Exploring bistros is a favourite Parisian pastime - here are 24 places to discover in every area of the capital
© L'Assiette
Could this be the capital’s last working-class bistro? In any case, it’s the last one in the neighbourhood; the tiny entrance of the Petit Bar is located just behind the oldest palace hotel in the capital. Nothing seems to have changed since it was opened in 1966 by Jean and Marie Dall. He ties the roasts and she cooks a weekly menu of timeless classics. Our favourite days are Tuesday for the macaroni and roast veal and Wednesday for the roast beef and fries.
If you had to pick just one reason to go to this bistro with overwrought decor situated a mere 100 metres from Place Vendôme, the hub of French jewellers, it would be to see the employee behind the counter scraping away at the huge mound of butter to fill the ham sandwich, which needs plenty of fat to shine. To be eaten at the counter, obviously! Even the boss of Facebook gave in to temptation here.
This relatively recent place manages to make anyone enjoy eating calf’s head thanks to the skill of the chef, who prepares a carpaccio sprinkled with capers, pickled red onions and lashings of gribiche sauce (mayonnaise with gherkins). The veal sweetbreads with purée have already received the seal of approval of Parisian gourmets, and so have the tarts, which appear to be made by a Michelin-starred granny. A very, very good bistro, helmed by a duo who enjoy experimenting with wines and clients’ tastes.
We can’t get enough of the chicken and classic purée at this traditional bistro. The dish is so good it should be used at cookery schools as a model. The chocolate mousse has a lot going for it too, all the more so as it’s served with a buttery gavotte biscuit. All this and more make the place a firm favourite with neighbourhood residents, other clients and people in the fashion world during Fashion Week. The food here is seriously good: that’s something everyone can agree on.
One of the few bistros in Paris with a Michelin star. The interior resembles a museum with nothing missing, right down to the stoves, but it’s very much a busy bistro, helmed by the chef Kelly Jolivet, a right-hand woman of French gastronomy’s godfather Alain Ducasse, who owns the place. The fluffy cheese puffs and iced citrus fruit soufflé – hard to find these days – are enough to make anyone happy.
The bistro of the legendary Tour d’Argent, the famed Paris gastronomic restaurant. In this more affordable branch, the tables are covered in quintessential red gingham tablecloths, the helpings of chicken and purée are huge – leftovers are put into a bag for you to take home – the mustard-laced egg mayonnaise boasts world champion status and the two profiteroles have a deep black topping (the chocolate sauce).
Allard, with its magnificent wallpaper that makes you feel you’re dining in someone’s home, is a Saint-Germain-des-Prés institution. The bistro is named after Fernande Allard who long reigned over the kitchen in his restaurant, cooking frog’s legs that are still served his way, plentiful and caramelized on top, with rice on the side to mop up the cooking juices. The roast chicken is excellent and the creamy macaroni gratin is so good it can be eaten without the meat. The toilets are a must-see because of the autographs and accolades of famous people.
© Pierrre Monetta
The soul of a bistro has to do with the characters in it. The owner of the place is one such character. You can’t help but admire this neighbourhood celebrity, who has written a whole collection of books with titles that make one smile, such as Pour mes copains qui ne savent toujours pas cuisiner (For my friends who still can’t cook). His cooking resembles him: precise and confident, like the intense chocolate tart, which is absolutely mouthwatering. We also like the croque-monsieur with straw potatoes, salad and fresh fruit for under €15 and the half-portion of egg mayonnaise with a sprinkling of caviar. Reynaud is indeed a playful man!
The owner of this place knows a thing or two about bistros. He has played a major role in re-activating the Association for the preservation of egg mayonnaise created by the restaurant critic Claude Lebey, who is behind the eponymous guidebooks. The bistro opened in 2022, but it has already built up a solid clientele who come to savour the delicious veal sweetbreads in particular.
There are any number of reasons to like this neighbourhood café-restaurant that is popular with local residents, starting with the extended opening hours. It is open from 8am – to sample the viennoiserie from the excellent bakery next door, Mamiche – to midnight. No booking necessary, and the owner produces his own coffee and wines. Watch out, though – it’s the kind of place where you feel so comfortable you can stay there all day, and indeed many regulars do.
The chef here has built himself a reputation that has spread well beyond the neighbourhood. We can still taste his caramel, olive oil and rhubarb ice cream that’s the stuff of dreams. Even big-name chefs seek refuge here, a four-minute walk from the Gare du Nord. Market-fresh recipes and very attentive waiters.
The very likeable chef zips around the dining room attending to people’s needs together with her partner. Their little bistro is a must-do in the 10th arrondissement, serving delicious, value-for-money fare: pork rillettes, quenelles with onion confit, mild and strong gazpacho and a memorable tarte tatin.
We have a soft spot for the French cooking of the Japanese chef at Chez Michel. He loves France so much that he takes its food to new heights. He has tattoos, piercings and sticking-up hair and he is a past master at bouillabaisseand fish soup – placed on the table in case anyone wants second helpings, not to mention a rice pudding with a fruit compote so skilfully cooked that it makes for a melt-in-the-mouth dessert.
This is the world’s best bistro, according to some food critics. Its owner has certainly created the model Parisian bistro: mosaic flooring, booths with old-fashioned advertisements on the walls and a menu featuring both classics (smoked herring and potato salad, blood sausage with apples) and more contemporary dishes (pollock fillet, white butter and roasted broccoli) as well as French childhood favourites (croque-monsieur and truffle-flavoured fried eggs).
This place is definitely the haunt of meat lovers, which opened in the late 1920s: partridge, wood pigeon, rooster, veal kidney, wild boar, single bone rib of beef and venison are served throughout the year or during some months. The owner’s cheeky humour contributes to the experience at this timeless bistro with white tablecloths. Cheese board or dessert? At À la Biche au Bois, you’ll want both.
A Parisian bistro combined with a Brazilian bistro: a concept invented by the chef Alessandra Montagne, located next door to her gastronomic restaurant Nosso. The food is French with exotic touches: black bean purée; a tapioca cake with caramel, orange and cardamom. On Fridays, Brazilian food is front and centre and the menu features feijoada, the Brazilian equivalent of France’s cassoulet. Open from the morning onwards and in the evening on Fridays only.
The chef at L’Assiette – who trained with some of the best chefs in France – has held the reins at this embassy of French cuisine since 2008, serving classics such as snails, croutons, beef and carrot stew and poached pears in red wine. Having a chat with the chef/owner is not just optional, it’s recommended, as he is charming and very approachable. Round off your meal with a coffee and a box of sponge fingers, while you look around at the (intentionally chaotic) decor including the painted glass panels on the ceiling.
Christian Etchebest has opened several branches of his bistro in and around Paris and quality is the watchword at each of them, with a Basque country-inspired menu revealing the owner’s origins. Having trained with the finest chefs in Paris and elsewhere, he concocts comforting fare such as sauteed mushrooms with a runny yolk in the middle and hearty dishes such as grilled pigs’ ears with pistou sauce and Espelette pepper. Like French innkeepers of yore, Etchebest opens his bistro at 8am or 9am every day.
The Petit Rétro has eye-catching decor. Earthenware tiles decorate the small dining rooms of this picture-postcard eatery where the mirrors reflect the napkin rings of the regulars. The menu is eclectic, as in a brasserie, with blanquette of veal alongside risotto and beef tartare. The desserts are classic, with dependable delights such as chocolate soufflé, crème brûlée, profiteroles and lemon tart.
© Pierre Monetta
If there were a world championship for best bistro, the Cyrano would be a serious contender. From the chandelier over the counter and the gilded mosaics, this small eatery has everything it takes, including high-quality dishes concocted by the talented chef. They combine a traditional spirit and original touches: Japanese algae on leeks in vinaigrette sauce, ox tongue seasoned with spicy red pepper ketchup, etc. The apricot jam to spread on your morning bread is made by the owner’s grandmother. The Cyrano is definitely one of our favourites.
Always the same waiters, the same handwritten menu and the lively atmosphere of a classic French film where people talk loudly as they eat. Where do we begin? Start with the curly lettuce salad with chunks of bacon, dished up in a huge bowl, with copious lashings of vinaigrette to mop up with your bread. Continue your meal with the house speciality: a nice thick steak with a clear mustard sauce in which you can dip not only your meat but also your *thin, crispy fries.
We don’t know the chef’s surname, only her name. Her work reflects her impressive resumé which features L’Épicure, the restaurant at the palace hotel Le Bristol. Her rice broth starter, presented as a foam of rice, shellfish and coriander shoots, is smooth and fresh. Everything on the menu of this as-yet little-known and modern bistro is worth sampling.
Parisian gourmets would be at a loss if Le Cadoret didn’t exist. It is also a café, which opens at the hour of the morning when the children go to school, and the sister of the owner, who busies himself behind the counter, works wonders in the kitchen. Everyone who’s anyone on the Paris bistronomy scene knows that she dishes up unforgettable pommes dauphines – melt-in-the-mouth fried potato puffs – at dinner.
This is the favourite restaurant of the celebrity pastry chef Pierre Hermé. That’s reason enough to discover this lively eatery. In the kitchen, an Argentine chef treats clients to tripe, calf liver with tomatoes and capers and pigs’ ears that are both subtle and full of flavour.
