Less inclined to rest on its culinary laurels these days, Paris is rediscovering innovation, adventure and variety.
Smart, ambitious new incarnations of the local bistro such as Phillipe Tredgeu’s L’Entredgeu are causing a stir, while legends such as Joël Robuchon and Alain Senderens have pared back their food and service to intense, fuss free essentials with spectacular results. Booking ahead for dinner is always wise, often necessary although a lunch booking is usually easier to secure. Note that most neighbourhood bistros chalk up their menus in French only, so have your phrasebook handy.
Price guide for three courses with a glass of wine € €1-40 / €€ €41-100 / €€€ €101-150 / €€€€ €150+
Haute Cuisine & Contemporary Dining
ALAIN DUCASSE AU PLAZA ATHÉNÉE
Hôtel Plaza Athénée, 25 av Montaigne / 01 5367 6500
The legendary Ducasse flagship may just serve the ultimate meal. The ultra-glamorous setting - dominated by that fabulous ‘exploding’ chandelier - the meticulous attention to detail, service and the quality of ingredients combine to astonish. Expect bold pairings - such as Turbot cooked to perfection and garnished coq au vin style with an intense wine reduction, or a crayfish velouté with a poultry liver ‘flan’. Expect simplicity too: where else could a plate of raw vegetables, presented like a firework display, attain such perfection? Finally, expect a restrained lunch with a single glass of wine to cost €250 but with a battery of delightful extras included: thrilling amuse bouches, an amazing sweets trolley and a goody bag to take home. Same day lunch bookings possible. Jacket required. Lunch & dinner Thu & Fri, dinner only Mon-Wed. Closed late Jul/early Aug. €€€€.
LES AMBASSADEURS
Hôtel de Crillon, 10 pl de la Concorde / 01 4471 1617 / www.crillon.com
The Hôtel de Crillon’s magnificent restaurant, occupying a gilded, marble-clad ballroom may make for a formal setting and its young, groovy chef makes free with a great deal of foie gras and other luxury raw materials. No surprise then that this is a fiercely expensive destination except, that is, for the €80 lunch deal, a real fine dining bargain. Lunch & dinner Tue-Sat, Sun lunch. Closed August €€€€.
L’ATELIER DE JOËL ROBUCHON
5 rue de Montalembert / 01 4222 5656
The drama of dining at star chef Robuchon’s no-bookings atelier (workshop) begins with the long wait to get in and continues inside around the sushi style bar, where the chefs prepare a light, simplified blend of French and Spanish flavours (with the occasional Asian influence) in tapas-sized portions, many cooked á la minute. Dishes might include lobster or tuna carpaccio, marinated salmon with horseradish and some simpler, more classic stuff, such as the Bresse chicken stuffed with foie gras and wild mushrooms perhaps accompanied with Robuchon’s legendary and artery-clogging mashed potato. A great wine cellar and sommelier too. Turn up at 6.30-7pm to be sure of a table. Lunch & dinner daily. €€€.
GAYA
44 rue du Bac / 01 4544 7373
Slap bang in the middle of St Germain and close to Robuchon’s Atelier, this latest creation of molecular mad scientist Pierre Gagnaire offers a budget introduction (very relatively speaking) to his maverick creativity. Fish is the main focus (such as John Dory in a cauliflower jelly, oysters with foie gras, sole served four ways). You can also browse at the bar. Lunch & dinner Tue-Sat, lunch only Mon. €€€.
SENDERENS
9 place de la Madeleine / 01 4265 2290
Alain Senderens may be famous for giving up on the fuss and frills required to maintain his three Michelin stars at the former Lucas Carton in exchange for a purer, simpler approach to food and dining but don’t expect a bistro menu or prices. Occupying a gorgeous, jewel-like interior, Senderens still turns out haute cuisine (albeit stripped down to intense basics) such as rich, flavoursome lamb with a hint of cumin perhaps, lightly smoked salmon served with a glass of smoky Talisker whiskey or langoustines with rice noodles all interspersed with tantalising little taster dishes. Lunch & dinner Tue-Fri, dinner only Mon, Sat. €€€€.
SPOON, FOOD & WINE
14 rue de Margignan / 01 4076 3444 / www.spoon.tm.fr
Inside the modern, playful Phillippe Starck dining room of this Alain Ducasse concern just off Champs Elysées, you’ll find the chef’s flair exercised on an eclectic range of flavours including Japanese and Asian influences – seafood ravioli with a wasabi and oyster dip perhaps, sashimi-style slivers of seafood or tender Wagyu beef. The scrumptious dessert menu is straight out of kindergarten. Bubble gum ice cream anyone? Lunch & dinner Mon-Fri. Closed late Jul & Aug. €€€.Bistros & International Food
BON ACCUEIL
14 rue de Monttessuy / 01 4705 4611
This excellent little bistro in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, specialises in slow cooked meats and rhubarb desserts. Lunch & dinner Mon-Fri. €€.
CHEZ OMAR
47 rue de Bretagne / 01 4272 3626
An authentic, inexpensive, no reservations Moroccan in the northern part of the Marais specialising in good, honest cous cous dishes. The lightly-spiced merguez sausages are terrific. Expect queues at weekends. Lunch & dinner Mon-Sat, dinner Sun. €.
CHEZ RENÉ
14 bd St-Germain / 01 4354 3023
Inside this old-fashioned butchers shop cluttered with heavy wood furniture and bric a brac you’ll find a warm welcome, rustic bistro food such as confit de canard, a vast and superb all-you-can-eat board of goats and mountain cheeses and the speciality coq au vin, authentically using the right bird (a cock not a hen and its blood in the sauce). Justifiably popular so booking at least a day ahead is a good idea. €.
L’ENOTECA
25 Rue Charles V / 01 4278 9144
We love this terrific Italian wine bar for the faultless Italian food (fresh pasta, amazing truffle risotto), for the opening hours and for its cosy wood-beamed interior but most of all we love it for its 300-plus wines, very reasonably priced and many available by the glass. Lunch & dinner daily. €€.
RESTAURANT L’ENTREDGEU
83 rue Laugier / 01 4054 9724
Chef Phillipe Tredgeu’s fresh take on Bistro food offering a pleasing mix of light, inventive dishes (a luscious crème de langoustine for example) and heavier comfort food staples such as duck breast with grilled foie gras and potato and celeriac mash will soon take your mind off the somewhat cramped space. Inventive desserts too. Good value. €€.
L’EPI DUPIN
11 rue Dupin / 01 4222 6456
Expect bold, modern bistro food – with some adventurous combinations such as a goat’s cheese tatin with a sweet coriander sauce – with a sprinkling of classic staples (slow cooked beef cheeks for example) prepared from faultlessly prime ingredients. Very popular so book ahead. Lunch & dinner Tue-Fri, Dinner Mon. Closed August. €€.
MON VIEIL AMI
69 rue St-Louis-en-ile / 01 4046 0135
This modern Alsatian gem among the tourist-fodder joints on Isle St Louis is a good example of Paris’s breed of cool, new bistros. Famous for its stylish minimalist interior as its rich, heavenly starter of paté en croute. There’s a restrained, light touch to perfectly executed fish dishes and lots of unctuous slow cooked meat served in earthenware casseroles. Friendly service, pricey wine. Lunch & dinner Wed-Sun, dinner Tue. €€.
LE PAMPHLET
38 rue Debelleyme / 01 4272 3924
In the Marais this slightly chintzy, provincial-style French restaurant serves honest, refined, seasonal food in a beamed room with elegantly dressed tables. Very reasonable prix fixe menus (€33 & €45) are strong on game - such as Partridge in a deep, rich wine sauce - or fish – sea bass fillet in a foie gras sauce – delivered fresh from the Atlantic coast. €€.
RUE ST ANNE
Lined with inexpensive Asian canteens and tiny sushi joints, narrow rue St Anne is worth wandering along until you see or smell something that takes your fancy. We like inexpensive Laï Laï Ken (No. 7 / 01 4015 9690) for the bustling, Spartan canteen vibe and the great, steaming bowls of noodles; and Bizan (No. 56 / 01 4296 6776) for the excellent sushi and tempura.
BISTROT DU SOMMELIER
97 bd Haussmann / 01 4265 2485 / www.bistrodusommelier.com
Run by an ex-world champion sommelier, this place matches good wine with good food. The wine list is vast and contains enough inside-track, boutique wines to keep any wine spotter happy. The food is far from mere accompaniment, however, setting off the likes of rognon de veau, Phillipe du boef au girolles, rabbit terrine and cod meunier to spectacular effect. All in all great value. Lunch & dinner Mon-Fri. €€€.
LE TRAIN BLEU
Gare de Lyon, pl Louis Armand / 01 4343 0906
Arguably Paris’s most spectacular dining room in the Gare de Lyon serves traditional brasserie French food - breaded pied de porc, saddle of rabbit, rich, silky beef tartare - in magnificent surroundings. Well regarded without being superlative, it is nonetheless the perfect place to browse in civilised style before boarding a southbound TGV. €€.Café’s, Afternoon Tea & All Day Food
A PRIORI THÉ
35-37 Galerie Vivienne / 01 4297 4875
Elegant without being imposing, this tea room along upscale Passage Vivienne (see Shop) serves great Sunday brunches (book ahead), plenty of savoury lunch mains plus cakes, tarts and scones served with butter and jam. Open daily, closed evenings.
CAFÉ BACI
36 rue de Turenne / 01 4271 3670 / www.cafebaci.fr
The fact this chic Italian café – all chandeliers and cream leather sofas - is open daily from breakfast until late is recommendation enough in Paris. The slim menu offers conventional but well executed pasta, meat and fish. €€.LADURÉE
75 av des Champs Elysées / 01 4075 08 75
The legendary Ladurée is famous for its heavenly macaroons (our two favourites are vanilla and pistachio) and its elegant, plush Champs-Elysées branch is a wonderful place to relax over a pot of fine tea and take the weight off your feet.
CAFÉ MARLY
Palais du Louvre, 93 rue de Rivoli / 01 4926 0660
Despite the location in the heart of the Louvre with a terrace overlooking I M Pei’s famous glass pyramid, the Marly makes for a surprisingly relaxed and uncrowded breakfast and morning coffee stop (although things hot up for lunch and dinner). The sumptuous chandeliered interior is great too. Shame about the haughty, desultory service. €€€.