We wish you a year of pure self-indulgent travel, so Paris is always a good idea. And it just so happens that Paris is having a moment. The classics are packed again. The unimaginable has happened with an American is rewriting the culinary rules. Finally Michelin stars are landing on chefs who actually understand that dining should be fun. In addition to your circuit, these are the best restaurants in Paris to put on the rotation now.
The Restaurant: La Petite Chaise
The Neighborhood: 7th Arrondissement
It’s street cred alone to survive wars, revolutions, and even the invention of nouvelle cuisine. So at minimum it makes sense to put this classic on the list of the best restaurants in Paris now. Paris’s oldest restaurant, Petite Chaise has been on the scene since 1680. What’s special, aside from the cuisine, is that the restaurant pays homage to its long heritage. Petite Chaises takes you to the days of the 18th-century bourgeois house. Stone walls, antique woodwork, candlelight and food that is unapologetically traditional French. This isn’t the place for foam or tweezers. It’s where you go for onion soup, beef cheek that falls apart, and chocolate mousse that reminds you why France owns dessert. Colette ate here. Sartre ate here. The Beckhams come every time they’re in town. Petite Chaises is one of those places that makes Paris so special.
What to Order: Onion soup, coq au vin, beef cheek, chocolate mousse
The Restaurant: La Renommée
The Neighborhood: 1st Arrondissement
The hottest restaurant, and certainly toughest reservation in Paris, isn’t run by a top Parisian toque. Instead, it’s helmed by the Americans. Yes, we’ll say it again; an American-run spot is one of the best restaurants in Paris now. The guys behind Au Cheval and 4 Charles Prime Rib took over a historic 1823 storefront and showed Paris how it’s done. The result is La Renommee Paris’s stunner of a space. Think pre-war Paris with antique paintings, leather banquettes, and lighting that makes everyone look like they belong in a Brassaï photograph. But here’s the magic: the service is flawless in a way that only Americans can execute. It also helps that the pepper steak is perfect and if you ask nicely, they’ll make you the off-menu West Village burger. Its French tradition meets American hospitality, and they are onto something big.
What to Order: Pepper steak, Brittany oysters, bone marrow, escargots, chocolate mousse. Ask for the secret burger.
The Restaurant: Langosteria
The Neighborhood: 1st Arrondissement, Cheval Blanc Paris
Langosteria is one of the best restaurants in Paris now because it’s the trifecta of food, scene and service. It’s no surprise that the latter is Italian hospitality at its best. Milan’s legendary seafood restaurant opened on the seventh floor of the Cheval Blanc with Eiffel Tower views that have even the chic Parisians stop to take notice. That’s the point of Langosteria on the list; it’s where the effortlessly beautiful French locals come to gather over plates of fresh crudo and pastas. Langosteria is where Italian soul meets French elegance. When you marry the two, you also get a wine list that has almost 900 bottles of the top French and Italian selections in the city.
What to Order: Yellowtail and gambero rosso crudo, spaghetti with sea urchin, paccheri with seabass, limoncello meringue soufflé
The Restaurant: Baronne
The Neighborhood: 8th Arrondissement
Paris Society’s latest is tucked inside the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild, and it’s already the most glamorous reservation in the city. The dining room of Baronne leans into the drama with 13-meter-high ceilings enough botanical motifs to make you feel like you’re dining in a greenhouse. This is where Paris goes to see and be seen. What’s better is that the food—exceptional grilled meats, whole fish, and vegetables that are the dark horse backs up the hype. The Sunday brunch has become impossible to book but it’s worth it to pull in those connections.
What to Order: Whatever’s on the grill that day, whole grilled fish, the Sunday brunch if you can get in
The Restaurant: Comice
The Neighborhood: 16th Arrondissement
Of all the spots on this list, you know someone is a foodie if they recommend Comice. Comice is one of those restaurants that’s become an insider’s place, as it’s also off the normal neighborhood grid. This Michelin-starred restaurant is run by a Canadian couple who bring natural warmth and cooking that’s brilliant without being precious. Comice’s dining room is modern with vivid blue walls and contemporary art. The wine pairings from sommelier Etheliya Hananova are some of the best in Paris. Chef Noam Gedalof’s food is the kind that makes everyone at the table go quiet for a moment. Butter-poached lobster, perfectly aged beef, a scallop dish with citrus that’s somehow both delicate and powerful. This is the restaurant insiders recommend when friends ask for somewhere special that won’t require a second mortgage.
What to Order: The set menu with wine pairings. Trust the chefs—they’ve got this.
