64 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.

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.

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 Julien Dumas's refined menu of inspired dishes with an emphasis on the freshest seafood and vegetables from the hotel's own gardens outside Paris (not to mention honey from the hives on-site). The eight-course tasting menu (with excellent desserts by pastry chef Jeanne Lecourt, paired with natural and biodynamic wines handpicked by the restaurant's gifted sommelier) is highly recommended, but you'll be wowed no matter what you choose. Options like briny oysters paired with beets and tangy mustard, the freshest Saint-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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

Shortly after earning a second Michelin star from the chic open kitchen at the Hôtel Prince des Galles, Stéphanie le Quellec left to strike out on her own. Now she's regained her two stars at this gleaming dining room on the elegant Avenue Matignon, the perfect setting for the refined, scintillating cuisine that earned the former Top Chef winner a loyal following among Paris gastronomes. Whether you're having lunch in the ground-floor brasserie, with its burnished bronze bar, or downstairs in the elegant 30-seat dining room with an open kitchen, Le Quellec doesn't skimp on luxury ingredients in signature dishes like Pompadour potato soufflé with Ossetra caviar, poached langoustine, and the famous foie gras tart, all masterfully paired with handpicked small-producer wines. Pastry chef Pierre Chirac's irresistible desserts round out a perfect meal.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Two-Michelin-star chef Jean-François Piège is inspired by the Mediterranean Sea in this romantic dining room, the former stables of the mansion-turned-museum that is the Hôtel de la Marine. Floor-to-ceiling mirrors add grandeur to the soaring space, where a wood-fired oven turns out delicacies from land and sea. In warmer weather, guests can start with a cocktail at the celestial azure-blue bar, then dine by candlelight in the mansion's courtyard.

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.

A Paris institution since 1925, this absolute stunner of a seafood brasserie was also one of the first restaurants to champion French-raised caviar, after the Bolshevik revolution cut the Russian supply. Fast forward to 2023, when star chef Yannick Alléno took the helm of the Art Deco dining room (one of the most spectacular historic interiors in Paris), infusing the menu with a new elegance in dishes like a caviar-flecked salmon-and-seaweed hand roll, langoustine carpaccio with caviar cream, or a perfectly prepared filet of sole, all washed down with sparkly Champagne or a crisp Bourgogne blanc. Desserts are equally luscious. Dining here is a quintessential Parisian experience, whether for a leisurely lunch or an elegant candlelit dinner.

This stylish restaurant serves stunning gourmet cuisine to match its gorgeous location under the arcades of the Palais-Royal. Philip Chronopoulos's Michelin-starred menu often revolves around exquisite seafood, but there are also lovely meat-based options. Book in advance, especially in summer, when the terrace tables are greatly coveted.

The premiere restaurant at the beautiful Shangri-La Hotel is Paris's only Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant. Set in a jewel-box of a dining room, featuring giant Chinese porcelains and inlaid jade paneling, you'll dine on lacquered Peking duck, sliced at your table and delivered with a flourish, and all manner of delicacies from one of the world's great cuisines.

This foodie sanctuary is where dishes like miso-lacquered foie gras or sake-glazed suckling pig—perfectly crisp on the outside and melting inside—pair traditional Japanese and French ingredients to wondrous effect. The seven-course set dinner menu (€150, with an option to add a pairing of five glasses of wine or sake), while not cheap, offers a choice of fish or meat and finishes with some stunning confections. Shoes stay on in the tranquil half-timber dining room (where lunch, Friday and Saturday only, will set you back €85), but the vaulted room downstairs is totally traditional—and one of the loveliest in Paris.

Chef Tomy Gousset, who learned his skills in some of the city's most prestigious kitchens, flies solo at this wildly popular bistro, which won its first Michelin star in 2019. The appealingly spare dining room is an excellent backdrop for some truly dazzling dishes that taste every bit as sublime as they look. Best of all, despite being one of the best tables in the neighborhood, it's not wildly expensive.