I have an old guide to Paris in which the author, an American woman, starts off explicitly doubting whether—given all that has been written about the fabled city—she has much of value to add. The book was written in 1856!
Nearly 170 years later, this American woman has no doubt that the only contribution I can make, especially about eating in this gourmand’s capital of the world, is to simply pass along what I most look forward to enjoying as I return to Paris roughly twice a year.
Author Ellen Williams is bringing a small group of women to Paris in October. Find out all the details here.
In this decidedly personal, highly subjective, continually updated list, there are even a few places that have remained favorites since my first revelatory trip more than 40 years ago, when I discovered that the love of my life was a city.
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Eating in Paris on a Budget
In those early Paris visits, when I was young and short on money, I, like many before and since, found that crèpes—like ham and cheese on a baguette—were an easily affordable way to experience classic French food. Decades later, no trip is complete without them. On a recent visit to the covered market in the posh Passy quarter, I spotted La Maison Belleguic, a terrific authentic Breton crèpe stand that uses only organic ingredients, and was lucky to grab a stool at their counter.
For more of a restaurant experience, I often head to one of the several outposts of the popular Breizh Café (in St Germain, the Marais, and Montmartre). No matter where I have my crèpe, I always pair it with a hard apple cider.
Back in the ‘80s, I also started frequenting the historic Chartier, off the grands boulevards of central Paris. The always bustling bouillon (workingman’s restaurant) still maintains its almost-untouched enormous fin-de-siècle dining room, and I still stick to the poulet fermier, roast chicken with fries, rather than sample what are probably less-reliable cuts of meat or the fish.
No matter where I have my crèpe, I always pair it with a hard apple cider.
There are still many ways to stretch a euro in this notoriously expensive city, especially at ethnic restaurants that feature the cooking of the former French colonies, including Vietnam (I like Le Bambu in Chinatown) and Algeria (couscous at Chez Mamane in the provincial-like Butte aux Cailles quarter).
Instagram has been a great tool in identifying top-quality markets in the outer arrondissements (the young and hip SuperFrais, a walk from Père Lachaise cemetery, makes great sandwiches). And one can always pull together lunch from even the pricier places such as the esteemed Maison Mulot (try the poached-chicken sandwich or the lentil salad) or from the vast selection of prepared fare at the Grande Épicerie of the Bon Marché, the chic department store’s food hall (one of the finest in Paris and a must-see). Both are near the Luxembourg Gardens, where a picnic is probably going to be more memorable, just as delicious, and less costly than another meal at a typical restaurant.
The Best Food Street in Paris
Speaking of the Bon Marché, a visit here will land you at the foot of the picture-postcard-perfect Rue du Bac, one of the city’s most stylish rues commerçantes (shopping streets) for both delicacies and non-edibles.
Just try to resist the chocolate-mousse bar at Chapon.
Above all, this is a sweets-lover’s heaven, with a number of the most esteemed chocolate purveyors and patisseries. My favorite, Claire Damon’s Des Gâteaux et du Pain is, unusually, helmed by a woman in this typically male-dominated field (get her superb rhubarb turnover if it’s in season). And just try to resist the chocolate-mousse bar (6 single-origin varieties!) at Chapon. Jacques Genin’s pâtes de fruits (jewel-like fruit jellies) and large selection of caramels (deemed among the finest in Paris) make excellent gifts.
Enjoy the wares at Angélina, a branch of the celebrated tea salon on Rue de Rivoli, which you can enjoy without the Right Bank crowds. Savor a cup of the signature hot chocolate, L’African, a blend cocoa from Niger, Ghana and Ivory Coast, whose recipe has been perfected over more than a century.
Best Restaurants on the Left Bank
Many of my current favorite restaurants are near this part of the Left Bank where I prefer to stay. At the charmingly traditional La Petite Chaise, I usually begin a meal with the refined smoked-salmon entrée (with a mustard-cream sauce). When I lead NextTribe’s trips to Paris, we always end our visit here.
While at the old-school bistro Chez Dumonet, it’s the hearty boeuf bourguignon (channeling Julia Child) and perfect prepared-to-order mille feuille (napoleon) that keep me coming back. La Fontaine de Mars, a short walk from the Eiffel Tower, which remains lively late into the evening, serves a creamy chicken breast with morels that I often order.
Tucking into a soufflé—as a starter, a main dish, or for dessert—on the wide outdoor terrace at Le Récamier remains a much-anticipated pleasure (consider also adding a cheese plate for the table, which is a great way to sample a curated selection from the acclaimed nearby fromagerie Barthélémy). I like to start our NextTribe Paris trips here at Le Recamier, and the group is uniformly ecstatic over the meal.
Two more places with lovely al fresco seating are the elegant (without being stuffy) Le Basilic near the Musée Rodin and the Invalides, with a quiet leafy patio behind a large church; and for tasty Italian fare, the more casual Les Filles, whose tables spills out onto the foot of the cobblestoned Rue Mouffetard, the colorful Latin Quarter market street, one of the oldest in the city.
Eating Light in Paris
A few meals into every trip to Paris, I start longing for something lighter, though I don’t want to miss out on the thoughtfully-prepared food for which the city is famous. For more modern French cuisine, I have a growing list of small restaurants—often run by young people, often discovered on Instagram—that tend to offer a more limited menu that changes almost daily depending on what’s freshest in the market.
I’m always happy at the cozy La Laiterie Ste-Clotilde (housed in a former dairy shop) near the Musée d’Orsay, where everything is full of unexpected flavors and beautifully plated. A recent find in St-Germain-des-Près is Colvert, where I’ve already sent a couple of appreciative friends; one of them returned the favor by introducing me to Les Bontanistes, where I had exceptional oysters, coquilles Saint-Jacques (scallops), finishing with a roasted pineapple.
Last month, up at the large flea market at the Porte de Clignancourt, which is typically something of a dining desert just outside the city, one of the dealers told me about the Bonne Aventure wine bar, where I had a delicately prepared lamb and vegetables with a delicious Côtes du Rhônes.
At my preferred flea market, the Porte de Vanves, at the southern end of Paris, I rarely leave without at least one or two vintage collectibles; I never leave without thoroughly enjoying an order of the piping-hot fries from the snack truck, usually the best pommes-frites I have on any given trip.
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Best Restaurants in Paris (a Highly Opinionated List)
In the list below, I’ve included the addresses and metro stops for the places mentioned, and, except for the restaurants that frequently change their menus according to what’s available in the market, a couple of examples of the items each offers.
La Maison Belleguic
Marché couvert de Passy, Place de Passy, 16th
Metro: La Muette
Sweet and savory crèpes, herring, Breton cider
Breizh Café
109 Rue Vieille du Temple, 3rd (Metro: Filles du Calvaire); 1 Rue de l’Odéon, 6th (Metro: Odéon); 93 Rue Des Martrys, 18th (Metro: Abbesses)
Traditional and more modern crèpes
Chartier
7 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre, 9th
Metro: Grands Boulevards
Leeks vinaigrette, choucroute, profiterole
Le Bambu
70 Rue Baudricourt, 13th
Metro: Place d’Italie, Olympiades
Pho, spring rolls, grilled meats, noodles
Chez Mamane
27 Rue des cinq Diamants, 13th
Metro: Corvisart
Couscous with grilled merguez sausages and lamb, Algerian pastries, mint tea
SuperFrais
8 Rue Levert, 20th
Metro: Jourdain
Banh Mi and other sandwiches (roasted sweet potato, crispy chicken), inventive composed salads, carrot beignets
La Grande Epicerie
Le Bon Marché
38 Rue de Sèvres, 7th
Metro: Sèvres-Babylone
An enormous selection of artisanal yogurts among countess other top-of-the-line groceries and prepared foods
Maison Mulot
76 Rue de Seine, 6th
Metro: Odéon
Sandwiches, composed salads, quiches, pastries
Des Gâteaux et du Pain
89 Rue du Bac, 7th
Metro: Rue du Bac
Exceptional pastries, cakes, and breads
Jacques Genin
27 Rue de Varenne, 7th
Metro: Rue du Bac
Pastries, chocolates, fruit jellies, caramels
Boutique Angélina
108 Rue du Bac, 7th
Metro: Rue du Bac, Sèvres-Babylone
hot chocolate, the Mont Blanc (meringue, whipped cream and chestnut cream), macarons
La Petite Chaise
36 Rue de Grenelle, 7th
Metro: Rue du Bac, Sèvres-Babylone
Escargots, grilled beef bordelaise, crème brûlée
Chez Dumonet
117 Rue du Cherche-Midi, 6th
Metro: Duroc
Pickled herring, duck confit, leg of lamb, apple tart
La Fontaine de Mars
129 Rue Saint-Dominique, 7th
Metro: La Tour-Maubourg
Beef tartare, coq au vin, roast leg of lamb, floating island
Le Récamier
4 Rue Juliette Récamier, 7th
Metro: Sèvres-Babylone
Tiny ravioli in a butter sauce, eggplant caviar, fish, meats, savory and sweet soufflés,
Barthélémy
51 Rue de Grenelle, 7th
Metro: Rue du Bac
This beautiful fromagerie has been in open for almost 50 years, and provides cheeses for some of the finest restaurants in Paris.
Le Basilic
2 Rue Casimir Périer, 7th
Metro: Solférino
Country paté, steak with shallot sauce, tuna seared with soy sauce and sesame seeds, Pavlova
Les Filles Restaurant
138 Rue Mouffetard, 5th
Metro: Censier-Daubenton
Tagliatelle in a mushroom-truffle cream sauce, rigatoni with octopus ragout, composed salads, tiramisu
La Laiterie Ste-Clotilde
64 Rue de Bellechasse, 7th
Metro: Solférino
Colvert
54 Rue Saint-André des Arts, 6th
Metro: Odéon
Les Bontanistes
11 Rue Chomel, 7th
Metro: Sèvres-Babylone
Bonne Avenutre
59 Rue des Rosiers, Saint-Ouen
Metro: Garibaldi
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