Paris’s Best Restaurants—and What to Order There

Paris is a place where prize-winning baguettes make front-page news. Food isn’t just a passion here; it’s as intrinsic to Parisian culture as summer evenings by the Seine, a love of understated fashion, and a zeal for short, bitter shots of espresso. The city’s reputation as one of the world’s culinary capitals is entirely justified. The coolest restaurants command monthlong waiting lists, and bistros refuse to change, maintaining time-honored menus year after year. You’ll find seriously creative cooking that celebrates the simple beauty of local French ingredients, from artichokes and asparagus to prized Bresse chickens, with an admirable dedication to eating seasonally.

Last summer, Paris was inundated with Olympians and those cheering for them, and restaurants were equally packed. This year should be a little less crowded, but it’s always smart to make a reservation for a restaurant that’s at the top of your list. These are 11 of our current Paris favorites—and what to order at each one.

1. Soces

19th arrondissement

In the far reaches of the 19th arrondissement, next to the sprawling Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, an inconspicuous corner restaurant serving elegantly modern seafood dishes has become one of the hottest places to dine in Paris. You’ll need to book in advance to secure a bar seat at Soces, let alone one of the simple wooden tables, but the rewards are evident as soon as you sit down.

Start strong with its signature amuse bouche, an oyster—perhaps from St. Vaast or Oléron, depending on the season—served with a spicy margarita shot. That sets the scene for the seafood-heavy menu devised by chef Sam Schwarz. Plates, ideal to share, are far more complex than descriptions suggest. Tuna tartare comes with Roman-style crispy artichokes and a ham gel. Cuttlefish is served raw with red cabbage and kumquats.

On the meatier side, you might find an enormous pork chop to share among two people, but it’s better to save room for the superb cheese selection. A wedge of the triple-cream Brillat-Savarin or pungent Époisses and a glass of natural cabernet franc is the perfect way to bring a meal at Soces to a close.

Photo by Leo Kharfan (left) and Lou Le Bloas (right)

2. Brasserie Dubillot

2nd arrondissement

Trust us, “chicken fingers” made from tête de veau (calf’s head) might be the culinary revelation you’ve been waiting for. You simply can’t order wrong at Brasserie Dubillot, one of the Nouvelle Garde group’s growing handful of funky brasseries, where the vibes rival the menu. Beneath Belle Époque–inspired posters and stained-glass light fixtures, meals deliver as much fun as flavor.

Everything is made in-house by the young team, with ingredients sourced from the Parisian region wherever possible. The menu is heavy on meat, so vegetarians will do better elsewhere (pescatarians have a couple of choices). Beef tartare, beef bourguignon, and terrine are all on the menu.

For dessert, save room for a towering Paris-Brest, a choux pastry wheel filled with hazelnut cream, before heading for drinks at one of the many dive bars nearby.

3. Vantre

11th arrondissement

We’ll let you in on a secret: Vantre has one of the best wine lists in the city. This unassuming bistro is the place for Parisian long-lunch perfection, a succession of artfully plated dishes in a light and airy small dining room. The list of wines is staggering, featuring some 3,000 or so bottles, from somewhat out-of-place magnums of Dom to some of Burgundy’s most interesting premier crus.

Get at least two courses. To start, perhaps a light combination of roasted cauliflower and anchovies or the red pepper mousse, then the hake with a creamy rosemary beurre blanc beef cheek. There are usually only a few options to choose from: Each dish is rich and flavorful but not heavy and generally makes one ingredient the star. Plating is exceptionally pretty.

Related: Where to Shop for Cheese in Paris

4. L’Avant Comptoir de la Terre

6th arrondissement

Yves Camdeborde, the founding father of the bistronomy movement, has made L’Avant-Comptoir de la Terre the stuff of Left Bank legend. “No seats, no problem” might as well be its motto. Instead, you perch against the bar, carving off curls of butter from a shared boulder-size lump for your crusty bread. The menu dangles on cards from the ceiling.

Food is tapas style and meaty, although vegetarians might find joy in a truffled Comté croque monsieur or house-made fries dredged through tarragon mayo. Other options range from classic to creative depending on the day: beef tataki with asparagus, peas and (unexpectedly) peanuts, a superb pâté en croûte, or a classic black pudding terrine.

No reservations here, so be sure to arrive early for apéro (after-work drinks), or try its neighboring sister seafood bar, L’Avant Comptoir de la Mer.

5. Bistrot des Tournelles

4th arrondissement

Rarely has a new bistro become as much of an instant hit as Bistrot des Tournelles when it opened in July 2022. Three years on, the hype for Édouard Vermynck’s homage to classic French dining continues. Behind half-height lacy curtains, you’ll find Parisian romance without a hint of cheesiness (unless you get the cheese course). Instead, it’s all about elegant French comfort food, cooked with passion.

Mains hover between €30 and €40; a highlight is the roast chicken, which might come with a cream sauce and morels in winter or oyster mushrooms dressed in persillade (an herby garlic and parsley oil) in summer. Sides are textbook bistro: fries, mashed potatoes, or green beans. New restaurants rarely deliver as much historic character and charm as this one.

6. Huguette

6th arrondissement

This Left Bank seafood restaurant could have been picked up straight from a chic seaside resort on the Brittany coast and dropped in central Paris. Seafood rules at the sidewalk tables beneath Huguette’s striped awnings, where friendly staff in Breton-stripe tees navigate pedestrians while balancing towering platters of oysters, lobster, and crab with frosty champagne buckets.

Although the soundtrack is more whizzing bikes and the occasional car horns rather than crashing waves, you’ll hardly notice as you scoop mignonette (a sauce of minced shallots and red wine vinegar) onto a dozen Fines de Claire oysters. It does have some nonshellfish options (ceviche, poke bowls, and the like), but the old-school delights of the raw bar are the real draw. You can make an exception for the fried calamari or fritto misto.

Photo courtesy Kodawari Yokocho

7. Kodawari Yokocho

6th arrondissement

At Kodawari Yokocho, steaming bowls of ramen are only half the appeal. The wildly but wonderfully themed decor—a veritable forest of paper lanterns and bamboo screens that evoke the spirit of a moonlit Tokyo alleyway—is as much of a reason to come.

This is a ramen joint unlike any other in the city, inspired by the spirit of a typical Japanese izakaya. The menu is based around six ramen choices, including one veggie option with a sesame, miso, and cauliflower base, each customizable with toppings (nori, extra chashu pork, spicy sauce, and so on).

Everything is freshly made and ingredients impeccably sourced; the wheat for the noodles is even grown and milled right outside the city.

8. Le Servan

11th arrondissement

Franco-Filipina sisters Tatiana and Katia Levha have been running Le Servan for a decade, but their menu is as inventive today as when they opened. Their cooking draws on pan-Asian influences as well as French techniques, with seasonality and sustainability always front and center.

They made their name by turning veal brains and sweetbreads into Paris’s must-try (and must-photograph) dishes. Equally exciting is an unusual dish of raw scallops with sour cream and chili crisp, or their version of a magret de canard (duck breast), served with a carrot puree and spicy jus.

At dinner, expect to pay €40 to €50 per head before (reasonably priced) wine—but it’s well worth it for the lovely dining room (check out the ceiling moldings), memorable dishes, and charming service.

Related: 10 Paris Museums for Every Kind of Traveler

Photos by Luke Burgess

9. Le Doyenné

Saint-Vrain

An hour’s drive south of Paris in the small village of Saint-Vrain, Le Doyenné more than merits a detour on a primarily Parisian culinary adventure. This farm, restaurant, and guesthouse from James Henry and Shaun Kelly (previously of restaurant Au Passage and wine bar Yard) epitomize the field-to-plate movement, with vegetables grown outside the magnificent conservatory-style converted stables where you dine on rough-wood tables.

On the menu? Whatever the potager has yielded that morning, along with wild game, seafood, and sustainably reared meats. Once you’ve made it this far, you might as well go for the carte blanche (€135 plus €80 for wine pairings at lunch), a skillful four-course introduction to the restaurant’s philosophy. The Friday four-course menu, no less delicious, is €195 plus €65 for wine pairings.

Since it scooped a Michelin green star, you’ll need to book well ahead for a table—even earlier if you want to stay overnight in one of the 11 rustic-chic rooms, too.

10. Oobatz

11th arrondissement

Oobatz opened in 2024 to immediate fanfare. This spin-off venture from the once Michelin-starred Le Rigmarole is headed by American baker Daniel Pearson, who turned the Rigmarole’s focus from Japanese barbecue to superb sourdough.

From a 36-hour leavened dough come pizzas that are thin and crispy. They’re topped with classic tomato bases as well as white specials featuring seasonal produce such as zucchini. Just don’t count on dropping in to share a pie. Reservations open two weeks in advance, so set your alarms to book a table.

11. Folderol

11th arrondissement

Who’s to say that a scoop of ice cream and a glass of wine aren’t a complete meal? Cult wine bar and scoop shop Folderol does a booming business on sunny days, with the quiet sidewalk out front hosting a cheerful crowd of tourists and local families sipping and savoring their treats.

The list of flavors is delightfully seasonal and changes constantly. You’ll find apple ginger sorbet in winter, buckwheat and peach verbena in summer, and special appearances by ice cream flavors like banana bread, cold brew, and black sugar year-round. On the grape side are a handful of low-intervention and biodynamic wines.

This article was originally published in 2023 and most recently updated on May 30, 2025, with current information. Sophie Friedman contributed to the reporting of this story.