Best Restaurants In Paris
From world-class tasting menus to the best falafel in Europe. No tourist traps.
Paris is one of the greatest food cities on earth. It's also a city that will happily take your money for mediocre meals in beautiful settings. Here's where to actually eat — from the €7 falafel that's worth the queue to the restaurant you'll talk about for years.
If a restaurant has a menu with photographs, a tout outside trying to seat you, or is within 200 metres of a major tourist site without a line outside — keep walking. The restaurants on this list are the real thing.
Septime
Contemporary / Natural wine €€€€11th arrondissement · 80 Rue de Charonne, 75011
One of the best restaurants in the world and easily the most exciting in Paris. Chef Bertrand Grébaut's tasting menu changes with what's in season — expect extraordinary technique applied to honest ingredients, matched with a natural wine list that has influenced Paris drinking for a decade.
Reservations open 3 weeks ahead at midnight Paris time on their website. Set an alarm. Walk-in cancellations sometimes appear on the day via their Instagram.
The full tasting menu. There's no à la carte.
Booking: Very hard — book 3 weeks ahead
L'As du Fallafel
Falafel / Street food €4th arrondissement (Marais) · 34 Rue des Rosiers, 75004
The best falafel in Europe. Full stop. The queue on the street is real and permanent. Take-away or sit inside the cramped, chaotic, brilliant dining room. The special — falafel with everything (aubergine, cabbage, tahini, hot sauce) — costs around €7 and is one of the great Paris food experiences.
Queue. The line moves fast. Go midday on a weekday to avoid the longest waits. Closed Friday evening and Saturday for Shabbat.
Le spécial — the falafel with everything.
Booking: No booking — queue at the door
Breizh Café
Crêperie €€3rd arrondissement (Marais) · 109 Rue Vieille du Temple, 75003
The best galettes and crêpes in Paris, run by a Breton restaurateur who brought authentic Brittany buckwheat to the Marais. Organic flour, outstanding Normandy butter, house-made compotes, excellent Breton cider. The andouille de Guémené galette is extraordinary.
Book via their website or walk in and wait. There are now multiple Paris locations — the Marais original is the best.
Galette complète or the andouille. For dessert: salted caramel crêpe.
Booking: Book a few days ahead
Clown Bar
Natural wine / Small plates €€€11th arrondissement · 114 Rue Amelot, 75011
Next to the Cirque d'Hiver (winter circus), this listed historic monument has a stunning Art Nouveau interior decorated with circus-themed faience tiles. The natural wine list is extraordinary, the small plates are inventive and delicious. One of the most beautiful rooms to eat in Paris.
Reservations via their website. Book the counter seats if available — better view of the room.
Whatever the chef is offering as the daily small plates. Follow the wine recommendations.
Booking: Book 1–2 weeks ahead
Au Pied de Fouet
Classic bistro €€6th arrondissement (Saint-Germain) · 45 Rue de Babylone, 75007 (also 3 Rue Saint-Benoît)
The Platonic ideal of a Parisian bistro. Two tiny rooms, checked tablecloths, ancient chalkboard menu, old prices. Steak frites, blanquette de veau, boeuf bourguignon. Cash only. Packed with locals at lunch. The kind of place that doesn't need to advertise because it's been doing the same thing perfectly for decades.
Arrive at noon for lunch or 7pm for dinner. No reservations. Cash only.
Steak frites. Blanquette de veau if it's on.
Booking: No reservations — arrive early or queue
Café de Flore
Historic café €€€6th arrondissement (Saint-Germain) · 172 Boulevard Saint-Germain, 75006
The most famous café in France. Sartre and de Beauvoir wrote here. Hemingway drank here. The prices are scandalous (€9 for an espresso). Sitting outside is for tourists — the good seats are at the bar inside. Go once, stand at the bar, have one espresso. That's the authentic version.
Walk in. Stand at the zinc bar for the full experience. Sitting at a table will produce a lengthy wait for an €11 coffee.
Un café. Nothing else is worth the premium.
Booking: No booking needed
Du Pain et des Idées
Boulangerie €10th arrondissement · 34 Rue Yves Toudic, 75010
Christophe Vasseur's boulangerie near Canal Saint-Martin is regularly voted the best in Paris. The pain des amis, the escargots (pastry spirals), and the tarte aux pistaches are remarkable. The 19th-century decorated interior is itself worth seeing.
Open Tuesday to Friday, 6:45am–8pm. Closed weekends. Go before 9am for the full selection.
Escargot chocolat-pistache. Pain des amis. Sacred heart of butter croissant.
Booking: No booking — go early
Pierre Hermé
Pâtisserie / Macarons €€Multiple locations · 72 Rue Bonaparte, 75006 (Saint-Germain flagship)
The finest macarons in Paris — and therefore the world. More creative, more interesting, and arguably better than Ladurée which gets all the tourist attention. The Ispahan (rose, lychee, raspberry) is the signature. The millefeuille is extraordinary.
Walk in. Queues are shorter than Ladurée. Buy a box of 6 or 12 mixed flavours.
Ispahan macaron. Infiniment Vanille macaron. The millefeuille (available at certain hours).
Booking: Walk in
Marché d'Aligre
Market / Sunday lunch €12th arrondissement · Place d'Aligre, 75012
The most local market in Paris — where Paris chefs shop and where you will see approximately zero other tourists. Open Tuesday to Sunday mornings. The covered hall sells cheese, charcuterie, wine; the outdoor market sells produce. Surrounded by wine bars and bistros for lunch after.
Take Metro line 8 to Ledru-Rollin. Arrive before 11am before the best produce sells out.
Buy ingredients and eat in the square. Le Baron Rouge next door for wine and oysters.
Booking: Just show up
Quick reference: Paris food rules
- Lunch is better value than dinner. Many bistros offer a formule (set menu) at lunch for €15–20 that would be €35+ at dinner.
- The bread basket is free. Always. Asking for more is normal.
- Service is included. The 15% service charge is in the price by law. Leaving a few euros extra is generous but not expected.
- The best bakery debate never ends. Pierre Hermé vs Du Pain et des Idées vs Poilâne. Go to all three and form your own opinion.
- Café au lait is for breakfast. Ordering a café au lait after noon marks you as a tourist. Order un café (espresso) or un noisette (espresso with a drop of milk).