Where to Eat & Drink in Paris

Parisian cuisine is second to none, so ensure you don’t miss out on the best places to eat in Paris by planning your culinary adventures before you travel. Whether it’s Michelin-starred banquets or simple, buttery pastries you seek, if you hit these top Paris restaurants, you won’t be disappointed. And, in between all the eating, you’ll be requiring champagne; keep reading to discover the best bars in Paris, too.

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Where to Eat & Drink in Paris

Best Paris Restaurants

For Delicious Seasonal Cuisine: La Demeure Montaigne

Chef Grégory Réjou’s impressive, haute cuisine pedigree fuses with the simple, seasonal cooking movement gripping Paris’s hippest districts. The result is a staggeringly delicious and plugged-in menu of Brittany sea bream carpaccio, roasted scallops from Normandy, and smoked-celery stuffed-pigeon. Delicious. By Rosalyn Wikeley. lademeuremontaigne.com

For a Michelin-Starred Experience: L’Abeille at Shangri-La

L’Abeille at Shangri-La, photo by Roberta Valerio

In a city where Michelin stars are in abundance, one is sometimes simply not enough. L’Abeille, (which takes its name from the Napoleonic bee motif,) has been awarded two under chef Christophe Moret’s leadership for his modern, relaxed gastronomic style. Moret moved to Shangri-La from Alain Ducasse’s Plaza Athenee in 2015, and overhauled the hotel’s culinary offerings, giving the menus a refreshingly clean update, where hero ingredients take centre-stage. Unlike much of Paris’ fine dining scene, vegetables take centre stage in many of Moret’s dishes, an indicator that this chef is moving with the times rather than remaining tied to France’s gourmet traditions. The spider crab (served warm with cool cucumber and crunchy almonds) and John Dory (with crisp celtuce lettuce and baeri caviar) are a must for seafood lovers, while the strawberry and beetroot pudding is worth saving space for (even if you’ve indulged in the tasting menu). Despite the ‘chic’ dresscode, formal setting and immaculate service, there’s nothing stuffy about the L’Abeille experience – we defy you to find a friendlier sommelier or a more flawless Parisian dining experience. shangri-la.com

For Extraordinary Pastry: Le Meurice

French pastry chef Cédric Grolet of the Dorchester Collection’s Le Meurice was named ‘The World’s Best Pastry Chef’ at The World’s 50 Best Restaurant Ceremony 2018. Pay a visit to his pastry boutique at the exclusive hotel and check out one of the unique desserts, such as his signature trompe-l’œil sculpted fruits. Oui, s’il vous plaît. dorchestercollection.com

For Something Meatier: Beefbar

Beefbar’s growing herd of restaurants has just arrived in Paris, satisfying carnivorous desires in its art nouveau interiors, restored under the scrupulous gaze of architects Humbert & Poyet. What to eat? Why, beef, of course. beefbar.com

For a Satisfying Tasting Menu: Le Clarence

Highlights of the seven-course tasting menu include the Sea Bass, completely encrusted in thick black sea salt and served with mushroom ravioli and black truffles and the Roe dear, cooked to perfection and accompanied by bearnaise sauce, gratin dauphinoise, and artichoke and truffles. Expect the likes of lemon cream and coriander jelly, apple tatin, chocolate tart, chocolate soufflé and homemade vanilla ice-cream for pudding, if you still have room. le-clarence.paris

For High Energy Music: Le Piaf

Much like London, Paris is seeing a cabaret and music hall renaissance. Nowhere does high-octane, high-energy sequinned soirée quite like the French capital, and while Le Piaf has been around for years, its suddenly-in-vogue supper-scotch-and-song formula has made it one of the trickiest tables to pin down in the city. By Rosalyn Wikeley. lepiaf-restaurant.com

For In-Room Dining: Hotel Fauchon

You’d expect nothing less from the legendary Fauchon brand, but Fachon L’Hotel has reimagined the hotel mini bar experience with their Gourmet Bar. Included in your room price, a beautiful Sasha Lakic custom-designed pink armoire will be customised and stocked before your arrival with gourmet sweet and savoury treats, plus complimentary Fauchon champagne refilled every day. Oui, s’il vous plait. fauchon.com

For A Deliciously Sustainable Bite: Early June

This restaurant’s earthy, sustainable ethos is reflected in its original brick and stripped-back interiors. Locally sourced, seasonal plates of Spanish tapas are interrupted by the odd Japanese riff: roasted peppers, steak tartare and then pollock sashimi, all washed down with civilly priced organic wine from Basque reds to crispy Loire Valley whites. By Rosalyn Wikeley. early-june.fr

Best Bars in Paris 2022

For A Cocktail Fueled Party: Dirty Dick

When it comes to a wild night out in Paris, Pigalle is the district to know. All the action takes place on Rue Frochot, where you can hop from bar to bar until the early hours, or even the middle of the following day if you really don’t feel like coming up for air. Start your night (before the taste buds become less responsive) at Dirty Dick, an unlikely tiki haven in the middle of the city, where the mixologists are amongst the best in the city. Hours of prep go into the ingredients, with six homemade juices and over a dozen syrups made in house, which really pays off in the drinks. Don’t be intimidated by the menu; just name your favourite liquor and allow the staff (who serve up their tiki punches with a side of playful rock attitude) to serve up your perfect drink. facebook.com/dirtydickparis

For Poolside Drinks: Molitor Rooftop

Hotel Molitor Paris, photo by Ludwig Favre

Best-known for its iconic outdoor pool, the five-star Molitor hotel has a stunning open-air roof-terrace and restaurant, perfect for alfresco drinks if you’re looking for something a bit different in the city of love. This year marks the hotel’s 90th anniversary, marking almost a century of being a landmark in the 16th Arrondisement. Cocktails are served up alongside stunning views across the city with the Eiffel Tower on the horizon, plus the famous Art Deco outdoor pool. mltr.fr

For A Classic Parisian Experience: Bisou

The Instagram set flock to Bisou in droves for the millennial pink walls and photogenic cocktails in trendy Le Marais. With classic Parisian aloofness the bartender will decide what drink suits you best and you will enjoy it. bar-bisou.fr

For The Best Cocktails: Experimental Cocktail Club

Over a decade since it shook up the cocktail scene in Paris, the Experimental Cocktail Club is still the benchmark for Parisian mixologists. The menu of 12 cocktails is merely a suggestion, feel free to challenge the staff to create something new based on your tastes – it’s sort of the point here. experimentalgroup.com

Featured image: A Parisian cafe (c) Behzad Ghaffarian