Paris's food and drink scene operates on a different level as a city of 2.1 million people with over 40,000 restaurants, bars, and cafés, including Michelin-star restaurants and nine-table neighborhood bistros. The challenge isn't finding good food in Paris. It's knowing where to begin.
The Paris Café
The Parisian café is not a coffee shop. It is where people read newspapers, have arguments, wait for friends, and spend three hours over two espressos. The café culture is defined by the zinc bar, the wicker chairs facing the street (Parisians sit facing outward to watch the world), the garçon who will not rush you, and the assumption that your time is your own.
- Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots (Saint-Germain): While legendarily overpriced, they are historically priceless.
- Café de la Paix (9th): Grand Opéra café-restaurant with Belle Époque interior has tourists, yes, but the pastries and the room are extraordinary.
- A local zinc bar anywhere: Find one in your neighborhood, order a café allongé (lungo), stand at the bar for 5 minutes. That's Paris.
Boulangeries
The best bread in the world is baked in Paris every morning. The baguette de tradition is made by law with flour, water, salt, and yeast only and carries a different taste between bakeries, and Parisians will walk 10 minutes past a closer bakery to get one from their trusted source.
- Du Pain et des Idées (10th): Often listed as Paris's finest with naturally leavened breads, extraordinary croissants, and the legendary pastry escargots (swirled pastries with pistachio or chocolate)
- Maison Landemaine (multiple locations): Consistently excellent city-wide
- Sébastien Gaudard (1st): Classic French pastry in a beautiful shop near the Tuileries
Classic Paris Bistros
The Parisian bistro at its best has checked tablecloths, handwritten menus on a chalkboard, a tightly edited selection of classics and is one of the greatest dining experiences anywhere in the world. What to order:
- Steak-frites with béarnaise: Order saignant (rare) for the full experience.
- Oeuf mayo: Hard-boiled eggs with hand-made mayonnaise.
- Salade Lyonnaise: Frisée lettuce, lardons, croutons, poached egg, and vinaigrette.
- Canard confit: Duck leg slow-cooked in its own fat, served with Sarladaise potatoes.
- Crème brûlée or tarte Tatin to finish.
Recommended bistros: Le Repaire de Cartouche (11th), Bistrot Paul Bert (11th), Chez l'Ami Jean (7th, Basque-inflected French cooking), Au Passage (11th, natural wine and small plates).
Brasseries
The great Paris brasseries are Alsatian-inspired, open from breakfast to midnight, and are a separate experience from the bistro. They have high ceilings, mirrored walls, waiters in long white aprons, and towers of fresh shellfish at the entrance.
- La Coupole (14th, Montparnasse): Paris's most famous brasserie with 450 covers, Art Deco mural columns, the oyster bar, and a tradition intact since 1927.
- Brasserie Lipp (Saint-Germain): Where French politicians, publishers, and intellectuals have eaten for 140 years.
- Bofinger (4th, Marais): Beautiful stained-glass dome, excellent seafood, and an Art Nouveau interior.
Fine Dining in Paris
Paris contains more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other city except Tokyo. The three-star restaurants include Guy Savoy, Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée, Pierre Gagnaire, and Kei and are among the highest expressions of contemporary French cuisine. The reservations at these restaurants open 2–3 months in advance and fill within hours.
Mid-level (one and two-star) options accessible on shorter notice:
- Septime (11th): They exemplify modern Parisian bistronomie with natural wine, seasonal creativity, and no tablecloths. Reserve 6–8 weeks ahead.
- Frenchie (2nd): Gregory Marchand's compact restaurant that helped define the neo-bistro movement. They now take online reservations.
- Le Grand Véfour (1st, under the Palais-Royal arcades): Two Michelin stars in a room that has been serving since 1784.
Natural Wine
Paris has become the world capital of the natural wine movement with low-intervention winemaking, minimal sulfites, orange wines, and pét-nats. The best wine bars in Paris are built around these bottles:
- Septime La Cave (11th): The wine shop arm of Septime has bottles from €12 and natural wine expertise without snobbery
- Le Verre Volé (10th, Canal Saint-Martin): The pioneer with small bottles, better food than the size suggests, and a legendary wine list
- Aux Deux Amis (11th): Zinc bar, Basque charcuterie, natural wine, and cigarette smoke outside... pure Paris
- La Quincave (6th): Excellent cave à manger and well-placed for Left Bank exploration
Cocktail Bars
- Candelaria (3rd): Taqueria front, and a speakeasy bar behind the fridge
- Little Red Door (3rd): Consistently ranked among Europe's Best Bars with creative, thoughtful, and beautifully made drinks in an intimate Marais basement
- Bar Hemingway at the Ritz (1st): The legendary bar where Hemingway allegedly "liberated" after the Allied entry into Paris.
- Bisou (10th): Natural wine cocktails in a relaxed Canal Saint-Martin setting
Paris Nightlife
Paris's club scene operates later than most European cities and things don't heat up until 1–2am and often run to 6–7am.
- Rex Club (2nd): A techno club open for 30+ years. No photos on the dancefloor.
- Le Glazart (19th): A warehouse club on the périphérique with electronic music genres
- Concrete (12th, on a barge near Bercy): Sunday morning parties that get started at 6am, and runs through Sunday afternoon.
- Social Club (2nd): Three floors, diverse music, and accessible to newcomers
- Silencio (2nd, David Lynch's members club): Members-only until midnight, then open to all