16 Of The Best Restaurants In Paris (Updated May 2024)

The dining scene of Paris is as diverse as it is exquisite, beckoning epicureans from all over the globe to explore the city’s rich cultural heritage and insanely incredible gastronomic experiences. Full of quaint, charming bistros dishing up classic French favourites, to a multitude of Michelin-starred establishments and ultra modern wine bars, you could live in Paris your entire life and never get sick of choosing a place to dine. 

To help you explore the crème de la crème of Parisian dining, we’ve narrowed it down to the best 16 restaurants in Paris to hit up in 2024.

Le Servan

32 Rue Saint-Maur, 75011

Image credit: Le Servan | Instagram

Le Servan is the brainchild of two Filipino-French sisters,Tatiana and Katia who are known for bringing modern French fare with a touch of East-Asian influence to the corner of Rue Saint Maur, a neighbourhood famous for its innovative eateries. With a focus on sustainable and ethical practices, these sisters can do no wrong. The food is fresh and seasonal, with incredibly simple yet stunning ingredients. To get a feel for what’s on offer, the specialties highlights on Instagram are your best bet, showcasing the likes of raw scallops with a passionfruit jelly, tuna belly with peanuts and a fried chilli dressing and a jerusalem artichoke ravioli. For dessert, there’s goodness like the crowd-favourite chocolate gateau served with crème anglaise and a traditional Paris brest. The wine list is vast, so you’ll want to enlist the help of one of the very friendly and knowledgeable sommeliers. 

Parcelles

13 Rue Chapon, 75003

Parcelles is a local tavern known for its traditional, homemade French cuisine served in a relaxed atmosphere where you can enjoy the true culinary delights of Paris. The menu here rotates daily and is focused on finding the best local products. For entree, expect dishes like pâté, thinly sliced meat carpaccio and seafood varieties of tartare. Mains involve decadent pastas and perfectly cooked fish whilst dessert include classics like a lemon or chocolate tart. 

Avant Comptoir

Various Locations Around Paris

Image credit: Avant Comptoir | Instagram

There are four Avant Comptoir restaurants in Paris with the names translating to counters before earth, sea, market and palais (palace). It’s no surprise the menus are either based on the land, the sea or a mix of both for the latter two. We’re not quite sure if they fit into the restaurant or bar category, with standing room only and small plates of food, but we do know they’re worth a mention. You can try wine before you purchase a glass from just a few euros and order dishes like oxtail croquettes with red wine and horseradish or the crisp Bearn black pudding spring rolls. 

Terra Bar a Vins

63 Rue des Gravilliers, 75003

This restaurant and wine bar serves up modern plates of beauty that are a real French-style teppanyaki experience. Beyond simple tapas, you’ll find comfort style dishes designed to share like crab ravioli wish shellfish broth, lamb with peas and mint chutney and grilled pork with foie gras. There’s a huge chilled glass cabinet to select your desired bottle of wine and yes, you can rely on the expert sommeliers to help choose your pick. 

Bouche

85 Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, 75011

Image credit: Bouche | Instagram 

This former kebab joint is achingly trendy with its small plates and natural wine bar set against its Berlin-like brutalist interior of exposed stone, picture windows and sparse, vintage furniture and decor. The menu consists of seasonal dishes that change every fortnight and you can try everything from Korean fried chicken with shiso leaves to prawn carpaccio and veal tartare with Jerusalem artichoke chips. On Sunday, the restaurant is open for lunch and has a smaller menu with brunch additions that’s super popular amongst the regulars. 

Epicure

112 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008

Being on holiday is a special occasion right? That’s why you deserve to go all out at Epicure, a triple Michelin-starred restaurant that’s old school mixed with modern glamour and is all too happy to share that it's full of fussy French decor. Chef Eric Frechon’s macaroni stuffed with black truffle artichoke and duck foie gras, served alongside a gratin with aged Parmesan is a dish that people travel to Paris just to experience. The restaurant can be experienced all year, but if you’re lucky enough to be here during the warmer months, sitting out in the exquisite garden is unparalleled. The restaurant expects a somewhat formal dress standard - so make sure you pack to fit this within your Parisian visit. 

L’Ami Jean

27 Rue Malar, 75007

Image credit: L'Ami Jean | Instagram

L’Ami Jean by Stephanie Jego is best known as a bistronomy movement—a culinary style that combines comfort bistro food with gastronomic cooking (aka rich and delicate food.) The food is American hearty, and the vibe is relaxed yet trendy. Dishes are presented in the style of a fine-dining restaurant without the hefty price tag and the stars of the show are razor clams cooked in broth, confit lamb shoulder and garlicky roast pigeon for those who dare to order outside the box. If it was our choice, we’d go for the tasting menu to try as much as we could, including dessert with the likes of an apple, pear and tonka bean mousse that will knock your socks off. 

Tekès 

4 bis Rue Saint-Sauveur, 75002

Tekès is devoted to a plant based menu and pays tribute to the ancestral cooking methods and traditions of Jerusalem, an ode to its name that translates to ceremony in Hebrew. Bright, pretty and full of flavour is what you can expect, and we promise even the carnivores in your life will love this one. Most of the dishes are cooked over charcoal and embers, a nod to the ancient cooking methods and the menu includes a fluffy Challah-style bread made with olive oil from East Jerusalem, hot and cold meze style dishes and filling, indulgent mains. Everything is meant to be shared as a celebration of culture and food intertwine. 

Ober Mamma 

107 Bd Richard-Lenoir, 75011

Image credit: Ober Mamma | Instagram

Ober Mamma is the second restaurant by The Big Mamma Group, led by two young French guys who can’t get enough of all things Italian. Inside, you’ll see a modern fit-out combined with age-old Italian decor including cured hams dangling from the ceiling, a marble counter and glass ceiling. Word is, the aperitivo here is as good as the real deal in Milan. The restaurant has two woodfired ovens for serving up Neapolitan style pizzas and the fresh, handmade pasta menu changes every month with ingredients like seafood, truffle and slow cooked meats. To start, there’s plenty of antipasti, and for dessert, mix it up with a pistachio tiramisu. 

Tour D’Argent 

15 Quai de la Tournelle, 75229

Set in a 400 year old building with sweeping views of Paris including the Notre-Dame and Ile Saint-Louis neighbourhood, Tour D’Argent is a fine-dining foundation that promises a timeless experience. The restaurant describes the encounter as if the staff are performing on a stage in front of the most beautiful backdrop in the world, like a perfectly choreographed ballet that is the height of French sophistication. The restaurant is known for its mouth-watering duck, and the cellar stores close to 300,000 bottles of wine! On your way to the elevator, check out the photos of celebs that have visited this institution - including none other than Angelina Jolie and John. F Kennedy.

Brasserie L'Emil at Château Voltaire

Image credit: Brasserie L'Emil | Instagram

If you’re looking to eat like the French do, you must not miss a booking at Brasserie l’Emil in the luxe hotel Château Voltaire. In this chic, intimate tavern setting, reinvited French cuisine is light and progressive, dictated by seasonal and local produce that has been hand picked every morning. Some of the best dishes include a sea bass carpaccio with chicory salad, paccheri (big tubes of pasta) with morels (local mushrooms) and a Normandy fillet of steak with  pepper sauce. You can spend hours here at the solid oak banquettes watching the world pass by. 

Le 27 Madame 

This quirky, family run restaurant is either full of locals or lucky travelers that have managed to discover this hidden gem and come back night after night. With a menu changing daily, you can feast on proper French food that’s simple but oh-so good. There’s usually a meat and fish dish, a salad and dessert—like we said, it’s simple, and it’s real. If they have the chocolate cake listed, it’s a no brainer - there’s nothing basic about it. 

Le Soufflé 

Image credit: Le Soufflé | Instagram 

A whole restaurant dedicated to soufflé? Oui oui! We really do love you Pari. Hot on the scene since 1961, located between the Vendome, Madeleine and Concorde, Le Soufflé embodies the values of French cuisine with a unique twist through the many soufflés on offer that are inspired by the seasons. There’s savoury like the airy delight filled with asparagus, foie gras and morels as well as the classics like a good ol’ cheese and those incorporating dishes such as beef bourguignon. For sweets, how about one garnished with chocolate, orange liqueur and raspberry? From Tuesday to Friday, you can enjoy a set two-course lunch, and get this, you can even bring your pet.

Substance

The 5, 7 and 9 course tasting menus offered at Michelin-starred Substance are out of this world impressive. All courses are served at the discretion of the chef and are designed to thrill and delight the diner. The wine list has over 700 items and the winemakers have all been chosen based on the quality of their produce and respect for the natural environment. If a glass of champagne is your choice to go with your meal, you’ll find over 200 types. Feel free to ask for help.

Le Relais de Venise

Image credit: Le Relais de Venise | Instagram

Le Relais de Venise serves just one dish—but hear us out—it’s the iconic French steak frites. For over 60 years, patrons have lined up outside this bistro to get their forks on the grilled beef steak and golden French fries served with a walnut salad and world-famous sauce, gourmet desserts and a choice of French wines. A 10 minute walk from the Arc de Triomphe, nothing has changed at this restaurant in that time—the same decor, the same formula and a true icon in the Parisian food scene. So good, that the restaurant has now opened in New York and Mexico. 

Chez Janous 

Chez Janous is a casual bistro serving all the French classics like coq au vin, shrimp flambée  and seafood and steak with rich sauces. There is however one famous item—the chocolate mousse served spoon by spoon from an enormous punch bowl. People flock to this restaurant for the mousse alone but while you’re there, it would be impolite not to sample the extensive pastis menu—a traditional anise-flavoured alcohol from the south of France, known for its refreshing and herbal qualities.