Hello looover…. oh, excuse me while I wipe the drool off my keyboard. So, did I get your attention? That my friend is my favorite new discovery in Paris…the Paris-Brest. Created to commemorate the Paris-Brest-Paris bike race (the circular shape is representative of a wheel), the Paris-Brest is made of choux pastry, filled with praline cream, and topped with toasted hazelnuts. This popular dessert is found in many patisseries all over Paris but the best one I’ve had is by Jacques Genin. I have never been to his patisserie, located in the Maris district, but I have had the pleasure of trying his creations at La Cuisine de Bar.
So this post may very well be my favorite to write and which I hold near and dear to my heart. Needless to say, the hubs and I love food. Knowing that we were visiting one of the best food cities in the world, I wanted to make sure we took advantage of our time there and tried as much delicious food as possible. I have done a lot of research on the restaurants in this post and we loved every single place. The following are notes of all the restaurants we visited, a list of our favorites, and a list of places we wanted to try but did not have enough time/room in our stomach. I’ll begin with the restaurants and then go into snacks. I hope this helps anyone out there trying to plan their Parisian trip and also inspire others to take a food journey to Paris.
A la Biche du Bois – 45 Ledru-Rollin 12th arr., close to the Opera Bastille and not far from Le Marais district, closed Saturdays and Sundays but open until 11pm Monday through Friday. A traditional Paris bistro, it serves many Parisian classics in a lively atmosphere. They are known for their game meats (duck, deer, etc.), but are especially known for their Coq au Vin (some say the best in Paris) and Foie Gras with Fleur de Sel. We had both famed dishes, as well as a simple steak for the hubs and felt the food was delicious, hearty (good portions) and a great value.
Le Comptoir du Relais – 9 Carrefour de l’Odeon 6th arr., open daily from noon. This famous bistro is difficult to score a dinner reservation unless you stay in the hotel it’s located, Hotel le Relais St. Germain, or book way in advance. My suggestion is to go for lunch, arriving 15-20 minutes before noon and you will likely score a table in the first seating, or else be prepared to wait. I had been looking forward to this restaurant for a long time and it did not disappoint. The menu is extensive and in French so come prepared with a translation guide and the food is reasonably price for being prepared by such a renowned chef (Yves Camdeborde). We had the escargots, tripe (hubs’ is a fan of offal), seafood croquettes, some other dishes that I don’t quite remember but all were delicious. We probably would’ve gone back for a 2nd visit if we had more time.
Huiterie Regis – 3 rue Monfaucon 6th arr., open Tuesday through Sunday from noon-3pm and 6:30-11pm. This small eatery serves a simple menu of raw oysters, shrimp, and sausage, with a side of bread. Known as one of the best places in Paris for fresh oysters, this place did not disappoint. Living in San Francisco, we’ve had our share of great oysters, and this place was on par with the quality found in SF. Some may argue that SF oysters are even better but the lively atmosphere, coupled with great wine, makes this place a must try for any oyster enthusiast. They don’t take reservations and the restaurant is small (~20 seats) so again, go early. We went towards the end of their lunch time, right before 3pm and got seated right away.
Chez l’Ami Jean – 27 rue Malar 7th arr. close to the Eiffel Tower, open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday. Serving modern bistro food, this celebrated restaurant offers 3 menu options as well as a la carte, 42 Euro for 3 courses (your selection), 55 Euro for 5 courses (chef selection), and 80 Euro for 8 courses (chef selection). We went with the 55 Euro menu, le petit voyageur, and were completely stuffed, I’d highly recommend the set menus since it was good value for the money. We had fish soup, turbot, lamb, and 2 desserts, one of which was their famous rice pudding (above picture). The turbot was one of the best fishes I’ve ever had, so delicate and flavorful. The rice pudding reputation was justifiable, it was delicious and not too sweet. The rice pudding came in a large bowl for sharing (easily could’ve fed 4 people) and even though we were stuffed, both hubs and I could not resist licking every last morsel of it.
L’Atelier Saint-Germain de Joel Robuchon – 5 rue de Montalembert 7th arr., located in the heart of St. Germain des Pres and open daily. Hailed as one of the world’s top 50 restaurants and boasting 2 michelin stars, hubs and I decided to make this our one special dinner in Paris. The restaurant only accepts reservations for the first seatings, noon or 6:30pm, the rest is first come first serve. We had the prix fix menu, 199 euro for ~10 courses. The food was as expected, delicious and inventive. The service was prompt and friendly enough. While we did enjoy the food, we weren’t blown away by it, which is what we were expecting considering the high cost. Both hubs and I felt that it was a good once in a lifetime experience, but compared to all the other amazing food we had at reasonable prices, L’Atelier just did not live up to expectation. That said, we would definitely go back to the restaurant for their a la carte menu.
Les Cocottes de Christian Constant – 135 rue Saint-Dominique 7th arr., close to Eiffel Tower, open daily for lunch and dinner. Cocotte is the cookware in which many of the main dishes are cooked in, in this case staub cookware. This restaurant doesn’t take reservations but it’s counter-seating and I’ve read that the wait is quick. Hubs and I went for lunch on a weekday and there was no wait at all. The menu is made up of a bunch of smaller plates, tapas style, and larger mains that are casserole style. It’s heartier fare and decent prices. Unfortunately we were still full from our meal the night before and didn’t try too many dishes, but what we had was good. The restaurant is decorated tastefully and has a homey feeling. I would equate it to comfort food and I would not hesitate to visit this restaurant again, although with an empty stomach so I can try more of the menu.
Chez Dumonet-Josephine – 117 rue du Cherche-Midi 6th arr., closed Saturday and Sunday. Another quintessential traditional French bistro, Chez Dumonet is known for really old school French food. I was looking for a place that serves really good boeuf bourguignon for the hubs and this restaurant came up repeatedly. They are also known for the duck confit, seared foie gras, and grand marnier souffle, all of which we ordered and thoroughly enjoyed. Also good is their monkfish and mille feuille.
La Cuisine de Bar – 8 rue Debelleyme 3rd arr. in Le Marais neighborhood, open Tuesday through Saturday. This little gem of a place is a great lunch spot. They serve open-faced sandwiches on bread from next door Poilane Bakery, which many consider to make the best bread in the world. They serve a prix fix lunch for 14.50 Euro which includes a starter (really fresh and tasty carrot soup when we went), a tartine, and a drink or coffee. The other draw to this place? They also offer an array of pastries by Jacques Genin (see above Paris-Brest picture)!
L’As du Fallafel – 34 rue des Rossiers 4th arr., open Sunday through Thursday until midnight and Friday until 5pm. The name says it all, this hole in the wall joint is known for it’s falafel, served with hummus and roasted eggplant. It is by far one of the best falafel’s I’ve ever had. It’s cheap and tasty, what more can you ask for! Rue des Rossiers is an alleyway in the Jewish quarter of Le Marais. There’s multiple falafel joints there but this one is the most famous. It’s so good, we went twice in one day! Another famous joint on the same street is Chez Hanna at 54 rue des Rossiers. It’s open Tuesday through Sunday and is also a local favorite, rivaling L’As du Fallafel.
Robert et Louise – 64 rue Vieille du Temple 3rd arr., open daily Tuesday through Sunday. This locals restaurant serves quality meat and offal in a no frills environment. I knew hubs would be keen to try this place as soon as I mentioned that they served black blood sausage and tripe sausage. We ordered foie gras, blood sausage, steak and pork ribs. All the food was prepared simply, letting the taste and texture of the meat shine through and it was very reasonably priced. If you are a fan of no frills meat, as my Argentinian husband is, then you would love this place.
Onto the snacks!
Le Berthillon – 31 rue Saint-Louise en Ille, open Wednesday through Sunday. This is the most famous ice cream in Paris so be prepared to wait. The ice cream flavors range from creamy classics to seasonal fruit flavors. The texture is more reminiscent of gelato and the flavors are really quite intense. There are many ice cream shops in the area that supply Berthillon ice cream so if you don’t feel like waiting or are not in the neighborhood, just pop into a local shop that advertises Berthillon. You may not get the wide variety of flavors but it’ll still be yummy!
Macarons – Ahhh macarons, so delicate, so flavorful, and so hard to get just right. Below are the most famous places for macarons:
Laduree – multiple locations. This world famous brand really has gotten it just right, from the packaging to the beautiful store displays. Laduree is a must visit for any macaron lover. They have a wide variety of flavors and really, who doesn’t love the luxurious, pretty packaging??!
Pierre Herme – multiple locations. I hadn’t heard of Pierre Herme until I researched “best macarons in Paris” and this came up repeatedly. The storefront and packaging is the opposite of Laduree, sleek and minimalist. They have less flavors to choose from, but their macarons, in my opinion, really are the best. They are perfectly light and fluffy, slightly chewy, and pack intense flavor.
Lenotre and Gerard Mulot – multiple locations. Both of these names came up when I was researching macarons. While certainly good and still better than most macarons you can find in the States, I would not go out of my way to visit these two after having visited the holy grail of macarons (above 2). That said, if you find yourself passing by, it’s worth a visit since their pastries are wonderful.
Patisserie Aoki Sadaharu – multiple locations. Although not widely known, this patisserie makes macarons in asian inspired flavors like black sesame, wasabi, and matcha green tea. The quality is quite good and this patisserie is definitely worth a visit if you’re looking to try something different.
Patisserie Stohrer – 51 rue Montorgueil 2nd arr., open daily. Paris’ oldest pastry shop, Stohrer serves a wide variety of mouth watering desserts. Definitely worth a visit, but be warned, you won’t be able to leave the shop without purchasing at least 5 items! Also, rue Montorgueil is a great street to walk down if you’re looking for something to eat. It’s filled with many decent locals type restaurants.
Eric Kayser/Maison Kayser – multiple locations. Known for the best breads and great pastries, this place is great for picking up provisions for a picnic.
Le Grande Epicerie Paris – Located in Le Bon March, this is a gourmet grocery store with everything you can imagine. There’s fresh baked breads, beautiful pastries, ready-made food, and fresh produce. It’s really a great place to pick up snacks for a picnic.
“The Chicken Lady” – Located at the Bastille Sunday Open Market, this specific “chicken lady” stall is famous for juicy rotisserie chicken. The directions I got were to take the Metro line 5 to Breguet-Sebin, take the Saint Sebin exit to be at the north end of the market. Take a right down the first row of food stalls and the “chicken lady” is the 3rd stall on the left past Vollailles du Gotinais and La Boule d’Anges des Marches bread stand. You must get there before 1pm or else she sells out. Hubs and I never found her, but the Bastille market is large and full of food stands so we were able to get rotisserie chicken from another stand. It was juicy and good, although maybe not as wow as the chicken lady’s chicken might be. We walked to nearby Place des Vosges and ate the chicken there, and then went to nearby Gerard Mulot for some pastries (Paris-Brest of course!) for dessert.
Okay, so I think I covered all the food we tried (not including a few crepe street stalls we stopped at), which we managed to pack in 5.5 days! Now on to our absolute favorites:
My favorites: Chez l’Ami Jean, Le Comptoir du Relais, and La Cuisine de Bar.
Hubs’ favorites: All of mine, plus Chez Dumonet for the boeuf bourguignon, and Robert et Louise.
Other restaurants that looked especially good but we didn’t have a chance to try:
Le Gaigne – 12 rue Pecquay 4th arr., open Tuesday through Saturday. Small bistro known for inventive cuisine that does not disappoint.
Breizh Cafe – 109 rue Vieille du Temple 3rd arr., open Wednesday through Sunday. Known for Bretagne style crepes and buckwheat galettes.
Le Cinq Mars – 51 rue de Verneuil 7th arr., open Monday through Sunday. Cozy, affordable locals restaurant that serves ratatouille, mussels and seabass.
Bistrot Paul Bert – 18 rue Paul Bert, 11th arr., open Tuesday through Saturday. Offers a reasonable prix fixe (34 Euro) and is a quintessential bistro serving good steak frites.
Le Baratin – 3 rue Jouye-Rouve 4th arr., open Tuesday through Saturday. Opened by Argentinians (who knows meat better than them?) and Pierre Herme dines here, need I say more?
Les Papilles – 30 rue Gay Lussac 5th arr., open Tuesday through Saturday. Great value prix fixe menu restaurant.
Tips:
If the restaurant allows it, MAKE RESERVATIONS! Most of these restaurants are small and the French tend to make reservations so if you don’t, there may not even be seating for walk-ins. Unlike the States, even at popular restaurants, you won’t have to call more than a week or two in advance so it’s not too much trouble. It’s as simple as calling them, asking in french first if they spoke english (Bonjour, parlez-vous francais?), most of them do, and telling them what day you’d like to come.
Make note of restaurant opening hours. Many restaurants are closed Sundays and some are closed certain days during lunch so make sure you plan accordingly to avoid disappointment. I first made a list of all my must-eats and then I looked up each of their opening hours to make sure I juggled my schedule right.
When in Rome… if you can, eat at a later hour. Dinner hours are typically from 7pm through 11pm with the earlier time slots taken by tourists and the later taken by locals. You’ll have a more enjoyable experience if you eat when the locals do, but take into consideration that if you’re eating at 9pm, you typically won’t be done until midnight (the French really take their time) and oftentimes the meal is heavy so you may have trouble sleeping right afterwards, which can delay your schedule for the next day. But you’re on vacation so just take it easy!
Go with the flow. The French really do take their time and enjoy their meal, as such the waiters typically will take longer to come around. Don’t get impatient. Take into account that meals can last 3 hours and plan your itinerary accordingly.
Pick restaurants close to the sites you will be visiting. I included the arrondissements the restaurants are located in to help with planning. If you plan on seeing the Eiffel Tower, plan lunch or dinner at one of the restaurants in the 7th arr. This will make your trip go more smoothly if you’re not constantly criss crossing town to go to restaurants.
Whew, so this was a long post but I hope helpful! If you have any questions, feel free to comment and I’ll try my best to help you out!
A Sprinkle of Adventure 
