with woodwork and murals dating from 1925 is always packed and boisterous. A glance at the affordable menu makes it easy to understand why: dishes such as chestnut soup with spice bread, sea bass marinated in lime and coconut, and apple and quince tatin (upside-down tart) with gingerbread ice cream put a fresh twist on French classics. Service is reliably courteous. If you don't finish your bottle of wine, you can take it with you to savor the last drops.

Christian Le Squer is among the most famous and most respected chefs in Paris, as proved by his turn here at one of the city's most deluxe dining rooms. You'll find all the luxury products you might expect—caviar, truffles, game in season—along with a masterful touch that often transforms homey Breton ingredients such as oysters or lamb into imaginative tours de force. A perfect example would be his famous Ile de Chausey lobster marinated in citrus and served in a heart of caramelized romaine with a featherlight beurre blanc mousseux. Desserts are ethereal, wines are top-notch, and service is unfailingly thoughtful.

Across from a pretty square on the border of two up-and-coming neighborhoods, this light-drenched spot is one of Paris's standout gastro-bistros. By adhering to a tried-and-true formula—meticulously sourced produce, natural wines, and an open kitchen—the dishes here are small wonders of texture and flavor. This is a great choice for diners eager to experience what the Paris dining scene is all about in a hip, off-the-beaten-path locale.

One of the area's most historic (and romantic) spots has welcomed everyone from Napoléon to Colette to Jean Cocteau beneath its mirrored ceiling and is still a contender for the most beautiful restaurant in Paris. This once-Michelin-starred spot has made a few changes of late, transitioning to an all-day menu of far more reasonable (but still delicious) fare.

Hide Kobayashi, known as "Koba," is one of several Japanese chefs in Paris who trained with some of the biggest names in French cuisine before opening their own restaurants. Not surprisingly, this great-value bistro near the Arc de Triomphe became instantly popular with locals as well as visiting Japanese and Americans who follow the food scene. Generosity is the key to the cooking here, which steers clear of haute-cuisine flourishes; both the monkfish fricassee with anchovy-rich tapenade and a classic veal kidney in mustard sauce, for instance, come with a heap of mashed potatoes. For dessert, try the stunning île flottante (floating island), made with oven-baked meringue. Wines by the glass start at €8—unheard-of in this area.

In a highly publicized battle, the prestigious helm of Paris's most haute (literally) restaurant was wrested from Alain Ducasse by three-star chef Fréderic Anton of the prestigious Le Pré Catelan in the Bois de Boulogne, with Anton's "zero waste" approach and his idea to serve less complicated fare, focusing on French meats and vegetables produced by smaller French artisanal farms and regional delicacies, winning out. Though not cheap (tasting menus are more than €200), winning a Michelin star in 2020 clinched the restaurant's standing as one of Paris's top splurge-worthy dining rooms.

Live a Belle Époque fantasy as you dine beneath the chestnut trees on the terrace of this fanciful landmark pavillon in the Bois de Boulogne. Each of chef Frédéric Anton's dishes is a variation on a theme, such as l'os à moelle: bone marrow prepared two ways, one peppered and the other stuffed with porcini and cabbage, both braised in a concentrated meat jus. For a taste of the good life at a (relatively) gentle price, order the three-course €165 lunch menu and soak up the opulent surroundings along with service that's as polished as the silverware.

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 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 spelt risotto with truffles and frogs' legs or panfried duck liver with caramelized fruits and vegetables. 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 €49 "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.

With chef Alain Solivérès (formerly of Taillevent) now 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. 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.

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.

It may not be the most glamorous or the most well known of the city's Michelin-starred restaurants, but this intimate, prix-fixe dining room in an authentic part of town is one of the best. Be prepared to be both wowed and surprised, with choices from chef Stéphane Pitré, who is known for his precise, original dishes that offer Asian touches without a hint of pretension. With only 20 tables, diners are treated to discrete but attentive service with a view of the chef at work in the open kitchen. Try the seven-course tasting menu at dinner; for €95 you won't find a better bargain in Paris.

If you want to venture to the frontier of contemporary cooking—and if money is no object—dinner here is a must. Chef Pierre Gagnaire's work is at once intellectual and poetic, often blending three or four unexpected tastes and textures in a single dish. Just taking in the menu requires concentration (ask the waiters for help), so complex are the multiline descriptions about each dish's six or seven ingredients. The Grand Dessert, a seven-dessert marathon, will leave you breathless, though it's not as overwhelming as it sounds. The uninspiring prix-fixe lunch (€98) and occasional ill-judged dishes linger as drawbacks, and prices keep shooting skyward, so Pierre Gagnaire is an experience best saved for the financial elite.