In a city considered the culinary capital of the world, these 19 restaurants are arguably the best in Paris.
There are many factors to take into consideration when creating a great restaurant—service, atmosphere, local flavor, mastery of technique, originality, and of course, the quality and freshness of the food and the care taken in its preparation. Seasonality and sustainability are factors we look for, too.
This list doesn’t scratch the surface of the staggering array of great dining options in one of the world’s great culinary capitals, but the following options are all outstanding in their genre. We’ve tried to capture a range of experiences and cuisines and all the things that matter in a memorable dining experience for anyone who loves food—and Paris.
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Shang Palace
One of two gastronomic restaurants in the peerless Shangri-La hotel, this is Paris’s only Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant and the place in the city for a delectable lacquered Peking duck, carved at your table and served in several stages. This is the rare restaurant whose beautiful setting matches the deliciousness and perfection of every dish on the menu.
Frederic Anton's Gastronomic Cruise
French gastronomy meets the magic of Paris on the capital’s only Michelin-starred Seine River cruise, helmed by Frederic Anton, chef at the three-star Pré Catalan restaurant in the Bois de Boulogne and the Eiffel Tower’s gastronomic restaurant Jules Verne. Sip a glass of champagne on deck before boarding the intimate wood-paneled Don Juan II yacht, where you’ll dine on Anton’s superlative cuisine while cruising past Paris’s iconic bridges and monuments. You’ll savor your last bites of soufflé facing a glittering Eiffel Tower (the cruise departs at 8:15 pm and returns at 10:15 pm).
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Au Petite Riche
Snowy linens, globe lighting, towering mirrors, aproned waiters, and a menu of perfectly prepared traditional French specialties make this classy Parisian brasserie a dining pleasure and one of the city’s best under-the-radar addresses. Opened in 1854, the restaurant prides itself on its attentive service and unabashed pleasure in traditional French brasserie cuisine with a contemporary touch complemented by an extensive wine list.
Cafe de la Paix
Once described as the “center of the civilized world,” this 150-year-old café hosted the Belle Époque’s glitterati and is now part of the historic Intercontinental Paris Le Grand hotel. Start with a drink in the hotel’s soaring glass-roofed La Verrière before settling into the café’s Napoleon III-era dining room (a listed historic monument) or on the outdoor terrace overlooking the gilded Palais Garnier opera house. The spectacular Sunday brunch (not offered in August) is a veritable cornucopia of French and international favorites, served with a glass of rosé champagne.
Ritz Le Comptoir
You don’t have to stay at the Ritz to sample the hotel’s masterful pastry chef François Perret’s prize-winning madeleines in flavors that change with the seasons and other delectable sweets. Perret uses natural sugars to provide less-sweet versions of the classics, along with delicious gluten-free pastries and a menu of classics updated to delight contemporary tastes. We love the marbled chocolate-chip tart, the divine Ritz au Lait, seasonal fruit tarts, and savory sandwiches to enjoy with a drink in the café or to go.
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Prunier
Paris’s first seafood restaurant opened in 1872, was already a Paris institution in 1925 when it inaugurated its Art Deco flagship near the Arc de Triomphe. A favorite of Parisian high society and exiled Russian nobles, the Bolshevik revolution put an end to Prunier’s supply of caviar until a regular alerted the Pruniers to France’s native sturgeon, harvested near Bordeaux. Today, Prunier still offers the freshest caviar in Paris direct from France’s Aquitaine and Dordogne regions, along with a menu of seafood classics in one of Paris’s most beautiful and romantic historic interiors.
Auberge Bressane
Parisian gastronomic extravagance has largely disappeared in favor of leaner fare. Not so at this beloved stalwart, where you can revel in such Gallic classics as towering soufflés, buttery frogs’ legs, or a hearty steak smothered in sauce béarnaise. This is a favorite restaurant among politicians and locals, who feel it’s well worth the tweak to the pocketbook (and the waistline).
Palais Royal Restaurant
This elegant modern bistro serves gourmet cuisine perfectly in harmony with its privileged location under the classical arcades of the Palais Royal. Two-star chef Philip Chronopoulos’s impeccable dishes highlight fish and shellfish along with seasonal produce with opulent touches, like caviar and truffles. The restaurant is especially wonderful in warm weather when the terrace tables overlooking one of Paris’s loveliest gardens are greatly coveted.
GrandCoeur
The first-place winner of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants rewards 2019 for his restaurant Mirazur on the Côte d’Azur, this is three-star chef Mauro Colagreco’s Paris outpost. One of the Marais’s better restaurants (unsurprisingly), with a menu of light, Mediterranean-inflected dishes emphasizing seafood and the freshest seasonal produce. GrandCoeur’s chic interior features soaring wood beams and stone walls, and its spacious cobbled courtyard terrace is one of the prettiest in Paris. This is a great place for lunch or dinner after a day of museum-going or shopping in the Marais.
Shabour
A darling of the press, when its romantic dining room opened in 2019, globe-trotting chef Assaf Granit, brings his formidable talent to middle-Eastern and Mediterranean-inspired dishes. At this fantastic restaurant, the five-course menu makes for a leisurely lunch, but it’s at dinner when the cozy dining room shines, literally, with candlelight and Granit’s exceptional cuisine. Be sure to book well in advance, as this is a popular choice among Parisian gastronomes.
Le Bistrot Flaubert
Its picturesque bistro setting and inviting terrace are the perfect setting to tuck into chef Flavio Lucarini’s exceptional menu of “bistronomic” dishes, featuring meticulously sourced seasonal products and the flavors of his native Italy. Tucked away on a classic Haussmannian street at the western edge of Paris, not far from the Parc Monceau, this is an excellent restaurant to dine when visiting the Arc de Triomphe, the Bois de Boulogne, or the museums around the park.
Bontemps
This temple to the French sablé—a melt-in-your-mouth butter cookie served here plain or with a range of fillings—boasts an indoor-outdoor lunch, brunch, and tearoom that’s as charming as they come. Savory sandwiches, sablé cookies, fruit tarts, and a famously moist and zesty lemon cake round out a luminous teatime in the glass-roofed atrium.
Comice
This culinary experience is a progression of delights, from the first sip of your luscious carrot vélouté starter to a light-as-air chocolate soufflé or yuzu macaron. Dishes like butter-poached lobster with beets and horseradish cream or foie gras terrine with quince, walnuts, and dates—all meticulously sourced from the finest producers around France—are deeply satisfying. From the stemware to the service, every detail in this lovely dining room is poised and elegant.
Berthillon Salon de Thé
Bertillon is a household name in Paris for its all-natural ice creams and sorbets in exceptional flavors that change with the seasons. Founded on the Île Saint-Louis in 1954, the ice cream is sold from a multitude of window vendors around the island, but there’s nothing like relaxing in the boutique’s tea salon. All of Berthillon’s sundaes come in tall metal goblets with a variety of toppings and a towering dollop of billowy crème Chantilly. Other delights on the menu include Berthillon’s specialty pastries and one of Paris’s best tarte tatins (the tearoom closes in August).
Le Servan
Talented chef Tatiana Levha’s far-flung influences are revealed in surprising dishes like deep-fried giblets, fresh radishes with anchovy butter, or herb-infused cockles to start, followed by whole lacquered quail, or crispy melt-in-your-mouth pork on a bed of braised leeks. Sophisticated desserts and a good selection of natural wines in a small, elegant dining room add up to an essential Paris dining experience at this restaurant.
Mâche
Mondrian color-block walls and a relaxed atmosphere are the backdrops for chef Michaël Garnet’s ambitious cuisine that artfully juxtaposes textures, colors, and flavors: earthy smoked eel topped with lacquered root vegetable flanked by shaved cauliflower against a black rice tuile or crisp asparagus served over a dash of vivid leek mayonnaise with a dollop of black garlic and grapefruit purée. Desserts are equally creative and enticing. Always crowded and convivial, this is a neighborhood favorite.
Bellefeuille
A highlight of the beautifully refurbished Saint James Hotel, this gorgeous dining room is a sought-after reservation, thanks to starred chef Julien Dumas’s menu of refined dishes with an emphasis on the freshest seafood and vegetables from the hotel’s kitchen gardens. The eight-course tasting menu, paired with natural and biodynamic wines, is well worth the three-hour investment. Arrive early for a cocktail in the hotel’s charming garden or a tumbler of scotch in the 19th-century British club-style library.
Des Gâteaux et du Pain
Pastry chef Claire Damon performs feats of magic in her Rue du Bac pâtisserie in a dozen or so exquisitely conceived pastries. Her unparalleled Absolu Citron—a sort of capsized Corsican lemon-meringue tart with the delicate crunch of meringue below topped by tart lemon curd—is the star of the show. Damon uses only the best-quality fruits, nuts, and organic flours for her melt-in-the-mouth pastries and viennoiseries, including a feather-light brioche perfumed with orange flowers.
Benoît
Without altering the lovely vintage 1912 setting one bit, in 2006, superchef Alain Ducasse took over the place, retaining yet subtly improving the menu of classic dishes that harken back to its Les Halles heyday when this Lyon-style bistro was run by Benoît Petit and his family for three generations. Dishes like marinated salmon, frogs’ legs in morel-mushroom cream sauce, and an outstanding cassoulet served in a cast-iron pot by a roaring fire harken back to the bistro’s traditional roots. It’s a splurge to dine here, so go all the way and top off your meal with the caramelized tarte tatin or a delicious rum-doused baba.
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