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Restaurants
France: the best starred restaurants according to the editors
Which are the best Michelin-starred restaurants in France, among the 29 three-star gourmet restaurants and 83 Michelin double-starred addresses? Our selection here.
France’s best Michelin-starred restaurants (two and three stars), best gourmet restaurants, here are the editors’ favorite addresses.
If haute gastronomy in France continues to fascinate people the world over, it’s undoubtedly due to an extraordinarily vibrant landscape, which has been able to renew itself over the decades, bringing chefs to the top in a race to the stars that guarantees a certain idea of French excellence. Discover our ultimate list of great restaurants to experience at least once in your life, all tested by our network of correspondents or by our editorial team.
L'Oustau de Baumanière | Chef: Glenn Viel
One of the very first Relais et Châteaux to emerge in the aftermath of the Second World War, this legendary restaurant nestled at the foot of Les-Baux-de-Provence cliffs has been attracting stars and other gourmets for decades. With a third star awarded in January 2020 to Glenn Viel - who was also crowned "Chef of the Year", while Brandon Dehan was simultaneously named " Pastry Chef of the Year" by Le Chef magazine - Oustau de Baumanière is without doubt the most sensational restaurant of 2020! A point of pride for Jean-André Charial, owner of Baumanière, who was also Chef des Cuisines for many long and distinguished years.
The setting? A large building with walls steeped in history, a former sheepfold dating back to the 17th century, surrounded by magnificent gardens that have retained a unique soul over the years. Today, it remains one of France's finest addresses. Thanks to its vegetable garden, beehives and educational farm, the restaurant has also won an award for " sustainable gastronomy ", which it has been promoting since 2015.
On the plate? Glenn Viel works to the extreme with his meat and fish cooking techniques, playing with flavors and textures, multiplying his discoveries and offering an exclusively vegetarian menu of stunning delicacy, imagined in 1987 by Jean-André Charial following a trip to India, where vegetarianism is the norm. Witness the creation of a surprising food and bread pairing (kneaded on site), the development of " seasoning pebbles " - solid concentrates of vegetables, mushrooms or shellfish designed to replace salt - or the in-house manufacture of tomato dryers and oilers! Nothing seems to be able to stop the overflowing imagination of this chef, who embodies more than anyone else the great chef of today.
L'Oustau de Baumanière
Mas de Baumanière, 13520 Les-Baux-de-Provence
Fleur de Loire | Chef : Christophe Hay
We've had nothing but praise for this top chef since 2017, when he was working in the discreet setting of his Maison d'A Côté in Montlivault, a few kilometers from Blois. But since then, he's built his own nest, and what a nest it is! A luminous, contemporary restaurant in the most beautiful hotel near the Châteaux de la Loire, Chambord, Blois, Amboise, Chaumont sur Loire....on named Fleur de Loire! This project of a lifetime, a sumptuous new 5-star hotel, houses a spa, rooms and suites with views over the Loire, but above all the big deal: the 2-star Michelin Christophe Hay restaurant. Here, you can savor the best of the local terroir, magnified by unparalleled creativity and precision. What's more, most of the vegetables, fruit, herbs and even meat come from farms supervised by the chef. Christophe Hay harvests black truffles from his own truffle fields, asparagus, lettuce, tomatoes, lemons, grapefruit... from his greenhouses, raises his own wagyu beef and works with unique taste and expertise on Loire fish caught under his windows by his regular fisherman.
The setting? Brand-new, bright, from the dining room you can see the Loire River below. Inside, the atmosphere is warm and inviting, with an open kitchen where you can watch the ballet of the chefs, and a contemporary decor reminiscent of the omnipresent river.
On the plate? Don't miss the sumptuous Loire fish, prepared here like nowhere else in terms of texture, taste and bold combinations. Carp à la Chambord, with its concentrated red wine sauce, button mushrooms, bacon and truffle, is already an emblematic dish in today's French cuisine. It earned Christophe Hay the title of Gault et Millau Chef of the Year 2021, and he is already one of France's 35 most talented chefs.
Fleur de Loire
26 Quai Villebois Mareuil, 41000 Blois
Le Petit Nice, an essential institution in the city's bustling culinary scene.
Le Louis XV - Alain Ducasse | Chefs : Alain Ducasse, Emmanuel Pilon
Almost three years after Alain Ducasse's arrival in 1987 at the request of Monaco's Prince Rainier III, the Louis XV won the gastronomic Holy Grail, becoming the first hotel restaurant to earn three Michelin stars. Alain Ducasse was only 33 at the time. Since then, he has sublimated the Mediterranean terroir like no other.
Chef Emmanuel Pilon now holds the reins in the kitchen, while Alain Ducasse continues to expand his global gastronomic empire, unrivalled for a French toque since the death of Joël Robuchon. The Monegasque chef is now at the helm of over 30 restaurants worldwide, with a total of 15 stars!
The setting? At the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, the Principality's most prestigious establishment and one of the most beautiful hotels on the Côte d'Azur, the Louis XV occupies an imposing historic room. The millimetric ballet of service revolves around a central piece of furniture designed by the Jouin / Manku duo, Ducasse's loyal design partners. The icing on the cake is an exclusive terrace overlooking the newly renovated Place du Casino.
On the plate? Alain Ducasse and Emmanuel Pilon draw on the culinary riches of the Riviera to compose menus that combine locally caught fish, herbs and vegetables from the hinterland. While some of the dishes that made the Louis XV's reputation are still served here - including Primeurs des jardins de Provence with black truffle, available since 1987 - the menu is constantly reinventing itself.
Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo
Place du Casino, 98000 Monaco
Troisgros | Chefs: Michel, César and Léo Troisgros
"As in all the arts, you have to invent and question ", said Pierre Troisgros of his cuisine. He passed away in September 2020, but alongside his brother Jean, he lifted this restaurant in Roanne - which celebrated 50 years of three Michelin stars in 2018 - to the zenith of French haute gastronomy, notably with his mythical salmon in sorrel, emblematic of the Nouvelle cuisine of the 1970s and the Chapel, Guérard, Senderens generation... Michel, his son, his wife Marie-Pierre and their two sons, César and Léo, have long since taken over the reins. Today, it remains a true place of pilgrimage for all French gastronomes.
The setting? Since 2017, the Maison Troisgros has been located in Ouches, ten kilometers from the historic Roanne stronghold, and boasts the allure of an Italian villa surrounded by meadows, with contemporary decor revisited by architect Patrick Bouchain. For many, it's one of the most beautiful restaurants in France.
On the plate? Taste a cuisine where acidity vies with spiciness, with a new generation that has drawn new inspiration from Hispanic and Italian culinary traditions. Not to mention an exceptional cellar, notably rich in Bordeaux "Grands Crus"!
Maison Troisgros
728 Route de Villerest, 42155 Ouches
Maison Bras - Restaurant Le Suquet | Chef : Sébastien Bras
Three generations of culinary excellence have succeeded one another in the Bras family. From the first address opened by "Mémé Bras" in Laguiole in 1956, to the takeover by her son Michel in 1968, who opened Le Suquet in 1992. Decades of excellence and honors from the Michelin Guide followed, at least until 2017, when Sébastien, grandson of "Mémé Bras", asked to leave the guide in order to regain some freedom. In 2019, however, the restaurant was reinstated, much to his surprise, as it now boasts "only" two stars, compared with three before its removal from the rankings.
The setting? Like a futuristic vessel with sleek lines, Le Suquet soars between heaven and earth. Inside, light woods and cream tones predominate, and you sit facing large picture windows, with the sensation of flying over the Aubrac plateaux and its unspoilt nature.
On the plate? An absolute quest for "beauty" and "goodness" around the formidable Aubrac terroir, like the Gargouillou, the house's signature dish, made with young vegetables, flowers and aromatic herbs picked daily in the kitchen garden.
Maison Bras - Restaurant Le Suquet
Route de Laguiole, 12210 Laguiole
La Marine | Chef : Alexandre Couillon
Without doubt one of the most popular addresses on the Atlantic coast, and with good reason. Located in Noirmoutier-en-l'Île, La Marine is first and foremost a true success story, recounted in a memorable episode of the Netflix documentary series Chef's Table. After honing his skills with Michel Guérard and Thierry Marx, Alexandre Couillon decided to take over the family restaurant, alongside his wife Céline. Although the beginnings were difficult, they succeeded in obtaining a second star in 2014, thanks to their audacity and tenacity. Their credo is to create a marine and vegetal cuisine filled with emotion.
The setting? Facing the port of L'Herbaudière, this beautiful noirmoutrine mansion with its white walls and blue shutters immediately immerses its guests in the bath, contrasting with a modern, uncluttered dining room.
On the plate? A subtle cuisine that magnifies seafood sourced directly from the fish auction, combined with the finest local produce, such as the famous oyster with bacon broth and squid, or the juicy, perfectly roasted Challans duck. And a flurry of iodized appetizers to match!
La Marine
3 Rue Marie Lemonnier, 85330 Noirmoutier-en-l'Île
Pierre Gagnaire | Chef : Pierre Gagnaire
As one of the capital's oldest 3-star restaurants - a distinction he has held on to since 1998 - the brilliant Pierre Gagnaire's Balzac, on the first floor of a secret Paris hotel, remains a must for gourmets the world over. Opened in 1996 in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, it was a second birth for the chef, after a relative failure in Saint-Étienne, where his talent had not found sufficient resonance. The secret of his success: he has always refused to adopt a repetitive cuisine, and has constantly reinvented himself.
The setting? A room with a hushed ambience, set in the discreet Hôtel Balzac, a stone's throw from the Champs-Élysées. Just redesigned by Argentinian architect Marcelo Joulia: carpeting, subdued lighting, light-colored walls, a charcoal-mine fresco on the ceiling by contemporary artist Adel Abdessemed... An atmosphere both subtle and uncluttered, in the image of the chef, as if the décor were to fade into the background to let the plate speak for itself.
On the plate? Often described as " poetic ", " iconoclastic " or " spontaneous ", Pierre Gagnaire's cuisine is marked by the multiplication of plates, veritable " satellites " placed in orbit around a major product ("Langoustine", "Turbot", "Lamb"...). And within a single plate, the chef impresses with his ability to create dishes vertically, by stacking successive layers! The result? Culinary constructions of rare complexity, to be tasted rather than looked at, savored rather than analyzed.
Restaurant Pierre Gagnaire - Hôtel Balzac
6 Rue Balzac, 75008 Paris
Pierre Gagnaire's cuisine has been described as "poetic", "iconoclastic" and "spontaneous"
Alléno Paris at Pavillon Ledoyen | Chef : Yannick Alléno
In summer 2014, Yannick Alléno took over the reins at the Pavillon Ledoyen in the gardens of the Champs-Élysées. The chef, formerly of Le Meurice where he earned his three stars, has made it the emblematic address for the reinvention of the great French restaurant, in both form and substance. A titanic task crowned with success. In addition to his flagship restaurant, Alléno Paris (3 Michelin stars), Yannick Alléno has since inaugurated two new restaurants. First, L'Abysse (2 stars), alongside Japanese chef Yasunari Okazaki, is considered one of the capital's finest sushi counters. Then there's Pavyllon (with a "y"), a top-flight gastronomic counter already boasting one star. All in all, Alléno's redesigned Pavillon Ledoyen now boasts six Michelin stars under one roof. Quite a feat.
The setting? Built in 1848 under the reign of Louis-Philippe, the Pavillon Ledoyen unfurls its neoclassical style over more than 1,600 square meters. The room on the second floor, where the Alléno Paris restaurant is located, is listed as a Monument Historique and offers a peaceful view of the Champs-Élysées gardens. A must for comfort in the heart of Paris.
On the plate? With his work on rehabilitating sauces and juices, his research into fermentation, his ability to work with all ingredients - from the most common to the most noble - and his reflections on the concept of " gastronomic caudalie " (the length of a dish in the mouth), Yannick Alléno is one of those who are inventing tomorrow's gastronomic grammar in his dishes.
Alléno Paris
8 Avenue Dutuit, 75008 Paris