Paris
Paris
This is your ultimate guide to the best Paris restaurants, bars and shops, with our hand picked recommendations throughout the city.
DÉVIANT
Déviant might just be our favourite new wine bar in Paris. From the same team as Vivant, which is just a couple of doors down, Déviant is about as fun as a wine bar can be. It opens out right on to the street (there’s heaters for when it’s cold), it’s standing room only, and there’s music (albeit questionable music) pumping out the speakers. Add to this a brilliant selection of natural wines, friendly staff, and a selection of banging little small plates cooked from the small open kitchen and you’ve got the whole package. You can stop in for a quick wine or bed in for the night. Can someone do this in London please!
MAISON SOTA
One of the big draws of Clown Bar was the chef Sota Atsumi, who was cooking some incredible dishes when he was there. He left Clown Bar in 2018 and while it’s still a great place to visit, Paris foodies have been flocking to the chef’s solo venture, Maison. It’s one of the hottest places in Paris at the moment and it’s easy to see why. Don’t worry if you can’t score a reservation – we managed to score a walk in at the chef’s counter by turning up just before 2pm on a mid week lunchtime. Lunchtime is a great time to visit as you’ll also be able to take advantage of the €55 lunch menu which is a relative bargain for the level of cooking. Every dish is a knockout, from the early snacks like the beetroot tart to the fresh raw tuna, and the hake with foie gras. A truly special spot that should definitely be high on your hit list.
BILLILI
Les Arlots is one of our favourite Paris restaurants and the same team have opened a new wine bar called Billili right next door. It’s a popular spot with no reservations so make sure you get there early if you want to stand a chance of getting in. There’s a few rickety tables around the room which quickly fill up, before the rest of the room get’s packed with people cramming up to the bar. It’s a buzzing spot, with brilliant wines that start at €6 a glass. Then there’s the short menu of French wine bar classics – think cheese, charcuterie, pate en croute, and terrine. We love Billili and as it’s right next to the Gare du Nord it’s the perfect place to spend your last couple of hours in Paris if you’re getting a late Eurostar home.
SEPTIME
Septime is a fantastic example of modern French cooking; Bertrand Grébaut’s neo-bistro tasting menus leave no doubt as to why it’s considered one of the city’s best. Not only does it have a Michelin star, it’s also no.35 on the World’s 50 Best list, so booking well ahead is a must.
Racines is worth visiting for the setting alone, in the Passage des Panoramas, the oldest covered walkway in Paris. It’s a tiny, ramshackle little place with old wooden furniture and a short daily menu written up on a chalk board. The food is seriously on point, drawing influence from the chef’s native Sardinia as well as France – expect to find fresh pasta, alongside steak tartare and excellent wines. There’s a great set lunch menu too.
LA BUVETTE
La Buvette is a teeny tiny one bar, but one we always return to when we’re in Paris. There are around four tables, plus a bit of standing room at the little zinc topped bar, and the interiors are pleasingly ramshackle. It’s got a brilliant vibe, a fantastic selection of natural wines that you can try for 6 or 7 euros a glass, and a short but punchy food menu. Check out the Andouille smoked sausage made in house and the white beans alongside a glass of crisp white wine.
Our favourite boulangerie in Paris, The French Bastards now has a few locations around town. There’s incredible pastries, bread, hot chocolate, ice cream cookie sandwiches and everything in between. Look out for signatures like the chocolate babka cruffin, and regular special cakes and seasonal goods.
Paris is not a city short of boulangeries but another standout option worth seeking out is Mamiche. They have seriously incredible seasonal doughnuts stuffed with the likes of cream and apricot, plus sandwiches, sourdough bread, babka, croissants and a whole lot more. Everything is made 100% in house in small batches so if you’ve got your eye on something in particular, get down there early before it sells out.
CHEVAL D'OR
From the outside, Cheval D’or (Golden Horse) looks like an average Chinese takeaway, with the bright lit signage of its previous occupant left unchanged. Inside however, it’s all chic modern Paris, a buzzing dining room with bare concrete walls, kitchen counter seats and plain wooden tables dotted around the room. It’s one of Paris’ hottest new restaurants, bringing together the all-star team of Taku Sekine (Dersou) and Florent Ciccoli (Jones, Café du Coin). The food can loosely be described as modern Asian, with a few French influences thrown in for good measure. The pork noodles and pork rice are must orders, as well as the deep fried cinnamon bao buns for dessert. Counter seats are saved for walk-ins so if you don’t have a reservation, get there early to snag one of these!
EARLY JUNE
Early June is an uber-cool wine bar in Paris’ 10th arrondissement that’s extremely popular – you may have a hard time nabbing a table, but it’ll be worth it if you do. They’re walk-in only unless you’re in a group of four or more, in which case you can have a look at the site for booking availability. Alongside their wine offering, which features plenty of great natural options, Early June hosts a range of travelling chefs who take care of the food menu. Check out their Insta to stay up to date on who’s currently manning the kitchen.
CLOWN BAR
If you can manage to get a reservation here you’ll be eating at one of Paris’ most exciting restaurants. Situated next to the beautiful Cirque d’Hiver (which still operates as a circus) Clown Bar is always rammed with chefs, food critics, and just anyone lucky enough to get a spot. It’s open on Sundays too.
LES ARLOTS
If you’re looking for that classic hidden romantic bistro in Paris then Les Arlots is it. It’s tiny, the food is utterly French but not overly heavy, and it’s good value too.
We wouldn’t normally recommend you eating at a Spanish restaurant in Paris, but we like the vibe of Amagat a lot, so we’ll make an exception. Located in an old industrial building down a cobbled alley near Père Lachaise cemetery, it feels a bit like the Parisian Hackney Wick on entry; inside, there’s an open kitchen with some counter seating plus tables spread across a smart dining room, which gets regularly packed out with locals (make sure you book ahead). On the menu there’s classic tapas dishes given subtle twists like chorizo croquettes, patatas bravas (made with shredded potatoes), and tortilla with XO sauce, plus larger dishes like grilled octopus with aioli and Iberico presa marinated in gochujang and honey. It’s loud, fun, and great for a late weekend dinner in Paris, especially if there’s a group of you.
CLAMATO
Bertrand Grébaut’s seafood-centric restaurant is one of Paris’ best and most fun. It’s also a great shout if you’ve eaten too much steak and foie gras elsewhere and need a break from the meat.
AUX DEUX AMIS
In Paris even ‘dive bars’ have natural wines and excellent food. Aux Deux Amis is rough and ready but draws a crowd of Parisian hipsters who come to start or end a night here. Don’t expect to get a table but squeeze yourself in where you can, balance some cheese and charcuterie on any surface and you’ll feel like a true local in no time.
This weekday lunchtime-only deli is the place to come for epic-sized hipster sandwiches – because as their Instagram says (perhaps a bit too pleadingly) “COOL KIDS EAT SANDWICHES”. Absolutely anyone can appreciate these beasts however; we’re talking big baguettes like ‘The Notorious Chicken’, stuffed with fried chicken, pickles, coleslaw, pecorino and spicy mayo, and the ‘Bonjour Sarra’ with turkey, figs, mustard and a triple loading of cheddar. Best combined with an afternoon nap.
DERSOU
Asian flavours and French ingredients are the order of the day at Dersou, a very cool spot that offers matching cocktails alongside the tasting menu. Expect hot and sour beef soup, lamb fat croquettes and breaded mackerel.
Natural wine and ice cream are together at last at Folderol, a brilliantly Parisian creation. Grab a bottle of wine to drink in store or take away or get a freshly churned ice cream, with flavours like fig & hibiscus and peanut choc swirl on offer. Or, do the sensible thing and have some wine and ice cream together. Open until 11pm, Folderol is a brilliant post dinner spot.
LA BISTROT PAUL BERT
It’s classic French and La Bistrot Paul Bert have plenty of meat at this local favourite, which brings in the visiting foodie lovers by the bucket load. Why? because it’s great, authentic hearty food. It feels very much like it has been around for donkey years, but in fact opened in 2000. Steak and Chips is a must and if you don’t see a table free, they might be able to just pull one out of thin air.
CANDELARIA
Candelaria is in the top 50 bars in the world. Its theme is based around tequila and mezcal and a speakeasy in every sense. It’s located around the corner from Little Red Door, and you have to find it through a 24 hour taco shop, just push the door at the back and wonder through…bloody great isn’t it? Oh and the tacos are a must too.
THE HOXTON PARIS
Set in an 18th Century Hotel Particular, with many of the original features still intact, this glamorous addition to The Hoxton family has 172 bedrooms, two courtyards, a modern French brasserie, Jacques Bar, an atmospheric lobby, and vaulted meeting and event space. But the best thing about this place is the design – every nook and cranny has been perfectly curated. There’s a 300 year old spiral staircase, original iron columns, tiles from the 18th Century and exposed timber beams in some of the 4th-floor bedrooms. Our fave spot right now? That’ll be Jacques bar with floral wallpaper, tasselled lamps, fluted sofas and palms…
Maison Delano is a very luxurious new five-star luxury hotel in an 18th century mansion in the swanky 8th Arrondissement. There’s 56 classically-styled suites, plus a restaurant from Michelin-starred Spanish chef Dani Garcia.
MAMA SHELTER EAST
Mama Shelter East is a fab choice if you’re after a hotel that’s affordable and a bit eccentric. Located in the very cool 20th arrondissement, MSE is sandwiched between the famous Père Lachaise Cemetery (burial place of Édith Piaf and Frédéric Chopin) and artists’ studios. If you don’t want to travel too far out of your room for a drink and bite to eat, there’s a rooftop bar and in-house restaurant and pizzeria. Rooms are simple but stylish – an ideal spot to crash after a day of exploring the city, just remember to bring your own toiletries as they aren’t provided here.