The 16 most beautiful restaurants in Paris
A city awash with corner bistros, hole-in-the-wall cafés, sleek pâtisseries, petites boulangeries and smart, Michelin-starred spots, Paris has no shortage of exceptional choices when it comes to places to eat.
Olivia MorelliRacines, 12th arr.
Tucked inside a 19th-century arcade, weave between tables laden with red-and-white tablecloths underneath vast skylights and dangling lanterns to arrive at this pocket-sized restaurant. Loved by well-versed foodies and in-the-know celebs alike, Racines has long been a popular name to know in Paris. Pared-back interiors place emphasis on quirky furnishings: a painting of a 19th-century man slurping up a single strand of spaghetti; a stack of art coffee table books; distressed mirrors and mosaicked floors. A menu is written on a chalkboard each day, and food is simple French elegance at its best. Think asparagus with horseradish cream and lemon zest, burrata with pesto and hazelnuts and veal Milanese with garlic mayonnaise. racinesparis.com
Benoît LineroCafé Les Deux Gares, 10th arr.
The city’s hottest opening of 2020, Hotel Les Deux Gares in the 10th arrondissement was dreamt up by London-based designer and Renaissance vision Luke Edward Hall and French hotelier Adrien Gloaguen (of Panache, Beaurepaire and Bienvenue). The restaurant across the street is decorated with Art Deco details – a trompe l’oeil tortoiseshell ceiling painted by artist Pauline Leyravaud, banquettes with mustard- and ruby-striped upholstery and a zinc-topped burgundy bar. Fluffy pastries and third-wave coffee are on the menu in the mornings, too. hoteldeuxgares.com
Jerome GallandLe Chardenoux, 11th arr.
Swedish interior-architect Martin Brudnizki added botanical touches to chef Cyril Lignac’s contemporary takeover of an Art Nouveau building. Inspired by nearby Jardin de la Folie Titon, it has hand-painted sage-green leaves and frilly baroque chandeliers on the ceiling while red-velvet scalloped-trimmed banquettes flank the walls. Faded red and black hexagonal tiles, an ode to conservatories past, also cover the floor. Kick off the seafood-heavy menu with dishes such as Marennes-Oléron oysters with smoked butter, followed by scallops caramelised with miso and coriander and the sea bass in sea-salt crust for two. restaurantlechardenoux.com
Matthieu SalvaingLapérouse, Left Bank
This 18th-century restaurant with a storied past – Victor Hugo, Honoré de Balzac, Ernest Hemingway and Marcel Proust have all walked through its doors – saw a fresh update in 2019 by Parisian designer Laura Gonzalez. Favourites on the classically French menu include Noirmoutier Charlotte potato with Lapérouse caviar and sea bass with raw langoustines, olive oil and herbs. Flirty shades of red and pink tasseled lamps, gilded Venetian mirrors and classic paintings add a dose of old-world allure to this Left Bank gem. laperouse.com
Studio OnzeLa Buvette, 11th arr.
A serious wine bar within walking distance of leading restaurants Septime and Clamato, this is a great option for pre-dinner drinks. Owner Camille Fourmont has blended old-world charm with new-wave wines in the small space, with only a few scratched seats and a funky tiled floor. Stand at the antique wooden bar with a glass of natural wine and snack on giant butter beans doused in zingy olive oil and specks of lemon zest, dry sausage from Aubrac, sardines and cheeses and lose time with the hipsters of the 11th. labuvette.paris
Girafe, 16th arr.
This smart seafood restaurant on place du Trocadéro was designed in lavish Thirties style by architect Joseph Dirand (known for the elegant Monsieur Bleu in the Palais de Tokyo and buzzing fashion week hotspot Loulou). A marble bar, brass fixtures and funky wire planter chairs fill the bright space, while dishes such as langoustine ravioli and sesame-seed sea bass fill the menu. Come summer, the rooftop terrace opens for staggering views over the Eiffel Tower. girafe-restaurant.com
F.FlohicSeptime, 11th arr.
Clean, bright and Nordic-inspired, Septime serves fine dining in a pared-back, no-frills space in the 11th arrondissement. Chef Bertrand Grébaut, who previously cooked at three-Michelin-starred L’Astrance and L’Arpège, elevates familiar in-season ingredients here – steamed cod with pickled turnips and yuzu sauce and lobster with wild strawberries and poached egg in hay broth often feature on the changing menu. The five-course tasting menu is a relative steal at lunchtime (about £55); arrive early and head to sister restaurant Clamato next door or wine bar Septime La Cave just up the road while you wait. septime-charonne.fr
Francis AmiandBeefbar, 8th arr.
Architect studio Humbert & Poyet added contemporary design to a 19th-century Art Nouveau atrium just off the Champs Elysées. Flirty foliage walls contrast with the ruby-red velvet chairs and sumptuous jewel tones in the grand dining hall. The space, walled up since World War II in order to keep it protected from the Nazis, has wonderful preserved elements that pay homage to the past. Asian-inspired dishes dot the menu and are even served on plates from the timeless French porcelain maker Bernardaud. paris.beefbar.com
Le Clown Bar, 11th arr.
The painted glass ceiling of this all-natural wine bar in the 11th arrondissement is decorated with quirky tiles depicting clowns, rather beautifully (and non-scarily) frolicking about. It’s colourful and cool, low-lit and intimate, and staff are formal but in an unassuming way. The menu is always changing but expect dishes such as a delicate tarte aux cèpes with black garlic and a thin layer of lardo or mussels steamed in sake. clown-bar-paris.fr
Le Clarence, 8th arr.
A dose of Bordeaux in the city, this chic townhouse hotel in the eighth arrondissement, owned by Prince Robert of Luxembourg, is home to an extensive collection of Domaine Clarence Dillon wines with a menu of French classics to match. This is fine dining at its best – the dinner tasting menus come in three, five and seven steps, the latter starting at about £285. Interiors are opulent, with red velvet chairs, a dark wooden salon, tapestries and gold-leaf chandeliers. le-clarence.paris
Frenchie Pigalle, 9th arr.
This is the newest Frenchie to open in Paris – this time in SoPi (south Pigalle) on the border of Montmartre and equally bustling with boutique shops and hole-in-wall boulangeries. Dorothée Meilichzon, of Hotel des Grands Boulevards, Hotel Panache and Experimental hotels, has brought blond-wood tables, geometric white-tiled walls and bright red booths to the space. It’s bright and airy and the bacon scones are sensational. frenchie-pigalle.com
AlamyCafé de Flore, 6th arr.
This may be Paris’s most quintessential coffee house. Founded in 1887, the café, along with its Saint-Germain neighbour Les Deux Magots, has seen the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso and Albert Camus walk through its doors to converse with contemporaries over crispy jambon-beurres and piping-hot cafés noirs. Dine on fluffy omelettes, quiche Lorraines and stringy French-onion soup while sipping from the signature green-and-white china, either amid Art Deco interiors or on the outside terrace watching the world of the Left Bank buzz by. cafedeflore.fr
Pierre MonettaAllard, 6th arr.
This is the type of restaurant that never goes out of style – and one you’ll find yourself returning to again and again. Located in the sixth arrondissement, it has old-world charm – dimly lit with crisp white table cloths, red leather banquettes, dark panelling and muted floral-print wallpaper. The golden duck with army-green olives, herby-buttery escargots and fluffy profiteroles are highlights but the menu is as much about the wine as it is the food. restaurant-allard.fr
AlamyBistrot Paul Bert, 11th arr.
An 11th arrondissement gem, long-standing favourite Bistrot Paul Bert dishes out some of the best steak frites in the city. Once a butcher's shop, then bar, it has the look and feel of a restaurant that’s been around since La Belle Epoque: dimly lit, with fanciful mouldings and packed with rickety wooden chairs. Waiters run around taking orders to long-term locals who don’t need to read the scribbled menu board. The three-course lunch for €18 is also a steal. bistrotpaulbert.fr
Le Train Bleu, 12th arr.
An ornate Art Nouveau restaurant located within one of the city’s busiest train stations, Gare de Lyon in the 12th arrondissement, it is named after the so-called ‘blue train’ that sent sun dwellers down to the Riviera. Doused in opulence, with gilded frames, large-scale paintings and chandeliers galore, Le Train Bleu has served Salvador Dalí, Jean Cocteau and Coco Chanel. le-train-bleu.com
www.philippelevy.netDersou, Bastille
Chef Taku Sekine's attention to detail is evident in the tasting menus of his French-Asian restaurant, down a back alley in Bastille. International dishes are paired with drinks crafted by Amaury Guyot (previously of hip Parisian joint Sherry Butt and Experimental Cocktail Club) – a bourbon, Madeira and walnut syrup cocktail goes with mirin-soy-marinated foie gras, blueberries and corn cream, for example. Interiors are unassumingly smart, with distressed walls, mid-century Danish chairs and creaky wooden floors, as well as backless stools for diners looking to be near the action of the busy kitchen. dersouparis.com