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Restaurants
Our favorite Paris gourmet restaurants
As the capital of good taste, Paris is overflowing with great places to eat. To help you make sense of it all, and because hunger justifies the means, here’s a selection of our favorite Parisian gourmet restaurants.
1. L'Arôme, a gourmet restaurant just off the Champs-Élysées in Paris 8th
We love Chef Thomas Boullault's den! So much so, in fact, that the address is right at the top of our list of favorite gastronomic restaurants in the capital. Perhaps, firstly, because we generally appreciate Michelin-starred restaurants in Paris for their value for money. The 2 and 3 star restaurants often charge much higher prices, but the difference is not always obvious. Then there's the cooking style and techniques. At L'Arôme, creativity and innovative combinations are based on classic foundations mastered to perfection. Every dish is different, from the two-cooked pigeon, a Club des Cent favorite, to the timeless smoked ratte flanked by double cream and osciètre caviar... You try it once, you'd eat it every day. But let's start with the atmosphere and ambience of this unusual Parisian restaurant.
A restaurant incarnate
Just behind the Champs-Élysées, a 2-minute walk from the Rue de Ponthieu, lies L'Arôme. Not a very fun neighborhood on the face of it. One might imagine a business clientele, yet another blinged-out or impersonal gourmet restaurant in Paris 8. Not so! The setting may be uncluttered, but its elegance and simplicity are rare: luminous, immaculate white walls, high, gold-edged mirrors, a long dining room whose modernity is underlined by brightly-colored designer armchairs. The prototype of a chic, sober restaurant, firmly rooted in its time. White tablecloths, matching tableware, a butter knife poised vertically - here we are in a gastronomic haunt prized by the Parisian elite, where many celebrities pass through, as well as the greatest chefs of the moment.
In 2024, we ran into Alain Ducasse, Fabien Ferré (France's youngest 3-star chef in his restaurant in Provence), Jérôme Banctel, Olivier Nasti (who runs one of our favorite hotel restaurants in Alsace)... in short, a fine group of people who know a thing or two about cuisine.
And then there's the atmosphere. At l'Arôme, it's the owner who creates it. Thomas Boullault may be a self-proclaimed “innkeeper”, but he's an engaging chef like few others. Two or three times during a meal, he likes to set the table himself, reveal a juice, tell us about a dish. Never one to mince his words, the chef is passionate about his profession, and always in dialogue with his customers. As the sensation of being truly welcomed by a host takes hold, the perception of the meal changes completely. At l'Arôme, it's easy and natural to share a moment of conviviality, so rare in Paris.
On the plate
In the cenacle of Guide Rouge judges, one would whisper that many of Thomas Boullault's creations would merit two Michelin stars. The analysis of the airy texture of the pistachio soufflés for dessert (regular bubbles, perfect hold...), the freshness of the shelled crab/avocado/riz koshi/tomato jelly, the gourmandise of the scallops/fregola sarda/truffe blanche/old mimolette or the sapidity of the sea bass/artichokes/sakura jelly are beyond dispute. Every time, you're treated to classic cuisine with a twist, a flavour or an idea that makes all the difference. In short, a very Parisian cuisine, combining local produce (asparagus from Romorantin, hare from Beauce, line-caught fish from Normandy...) and the creative skills of a palace chef. While Thomas Boullault wouldn't stand out at the head of the piano at the Ritz or the Plaza Athénée, he's at home at l'Arôme, and that's just as well.
After apprenticing with the very best, from Philippe Legendre's 3-star version at the George V to Christophe Pelé's Royal Monceau period, he has developed his own style of cooking and signature touch. Other examples? This “surf and turf” revisited, a starred version of the emblematic American dish featuring beef and lobster, is a monument to kissing ass. Or the saddle of rabbit and octopus escorted by a fine cuttlefish ink tartlet, an expression of accomplished land and sea. In season, the chef celebrates game (“Dos de biche aux baies de Manakara”...) to the point of having created and hosted the annual Championnat du Monde du Lièvre à la Royale, in Sologne.
To sum up, l'Arôme takes the lead in our article dedicated to the capital's gourmet restaurants, because it represents the quintessence of them all. It personifies what a great restaurant in today's Paris should be. A place that skilfully combines elegance and relaxation, a cuisine embodied by a chef who is present, generous and affable, with creations that are as accessible as they are exciting.
L'Arôme
3 Rue Saint-Philippe du Roule, 75008 Paris
larome-paris.com
2. L’Arpège by Alain Passard
We're not sure whether Passard's choice of plant-based cuisine was a stroke of marketing genius, a profound conviction or a reaction to the trials and tribulations of his time (the mad cow crisis of the late 90s). More likely, it was an artistic choice, a matter of taste, coupled with a desire to be different from the rest. In any case, Alain Passard's vocation as a roaster naturally led him to become a gardener. He is a precursor of the “farmer-cook” status (for example, Christophe Hay in Touraine, the Marcon family in Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid, Alexandre Couillon in Noirmoutier and Mauro Colagreco in Menton...).
He has two playgrounds covering dozens of hectares around which he organizes his menus. Onions, radishes, beet, asparagus, strawberries, peas, aromatic herbs, new potatoes... most of what you taste at l'Arpège comes from the land whose secrets he strives to unravel every day. The result is plates of great elegance, with a totally assertive bias. Every self-respecting gourmet must have tasted the vegetable ravioli in herb broth, the radish or beet sushi, the onion gratin with salted butter and black pepper, the vegetable couscous and its trompe-l'oeil vegetable merguez. Plates that reveal themselves as the culmination of a singular intuition, but also, dare we say it, as the opening of a new era in the history of gastronomy: that of half-tattooed, half-bearded chefs who finish cooking a fennel with a blowtorch, who make the front page of Fooding or 180° magazine. Passard is all these things at once: without really wanting to be, but having chosen to be, he is the initiator of an ongoing revolution, an artist who has created his own world in order to better change ours and the way we eat.
L'Arpège
84 Rue de Varenne, 75007 Paris
alain-passard.com
3. Le Pantagruel, Paris 2nd
The Sentier has its own ogre, and it's set up shop at number 24 under the name Pantagruel. At the helm of this intimate, totally uninhibited Parisian gastronomic restaurant, chef Jason Gouzy blows the wind of a mischievous cuisine blending the heritage of classical gastronomy with more personal, modernist influences. The originality of the concept lies in the desire to offer a triptych of tastes: one product in 3 plates for 3 different culinary intentions. There's a very classic dish, an auteur dish and the last proposal, which is more rock, sometimes even borrowing from modestreet-food... It's very clever, well executed and we loved this way of heckling the great clichés of classic cuisine with a certain benevolent impertinence.
Le Pantagruel
24 rue du sentier, 75002 Paris
Open Monday to Friday
restaurant-pantagruel.com
4. Lucas Carton, Paris 8th
As you step through the doors of this venerable institution on Place de La Madeleine, you enter the walls of one of Paris' first gourmet restaurants. Once seated at your table, let your eyes wander along the wood panelling and take in the sublime décor, imagined as a tribute to Art Nouveau.
And to take care of your palate, chef Hugo Bourny (who has worked in fine establishments such as Anne-Sophie Pic's) delivers an energetic, daring cuisine, the opposite of the classicism one might expect from the house. And it's not unpleasant, quite the contrary. Noble, delicate products are blended with the rusticity of certain vegetables from small-scale producers, all linked by an intuitive cuisine that plays on the power of flavors, notably with subtle land-sea counterpoints.
A unique setting for surprising cuisine. An address, a table that should be in the diary of every fine Parisian palate.
Lucas Carton
9 place de la Madeleine, 75008 Paris
lucascarton.com
5. Yannick Alléno in Pavillon Ledoyen
The Pavillon Ledoyen is a Parisian institution, a historic setting on the Champs-Élysées where Yannick Alléno officiates with mastery. The multi-starred chef (15 stars in total, including 3 here) deploys a cuisine of extreme precision, with an obsession for sauces, which he works on like a perfumer composes his fragrances. His scientific approach to extractions and fermentations gives rise to flavors of rare intensity.
The setting is sumptuous: listed wood panelling, muted lighting and spaced tables, with a pleasant view over the gardens behind the Petit Palais. Service is remarkably fluid, anticipating every need, and even offering a gastronomic concierge service to personalize your meal in advance. The “Collection” menu at €330, and its full version at €415, offer a masterly demonstration of his art. The Alléno signature is expressed in dishes such as langoustine with shell extraction, turbot cooked to perfection, and caviar magnified by a modernized beurre blanc. A unique experience, at a price that approaches the heights, but which guarantees a plunge into the quintessence of French haute cuisine.
Pavillon Ledoyen
8 avenue Dutuit, 75008 Paris
yannick-alleno.com
6. Plénitude - Cheval Blanc, Arnaud Donckele
Three stars in the Michelin Guide, a waiting list as long as the Seine it borders... Plénitude is now the gastronomic Holy Grail that Paris is clamoring for, where Arnaud Donckele has managed the feat of winning 3 stars in just one season. Wow! Already present in the kitchens of Cheval Blanc Paris's alter-ego in the tropics, the chef explores the potential of sauces, elevating this art to the status of an absolute red thread in the meal. Each dish is conceived around a sauce, or rather an “absolute”, a complex reduction of up to twelve ingredients.
The intimate setting on the second floor of the Cheval Blanc, with its hushed ambience and light-filled dining room, is the setting for this extraordinary experience. The Symphonie menu, in six acts (€480), is experienced like a millimeter ballet, with service that combines precision and benevolent casualness. Alexandre Larvoir's team in the dining room performs a seamless score, fluidly explaining the subtleties of each sauce. Dishes like rabbit infused with maceron, abalone flanked by its morel broth or sole topped with savory jus show that Donckele is a master at bringing out the best in the finest produce. On the (controlled) sugar side, Maxime Frédéric, whose tea time we've been raving about, is the perfect complement to this haute cuisine, which becomes a total art form... if and only if you're lucky enough to snag a table.
Plénitude
8 quai du Louvre, 75001 Paris
chevalblanc.com/plenitude
7. Table - Bruno Verjus
Bruno Verjus is an atypical chef who is particularly appreciated for his uncompromising approach. A former food critic, he has become one of the most fervent defenders of the raw product. There's no artifice here, just the absolute value of the noblest ingredients. At this discreet address in the 12th arrondissement, the experience takes place at the counter, facing the chef, for a moment of exchange and discovery. The atmosphere is almost intimate, the kitchen open. The chef's precise gestures captivate diners at this 2-Michelin-starred Parisian gastronomic restaurant.
The Couleur du jour menu evolves according to arrivals, but the promise remains the same: absolute sincerity on the plate. Enjoy natural oysters from Utah Beach, crispy veal brain with sea anemone fritters, or lobster from Yeu Island prepared in a full-bodied jus of remarkable intensity. The Gallic poularde, slow-roasted and served with a reduced citrus sauce, is one of the chef's signature dishes. Each creation is a tribute to the artisans who supply these exceptional raw materials. This is a restaurant for lovers of purity and authenticity, where the chef's gesture serves only to magnify the very nature of the product. One of the few gourmet restaurants where, in season, you can enjoy a rare section of wild Adour salmon seasoned with fir bud oil... The exception, we tell you, a far cry from palace caviars or stuffy tralala. As an added bonus, here we feature bottles from prodigious sommelier Agnese Morandi, often drunk neat or at least biodynamically.
Table
3 rue de Prague, 75012 Paris
table.paris
8. Le Gabriel, La Réserve Paris by Jérôme Banctel
At the heart of the La Réserve palace, Le Gabriel embodies a certain idea of gastronomic dining in Paris, where the classic golds of this private mansion open up to more daring influences. Under the leadership of Jérôme Banctel, a former disciple of Alain Senderens, the restaurant has boasted three Michelin stars since 2024, and offers a culinary score of the utmost precision. The chef's universe is based on marked contrasts, between iodine and earth, acidity and bitterness, with a constant search for depth in flavors.
In addition to the lunch menu, two menus, Virée and Périple, invite sensory exploration. Virée honors the chef's native Brittany, with dishes such as abalone with Kristal caviar, or mackerel on its pebble, escorted by a foam of samphire. Périple draws inspiration from his travels, revealing dishes with both Japanese and Mediterranean influences, such as grilled Saint-Pierre with katsuobushi-smoked dashi, or exemplary Racan pigeon with a yuzu and coffee reduction. The hushed setting, adorned with Cordovan leather and precious woodwork, offers a grandiose atmosphere where every meal becomes a timeless experience. Faultless service completes the picture, as demanding as the chef's, and without approximation.
Le Gabriel
42 avenue Gabriel, 75008 Paris
lareserve-paris.com
9. L’Oiseau Blanc, at the Peninsula Paris by David Bizet
Nestled at the top of the Peninsula Paris, L'Oiseau Blanc combines the magic of a breathtaking view of Paris with auteur cuisine orchestrated by two-Michelin-starred chef David Bizet. This aerial restaurant plays with the boundaries between land and sea, offering culinary sequences in several phases, in a spirit similar to that of Alexandre Mazzia in Marseille. The experience begins with remarkably fine amuse-bouches, such as a watercress emulsion enhanced by smoked oil, or a crab tartare softened with fennel cream.
The chef's signature dishes testify to limitless creativity: lobster with beet in three variations, sole sublimated by a "wooded fountain" fumet, or sweetbreads lacquered with an XO sauce of deep, complex aromas. The chef's work on bitterness and acidity lends a particular tension and liveliness to each plate. The attention paid to food and wine pairings is also reflected in a menu where classic grands crus rub shoulders with more confidential nuggets. A gastronomic restaurant in Paris that not only furnishes an exceptional setting, but also immerses you in a highly personal score of cuisine. A fascinating experience!
L'Oiseau Blanc
19 Avenue Kléber, 75116 Paris
peninsula.com
10. Guy Savoy in La Monnaie de Paris
Crowned the world's best restaurant for the past eight years by La Liste, the Anglo-Saxon adversary of 50Best, Guy Savoy continues to embody the quintessence of French haute cuisine. Housed in the illustrious Monnaie de Paris, his double Michelin-starred restaurant is a showcase where culinary art meets history. The majestic salons, sublimated by contemporary works from the Pinault Collection, give the place a solemnity that reminds us that we are entering a temple of gastronomy. But despite the sumptuous setting, the welcome remains warm, and the service, though meticulously precise, is anything but stuffy.
People come to Guy Savoy to enjoy traditional dishes that have become iconic: artichoke soup with black truffle, accompanied by mushroom puff pastry and truffle butter, remains an absolute must. Fish lovers will delight in a red mullet "en situation", whose melting flesh is sublimated by a full-bodied liver jus. Innovative, too, with the sublime salmon, cooked cold in front of guests on a block of ice... On the meat side, roast pigeon, with a Madeira wine and Timut pepper reduction, offers unforgettable aromatic depth. The Couleurs, Textures et Saveurs menu lets you explore the chef's universe through a succession of dishes that evolve according to the seasons and current inspirations. The "catch" remains the budget required (€680 for the menu) to have the chance to discover the maestro's cuisine.
Guy Savoy
11 quai de Conti, 75006 Paris
guysavoy.com
11. Marsan by Hélène Darroze
Marsan is the Paris gastronomic restaurant where Hélène Darroze, double Michelin star and 3 Toques Gault & Millau, celebrates her native South-West with sincere cuisine. Elegant decor, exceptional local produce and precise workmanship, the menu revisits classics with finesse: Landes foie gras in carpaccio, Breton langoustine spiced with Sancho pepper, and the unmissable blue lobster with tandoori spices.
Each dish reflects a quest for balance between traditional cuisine and influences from elsewhere, habit and upheaval. On the seaside, the roasted line-caught sea bass from Saint-Jean-de-Luz, accompanied by Pigna cocos, perfectly illustrates this approach, which is always mastered. The service is attentive, the wine list superlative and the food/wine pairing precise, favoring vintages from the South-West and other confidential terroirs. For a special occasion, choose the chef's table facing the kitchens (up to 7 people), with the impression of dining behind the scenes with France's most famous chef, La Top.
Marsan
4 rue d'Assas, 75006 Paris
helenedarroze.com
12. Hakuba, Takuya Watanabe
Back at Cheval Blanc Paris, this time for a stopover in Japan at Hakuba, with one of the meals that most marked our year 2024. Takuya Watanabe offers an omakase experience of rare precision, behind his counter, orchestrating a culinary ballet in which every gesture seems studied to achieve perfection.
The meal begins with an iodized broth, followed by sashimi of unprecedented finesse: matured mackerel, melting toro (the belly of large bluefin tuna, which can fetch astronomical prices at Tokyo's Toyosu market), abalone flambéed in sake... The nigiri sequence is a summit of mastery, with subtle combinations such as pageot with yuzu and lacquered lobster. The experience culminates in a futomaki combining caviar and caramelized eel. The classics are maintained, surpassed by a millimeter, but what a pleasure to mark the minds, the mouth and the memories. We've never had such an experience in the capital. For dessert, star pastry chef Maxime Frédéric takes over with delicate creations (mochi glacé with rhubarb), while Emmanuel Cadieu, head of sommellerie, accompanies this journey with exceptional sake and wine pairings.
Hakuba
8 Quai du Louvre, 75001 Paris
chevalblanc.com
13. La Dame de Pic, Paris 1st
She's our "dame de cœur" when it comes to Parisian gastronomy. Anne-Sophie Pic, 3 Michelin stars, voted best chef in the world in 2011 and worthy heir to a dynasty of talented chefs, has set up shop at number 20 rue du Louvre, in the capital's highly touristy 1st arrondissement. The delicacy and sensitivity that characterize the chef are fully reflected in this cosy setting, imagined as a bucolic escape from the hustle and bustle of Paris.
With a menu in 4, 5 or 7 sequences, enter the culinary universe of Anne-Sophie Pic, a world dominated by plants, a feminine cuisine, punctuated by a skilful balance between the power of flavors and the delicacy of the aromas expressed... Sensitive souls, do not abstain!
La Dame de Pic
20 Rue du Louvre, 75001 Paris
Service from 12:00 to 13:30 and from 19:00 to 21:00.
Restaurant open 7/7 for lunch and dinner
14. Le Jules Verne, Paris 7th
A star hanging from the second floor of the Eiffel Tower, on which this restaurant is nestled. A breathtaking view of the Seine, the Quai Branly, the Trocadéro and the Champ-de-Mars. And in the kitchen, all the savoir-faire of a tricolore (MOF) in the person of Fréderic Anton. For this unique setting, the chef has imagined a menu that's just as unique, with a choice of 5 or 7 dishes, in which he perfectly replays his highly personal ranges, infusing them with all the elegance of French gastronomy.
The only flaw to be found with this Jules Verne is its success, and the time you'll have to wait for the chance to make a gourmet ascent.
Le Jules Verne
2nd floor of the Eiffel Tower
Avenue Gustave Eiffel, 75007 Paris
Daily from 12:00 to 13:30 and from 19:00 to 21:00
15. Anona, Paris 17th
From boulevard des Batignolles, Thibaut Spiwack, chef at Paris gastronomic restaurant Anona, takes you on a journey through the rich terroir of the Paris region. A committed, locavore approach, rewarded with a green star in addition to the one already awarded by the famous red guide. In the dining room, natural materials such as wood and sandstone (gleaned from local craftsmen) set the tone. Having worked in the kitchens of Philippe Legendre and Alain Senderens, the chef has inherited a definite taste for local dishes and a love of well-sourced seasonal produce. These products he likes to set to music to the rhythm of a fair, elegant and creative cuisine that never forgets to be ethical in terms of waste reduction and energy consumption.
A must for epicureans sensitive to the challenges of sustainable gastronomy.
Anona
80 Boulevard des Batignolles, 75017 Paris
16. Substance, Paris 16th
In the Chaillot district, this is where the front of the Michelin-starred Substance restaurant stands. The open-plan kitchen, dining room and cellar all share the same space. The decor of this restaurant in Paris 16 is graphic, with raw materials and a cosy ambience. Behind the piano, in the kitchen, Top Chef 2021 semi-finalist Matthias Marc - who has had a great deal of experience at Lasserre, or in the kitchens of the Plaza Athénée and Meurice palaces - signs off on a resolutely contemporary cuisine, punctuated by the seasons, inspired by short distribution channels and in part by his Jura origins and influences.
Menus are available in 5, 7 or 9 courses, and even the most discerning wine-lovers will find something to their liking from the 700 wines on the menu.
Substance
18 Rue de Chaillot, 75016 Paris
Lunch: Monday to Friday, 12:00 to 13:30
Dinner: Monday to Friday, 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm
17. Espadon at the Ritz Paris, Paris 1st
After a three-year hiatus, the five-star Place Vendôme restaurant reopens Espadon, its legendary Paris gastronomic restaurant, with Eugénie Béziat. A woman in her own right, surrounded by a motivated team in her own image. Respect.
With her determined, Mediterranean look, the former head chef of La Flibuste in Villeneuve-Loubet (home of Auguste Escoffier), where she won a star, boldly takes her bearings. "Two years ago, when I received a call from the Director of the Ritz Paris asking to meet me, I thought it was a joke. But it was. The little bit of madness in me told me that I wouldn't be turned down for a job like that". Eugénie's first experience of Paris, "Born in Gabon, raised in Africa, marked by this land, I nourish my cooking with its perfumes, its spices, its audacity."
A vestibule with sculpted white wax and stucco walls leads to the dining room, which now opens onto the garden. As soon as the sun shines, the 30 place settings are set up. With her head held high and her allure of a prima ballerina, the head waitress whispers the concept: no à la carte menu, but two set menus, in 5 sequences at €290, or in 8 sequences at €380, to enjoy, perfectly prepared, "French gastronomic cuisine, spiced up with African flavors and ingredients that add tangy notes". The trifecta for this first dinner: oysters on a galette de brousse, with a long-lasting brede-mafane coulis, artichokes with the bitterness of cocoa to tantalize the taste buds, and Breton lobster cooked to perfection and doped with bissap and hibiscus juice. François Perret's crunchy chocolate soufflé is the final touch. Light and airy.
Ritz Paris
Open Tuesday to Saturday.
Menu from 5 to 8 sequences, from €285
15 Place Vendôme, 75001 Paris