Restaurants

Latin quarter | The Marais and eastern Paris | St Germain and Montparnasse Tuilleries and Opéra | Pigalle and Montmartre | Champs-Elysées

Restaurant du Palais Royal

Tuilleries, Louvre and Opéra
L’Ardoise
This plain-looking bistro attracts a fair number of foreigners given its location near place Vendôme and early opening hours, but the food proves their judgement to be spot-on. Chef Pierre Jay doesn’t skimp on quality ingredients in dishes such as shellfish papillote or chicken in parmesan cream sauce, making his €33 set menu a bargain.
L’Ardoise, 28 rue du Mont-Thabor, 1st (00 33 1 42 96 28 18) Métro Concorde. Meal for two with wine and service: around €85.

La Bourse ou la Vie
BEST FOR STEAK-FRITES
Not many cafés bother to whip up a good steak-frites any more, which is what makes this yellow-and-red bistro near the stock exchange such a revelation. Skilfully seared beef (you choose your cut) is doused with potent pepper sauce and served with suet-fried frites – high-cholesterol heaven. There is little else on the menu, so don’t go with a vegetarian.
La Bourse ou la Vie, 12 rue Vivienne, 2nd (00 33 1 42 60 08 83) Métro Bourse. Meal for two with wine and service: around €80.

Higuma
BUDGET JAPANESE NOODLES
There are many places to satisfy a Japanese noodle craving in rue Ste-Anne, but Higuma stands out thanks to the non-stop tossing and swirling of woks over the big flames in its open kitchen. A sink-sized bowl of miso ramen with a plate of gyoza dumplings will set you back €10, or dig into yakisoba generously studded with squid, meat and vegetables.
Higuma, 32 bis, rue Ste-Anne, 1st (00 33 1 47 03 38 59) Métro Pyramides. Meal for two with wine and service: around €50. Feature continues

Racine
WINE BAR
Wine bars are increasingly the best places to eat well and cheaply in Paris, as proved by the wild popularity of this recently opened spot in a slightly run-down nineteenth-century arcade. Taste a vin naturel – unsulphured, unfiltered, hand-harvested wine – alongside hearty dishes such as lamb stew on potato purée.
Racine, 8 passage des Panoramas, 2nd (00 33 1 40 13 06 41) Métro Bonne Nouvelle. Meal for two with wine and service: around €80.

Restaurant du Palais Royal
Neither too modern nor too old-fashioned, Restaurant du Palais-Royal matches the elegance of the surrounding gardens. In summer you can dine under the arcades on dishes such as lobster risotto with squid ink or a sophisticated take on steak-frites. Don’t miss the baba au rhum, doused with its own little bottle.
Restaurant du Palais Royal, 110 galerie de Valois, 1st (00 33 1 40 20 00 27/ www.restaurantdupalaisroyal.com) Métro Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre. Meal for two with wine and service: around €140.

Willi’s Wine Bar
Open since 1980, the British-run Willi’s is more of a bistro than a wine bar, serving contemporary French cooking of unflagging quality. The long oak bar at the front is great for a solo meal or a glass of wine from a list that reveals a penchant for the Rhône Valley.
Willi’s Wine Bar, 13 rue des Petits-Champs, 1st (00 33 1 42 61 05 09/www.williswinebar.com) Métro Bourse or Pyramides. Meal for two with wine and service: around €100.

Latin quarter | The Marais and eastern Paris | St Germain and Montparnasse Tuilleries and Opéra | Pigalle and Montmartre | Champs-Elysées