Le Grand Véfour is a semi-gastronomic bistro run by chef Guy Martin. It was in this district that the restaurant was ‘invented’, so you can savour a bit of French gastronomic history on the terrace overlooking the Palais Royal gardens and its Buren columns. The best idea on the spot is the semainier: a starter-main course-dessert for €68 per person, an affordable price for a restaurant of this quality and in this area. The Tuesday menu is particularly gourmet: duck terrine with pistachios and blackcurrant confit, pan-fried fillet of lean beef on the skin with tomato and olive fondue and baby spinach and, to finish, red fruit with meringue, whipped vanilla cream and red fruit sorbet.
17 rue de Beaujolais, Paris 1er - Tel: +33 (0) 1 42 96 56 27
The Saint James is one of the secrets of western Paris: a luxury hotel and closed club with two restaurants, one gourmet, the other less informal, set on a terrace and bucolic pergola in a private mansion built in 1892. You can sit down to dinner only, by reservation - other times are reserved for club members and residents - and order pea or strawberry cocktails while an aioli of grilled vegetables from Seine-et-Marne and other sophisticated dishes arrive on the table.
5 place du Chancelier Adenauer, Paris 16e - Tel: +33 (0) 1 44 05 81 81
Chez Michel is one of the best traditional bistros in Paris, with a Japanese chef responsible for a marvellous fish soup and rice pudding. But it's not just Masahiro Kawai's dishes that bring in the customers: the location also plays a part, with a very pleasant terrace, insulated from the noise of the traffic, overlooking the beautiful church of Saint-Vincent de Paul. A welcome break from the hustle and bustle of the district.
10 rue de Belzunce, Paris 10e - Tel: +33 (0) 1 44 53 06 20
It's hard to imagine that in the very heart of rue de Bagnolet, hidden away at the end of a small courtyard in a private lane, is one of the capital's most popular restaurants? A little before nightfall, the charm of the establishment comes into its own and people come for the well-executed seafood dishes: sole meunière, brioche lacquered with bisque, trout and salmon roe with hay-smoked cream, langoustine carpaccio with saffron and lemon...
13 Villa Riberolle, Paris 20th - Tel: +33 (0) 6 09 31 61 62
This green and red courtyard - the official colours of the Plaza Athénée - is a classy place, with plants lining the windows of the building... Here you can nibble on vegetarian dishes dreamt up by Top Chef Jean Imbert: the famous Tuscan gnudi - gnocchi without pasta - with ricotta and spinach or a risotto-style tomato stew, before finishing with a tiramisu-style ice cream or a cherry and pistachio waffle prepared just in time. What more could you ask for?
25 avenue Montaigne, Paris 8e - Tel: +33 (0) 1 53 67 66 02
There's a village feel to this corner of Paris's 19th arrondissement. But what we love about this café - open from 8.30am until midnight - is that it's not just a café: the owner's sister brings in the "whole of Paris" from the world of gastronomy with her addictive pommes dauphines... and more generally her ‘bistro cuisine’ that knows how to be creative.
1 rue Pradier, Paris 19th - Tel: +33 (0) 1 53 21 92 13
Here's a brasserie that epitomises eternal Paris, a brasserie set in the quartier des Halles, on the cobbles, with a terrasse XXL to watch the comings and goings of passers-by and waiters dressed in black and white. The advantage of this kind of address is that you can eat a whole meal or just a bowl of chips.
16 rue Pierre Lescot, Paris 1er - Tel: +33 (0) 1 45 08 00 34
It's not that Yannick Alléno doesn't deserve his 3 Michelin star restaurant which bears his name, but insiders prefer the more relaxed restaurant, one star anyway, we're talking about a general of French cuisine, a ‘gastronomic counter’ which extends to a pretty terrace located in the carré des Champs-Élysées, out of sight. The menu includes mouth-watering dishes such as ‘green lasagne with bolognese and parmesan, recipe by my friend Luigi Taglienti’, wood-grilled lobster with ginger butter, summer poultry blanquette and cordon bleu with a jus spiced up with yellow wine and nutmeg.
8 avenue Dutuit, Paris 8e - Tel: +33 (0) 1 53 05 10 10
Strolling through the gardens of this Michelin-starred restaurant, you could almost play President of the Republic, so much so that the atmosphere is as unique as the greenery of the neighbouring Palais de l'Élysée. This is the Apicius, a restaurant that gourmets have known for a long time and which was taken over a few years ago by Mathieu Pacaud, multi-award-winning chef and son of Bernard Pacaud - three Michelin starred chef with the restaurant Ambroisie. On the menu? Veal chop for two sautéed in a pan, grilled foie gras with candied citron, paris-brest with passion fruit sorbet and a mysterious ‘soufflé extraordinaire’.
20 rue d'Artoi, Paris 8e - Tel: +33 (0) 1 43 80 19 66
The most French of Parisian palaces:le Bristol.Inside you'll find the Jardin Français, a magnificent tree-lined terrace where, after booking in advance, you can choose between pasta made on the premises or a ham and comté croque-monsieur with black truffle butter.Or even better: a snack from pastry chef Yu Takana, who trained with Paul Bocuse and has been on the premises for 8 years.
112 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Paris 8e - Tel: +33 (0) 1 53 43 43 00
We are here at la Réserve, luxury hotel where chef Jérôme Banctel has been awarded 3 Michelin stars in March 2024.But there's more to the hotel than its gourmet cuisine!The establishment is home to another restaurant, the Pagode de Cos, where you can enjoy an elegant salad - langoustines or crab with green beans, sucrine and sesame sauce - as well as fine pieces of fish and meat grilled over charcoal and snacked on a plancha... You can even have breakfast (from €38 per person), all in a patio clad with palm trees, ferns and jasmines.
42 avenue Gabriel, Paris 8e - Tel: +33 (0) 1 58 36 60 60
The chef Amandine Chaignot has set up her Café de Luce on one of the cuteest squares in the 18th arrondissement. After her first restaurant Pouliche, she opened her Café de Luce on the corner of the little Place Charles Dullin, on which stands the théâtre de l'Atelier. Sitting on the terrace of this café-bistro, it's almost as if you've become the protagonist of the film Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain.
2 rue des Trois Frères, Paris 18th - Tel: +33 (0) 1 42 58 00 44
On the 7th floor of one of the most beautiful palaces in Paris lies a breathtaking view of Paris. Every summer, Cheval Blanc opens its rooftop or rather its green terrace overlooking the Île de la Cité and the Left Bank. The menu is designed by Arnaud Donckele, a 3-star Michelin chef, and Maxime Frédéric, a renowned pastry chef, and features seasonal vegetables and red fruit for a sunny lunch.
8 quai du Louvre, Paris 1er - Tel: +33 (0) 1 40 28 00 00
When you walk through the door at 6 rue Boissy d'Anglas, you have the impression of entering the backstage area of l'Hôtel de Crillon. This is not the case, as you enter the two restaurants of three-starred chef Paul Pairet: Nonos and Comestibles. You can lunch or dine in the courtyard with the feeling of having left Paris, far from the hustle and bustle of the capital.
6 rue Boissy d'Anglas, Paris 8e- Tel: +33 (0) 1 44 71 15 17
This terrace in the 5th arrondissement promises a very tempting menu, thanks to talented Japanese chef Kazuma Chikuda, who offers refined bistronomic cuisine. A real chef's kitchen!
72 rue du Cardinal Lemoine, Paris 5e - Tel: +33 (0) 9 73 24 07 95
Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud has no shortage of good addresses. The Marine Gora is a daily favourite for its hair-raising assiettes à partager from 6.30pm. Crispy potatoes patata bravas style, asparagus noodles or Mexican-style ribs washed down with a cocktail make numéro 96 ‘the place to be’ for the whole neighbourhood.
96 rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, Paris 11th - Tel: +33 (0) 1 48 07 80 23
In the adjoining courtyard of this patisserie known to all gourmands lies a ‘secret garden’. For lunch, tea time or even Sunday brunch, you can sit down at the little white tables decorated with flowers to wait for tea time and a slice of fruit tart in the company of the white rabbit from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
57 rue de Bretagne, Paris 3e - Tel: +33 (0) 1 42 74 10 68
Apart from the fact that a scene from the cult film Le Diable s'habille en Prada (2006) was filmed here, people come here for the calme and the postcard decor. The square is in the shade of plane trees and 100 metres from Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral. Open continuously from 10am to midnight, you can enjoy an espresso or a nightcap. In the evening, the terrasse is lit by a vintage floor lamp. The menu features products from Béarn, as the long-standing owners are lovers of the Basque Country.
1 rue de la Bûcherie, Paris 5e - Tel: +33 (0) 1 43 29 73 57
When the weather is fine, the four-star Hotel Monsieur Aristide opens the terrasse of its restaurant. A bucolic place with greenery, colourful parasols and benches, set in an inner courtyard, far from the hustle and bustle of the quartier des Abbesses. Enjoy a bite to eat with an excellent cocktail: toasted bread rubbed with tomato and garlic, sausage or hummus. Café Aristide also offers more hearty dishes, such as a roast chicken leg with rosemary or a plant-based poke bowl... Plus: a great Sunday brunch.
3 rue Aristide Bruant, Paris 18th - Tel: +33 (0) 1 42 64 33 33
With its fountains, tall planters and large parasols, this is a must for chic Parisian terraces. Located on the left bank, the cobbled courtyard is that of a former mansion dating from 1683, which today houses a huge boutique for the luxury brand Ralph Lauren. As for the menu, it's all about America, with a burger, grilled lobster with American sauce and fresh salads.
173 boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris 6e - Tel: +33 (0) 1 89 20 23 50
The sun-drenched terrace, with its large convivial tables, invites you from 6pm to enjoy a glass of natural wine - between 30 and 45 French wines - or a homemade syrup. After dinner, the tables are pushed back and the DJ starts playing. From 11.30pm, the chef will be serving up pastrami sandwiches and corn dogs with beetroot ketchup for late-night snacks. The best part? For dancing the night away, the club de la Mazette is upstairs.
69 port de la Rapée, Paris 12e - Tel: +33 (0) 7 89 43 42 76
