French restaurants in Paris
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Crèmerie Restaurant Polidor
A meal at this quintessentially Parisian crèmerie-restaurant is like a trip to Victor Hugo’s Paris: the restaurant and its décor date from 1845 and everyone knows about it (read: touristy). Still, menus of tasty, family-style French cuisine ensure a never-ending stream of punters eager to sample bœuf bourguignon, blanquette de veau à l’ancienne (veal in white sauce) and the most famous tarte Tatin in Paris! Expect to wait. No credit cards.
reviewed
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Hôtel du Nord
The setting for the eponymous 1938 film starring Louis Jouvet and Arletty, the dining room and bar at this vintage venue by the Canal St-Martin feel as if they were stuck in a time warp with their Art Deco posters, zinc counter and old piano. The food is correct if not mind-blowing; stick with basics like the jumbo hamburger (€16) and its trimmings and you’ll be fine. The plat du jour is usually €10.
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Les Dix Vins
This tiny restaurant, on the far side of Montparnasse, is so popular that you will probably have to wait at the bar even if you've booked. Not such a bad thing, of course, in a temple devoted to Bacchus, as you'll be able to sample one of the carefully chosen wines while you wait. Excellent value, good service and stylish decor combine to form a true winner.
reviewed
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Chez Toinette
The atmosphere of this convivial restaurant is rivalled only by its fine cuisine. In the heart of one of the capital’s most touristy neighbourhoods, Chez Toinette has kept alive the tradition of old Montmartre with its simplicity and culinary expertise.
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Perraudin
Perraudin is a traditional French restaurant with embroidered handkerchief lampshades. If that doesn’t put you off, launch yourself into this blast to the past with classics such as bœuf bourguignon (beef marinated and cooked in red wine with mushrooms, onions, carrots and bacon), gigot d’agneau (leg of lamb), confit de canard or flamiche (leek pie from northern France). Prices are reasonable (the plat du jour at lunchtime costs €12) and the place has atmosphere, even if it is a tad on the shabby side.
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Le Grand Méricourt
Young chef Gregory Merten Antonelli offers his version of ‘la cuisine créative’ (basically traditional French that is light on oils and fat and heavy on seasonal produce) in a very English, almost fussy (floral wallpaper, wooden floors, starched tablecloths and napkins) place just a stone’s throw from trendy rue Oberkampf. Try the sanglier en pâté à la liqueur d’orange (boar pâté flavoured with orange liqueur) and the joue de bœuf fondante au muscat (beef cheek with sweet wine).
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Jean
This stylish gourmet restaurant manages to balance just the right amounts of sophistication and genuine warmth. Dark-red banquette seats liven up the large, quiet dining room. A sample meal might include fricassée de langoustines (scampi) served with a julienne of vegetables, magret de canard rôti au miel et ses navets et échalotes confites (honey-roasted fillet of duck breast served with preserved turnips and shallots) and a modern version of profiteroles – a scoop of vanilla ice cream between two crunchy, chocolate-coated meringues.
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Chez Léna et Mimille
One of Paris’ bonnes tables with a fabulous terrace, this intimate restaurant peeps down on a tiny park with fountain and comical equestrian statue. Its notably varied and choice-loaded menu, moreover, allows diners to decide just how fine or otherwise the experience will be. Fancy a simple plate of finely sliced Iberian salami over a lazy glass of wine? Or you want the whole multiple-course hog? Then the Menu Note à Note (€55), finely tuned to the culinary principles of molecular gastronomy, is an exquisite choice.
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Le Soleil Gourmand
This cheery boutique and restaurant exudes the south of France with its warm décor and simple dishes like salads, savoury tarts and baked bricks (stuffed fritters). Treat yourself to the tarte aux tomates confites (glazed tomato tart) or the (tarte aux oignons, poivrons, raisins et pignons grillés (tart with onion, green peppers, grapes and grilled pine nuts) and any of the wonderful ice creams. The plat du jour is priced between €10.50 and €12.50.
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Comme Cochons
You may not be attracted by the name but the excellent cuisine du terroir (country cooking) and the sunny terrace at ‘Like Pigs’ will undoubtedly change your mind. This bistro is like a page out of the past – only the contemporary paintings on the wall by local artists will keep you in the present. Among the specialities are potted pleurotte mushrooms with foie gras and potée limousine côte de cochon (pork and vegetable ‘stew’ cooked in a clay pot). There’s live jazz some nights.
reviewed
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Aux Deux Canards
The tradition at this long-established inn-like place is that you ring first (is this a speakeasy or what?) before you are allowed entry. The name of the restaurant – ‘At the Two Ducks’ – reflects much of the menu (there’s everything from foie gras to à l’orange), but you’ll find starters as diverse as mussels with leek and a salad of Jerusalem artichoke and sheep’s cheese. The host is a true, err, ham and performs to an appreciative, mostly English-speaking audience.
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Le Persil Fleur
Le Persil Fleur is the type of old-fashioned French restaurant where the patron welcomes customers, chats extensively with the regulars and personally checks on each table as meals progress. Don’t be put off by the somewhat faded décor – if this place remains popular, it’s because the food is consistently good. Expect French standards that offer a departure from the usual sauces – lamb with cumin and mint, beef filet with cocoa or duck with caramelised onions.
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Les Galopins
The meals at this cute neighbourhood bistro are straightforward and in the best tradition of French cuisine, with such offerings as raviolis de pétoncles (queen-scallop raviolis), médaillons de lotte au gingembre (monkfish medallions with ginger) and côte de veau aux pleurotes (veal chop with oyster mushrooms).
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L’Étoile Verte
Founded in 1951, the ‘Green Star’ is where all the old French classics remain: the onion soup, the snails, the rabbit. When one of us was a student in Paris (back when the glaziers were still installing the stained glass at Ste-Chapelle) this was the place for both Esperanto speakers (a green star is their symbol) and students on a splurge. That may have changed, but the lunch menu is still a great deal for this neighbourhood.
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La Partie de Campagne
Located in one of the old chais (wine warehouses) of Bercy, the ‘Country Outing’ serves some of the best food in the area. Business people and strollers from the Jardin de Bercy sit cheek by jowl at a large communal table set up at the back of the room, and order from a menu that includes soups, tartines, pies and crêpes (€4.20 to €5.50). It’s also a great place for breakfast, and the inviting terrace is open in the warmer months.
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Le Chaland
‘The Barge’ is a pleasant café du quartier serving rock-solid favourites like blanquette de veau and tartes salées (savoury pies) with the occasional leap into the 21st century with gigantic salads. It’s one of the more approachable (and affordable) eateries on the canal and you’re offered a kir (white wine with cassis) as an apéritif. The plat du jour is €9.50
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Auberge Nicolas Flamel
A visit to this charming restaurant, with its higgledy-piggledy rooms on two floors, is not so much about the food as the location: this was once the residence of celebrated alchemist and writer Flamel (1330–1417) and is the oldest building still standing in Paris. Expect dishes that are correct but not earth-moving – duck foie gras, lamb cooked in a tajine and so on. Ask about wine tastings in the atmospheric (read: spooky) cellar.
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À La Cloche d'Or
This place, at the foot of the Butte Montmartre since 1928 and once the property of actress Jeanne Moreau’s parents, is the antithesis of trendy. Decorated in ‘old bistro’ style with photos of stars of stage (mostly) and screen (some) plastering the walls, the ‘Gold Bell’ serves up favourites like steak tartare (its signature dish), massive steaks and fish of the day. Order the baked Camembert and, in winter, sit by the fire.
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Le Maquis
If you’re in Butte Montmartre and despairing over the choice of eateries (overpriced with poor service), give the Butte the boot and head the short distance north to rue Caulaincourt and this typical bistro with cuisine traditionelle (traditional cooking). The name refers to the neighbourhood and not the French Resistance or the herbal underbrush of Corsica. The set lunch includes a 25cL pichet of wine.
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Ripaille
Forget the fast-food joints around blvd de Clichy and head a few blocks south to owner/chef Philippe Fauré's year-old restaurant, which serves expertly prepared dishes such as St-Jacques scallops and salmon risotto, on funky, brightly coloured china in an arty, tangerine-toned dining room. The wines are well-chosen, the service warm and personal, and the three-course lunch menu is an absolute steal.
reviewed
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Chez Ramulaud
With its peaceful, retro atmosphere, this old-school brasserie is reminiscent of an established provincial restaurant. The blackboard offerings are both comforting and substantial: daily soups, terrines, coddled eggs with seasonal mushrooms and other French classics.
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Le Réconfort
Unusual for a restaurant in the Marais, ‘The Comfort’ has generous space between tables and is quiet enough to chat without yelling. The kitchen produces very tasty and inventive dishes, including homemade foie gras. For mains, consider king prawns in an aromatic citrus and coconut sauce or souris d’agneau rotie (roast lamb shank). The plat du jour at lunch is €12.
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Le Coin de Verre
This bistro, where you must ring to gain entry, is full of retro character with its dark yellow walls, old posters and fireplace. The speciality here is charcuterie, cheese and, of course, wine; try the generous assiette de cochonnailles (pork platter; €10.50) and, if you can manage it, the clafoutis maison (€4), which is fruit covered with a thick batter and baked until puffy.
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L’Autobus Impérial
This wonderful find just north of the unspeakable Forum des Halles shopping centre boasts a vintage Belle Époque dining room beneath a wonderful glass dome. It’s elegant and the food traditional; try salade de filets de caille braisés au vinaigre de truffle noire (quail salad with black truffle vinegar) and the Parmentier de jambon confit (ham confit in mashed potatoes).
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Bistro Des Dames
This charming little bistro will appeal to lovers of simple, authentic cuisine, with hearty salads, tortillas and glorious charcuterie platters of pâté de campagne and paper-thin Serrano ham. The dining room, which looks out onto the street, is lovely, but in the summer it’s the cool and tranquillity of the small back garden that pulls in the punters.
reviewed