The 50 best restaurants in Paris: International
© Time Out / Laurie Grosset
The city may be proud of its home grown culinary traditions, but Paris has also embraced some of the finest cooking from around the world – world-class sushi chefs, hotly competitive falafel joints, European and South American cuisine and more has all made its way into our top 50.
The international restaurants
Caffé dei Cioppi
Lightning struck when this minuscule Italian trattoria, run by Fabrizio and Federica Mancioppi, opened three years ago. And it still wows today thanks to outstanding dishes like sausage and red wine risotto, garlicky shellfish linguine, Italian charcuterie, tangy Sicilian lasagnes, creamy burrata and sbrisolona – almond biscuits dipped in mascarpone cream (don’t tell the chef, but they taste good when dunked in red wine too!). Get there early if you want a table; or be prepared to queue. The restaurant (which spills into the narrow passage in the summer months) has space for just 20 people...
- 159 rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, 11e
Candelaria
This is one of Time Out's 100 best bars in Paris. Click here to see the full list. Has Paris woken up to the temptations of the taco? Apparently so, thanks to this taqueria, with its almost totally expat clientele (English and American rather than Mexican). The tiny white room with its open kitchen, a few stools and communal tables doesn’t give a hint of the hip bar behind, where the neighbourhood’s youth come to sip margaritas or the house specials, like the guêpe verte [green wasp] (tequila, lime, pepper, cucumber, spices and agave syrup). On the food front...
- 52 rue de Saintonge, 3e
Délices de Shandong
If there’s no shortage of Chinese restaurants in Paris, those dedicated to specific regions are few and far between. But this canteen with its red Formica tables gives pride of place to the cooking of Shandong, a province south of Peking with a particularly rich gastronomic tradition. It’s hard to choose badly here, as long as you appreciate offal – Shandong’s cooks positively invented the ‘nose to tail’ concept.We started with peanuts and celery (€4), a fresh, crunchy dish typical of the region. Then, although perfectly tender, the five spice beef (€8) was far less exciting than the spiced chicken hearts, livers and gizzards...
- 88 boulevard de l'Hôpital, 13e
Isami
One of the best sushi restaurants in Paris is tucked away on the bank of the Seine by the Ile Saint Louis. Isami's small dining room is simply decorated but for the rows of Japanses earthenware stacked behind the bar like a vast library, and in front of them the Itamae (master sushi chef) works away in a frenzy. He guts the fish with an expert hand and rolls the sticky rice and other ingredients in his palm with incredible precision, a constant movement, endlessly repeated in pursuit of perfection. It’s well worth watching during the time it can take to bring your order. When it does arrive in a large terracotta vessel, it's hard to know where to begin...
- 4 quai d'Orléans, 4e
L'As du Fallafel
Walk down rue des Rosiers any day of the week, and you will easily spot L’As du Fallafel thanks to the long queue in front of its green facade, with staff running up and down scribbling orders for the take-away window. 'Often imitated, never equalled' is the slogan here, and few who have tried other falafel joints along this street would dare to argue.Eating in the dining room is only a marginally less casual experience than munching this messy sandwich on the street, but it’s worth paying a little extra for the plastic plate and unique atmosphere. One one side, cooks work at lightning speed, dipping the chick pea balls in the fryer and filling pita breads to bursting...
- 34 rue des Rosiers, 4e
La Pulpéria
The Meat at La Pulpéria comes with a capital M, served in a noisy, welcoming little dining room and whipped up in white-tiled kitchen by talented Argentinean chef Fernando Di Tomaso and his South American team. The menu changes daily, but on our visit it all began with crunchy calf’s sweetbreads accompanied by a few girolles mushrooms and a cep sauce, and a pretty cod ceviche surrounded with fine slices of sweet potato, avocado purée and a splash of lemon juice. Each flavour sung out, while perfectly complementing the others on the plate. Then the mains (vegetarians look away now)...
- 11 rue Richard Lenoir, 11e
L'Orient d'Or
For decades, Chinese restaurants in Paris have toned down their cuisine to suit delicate French palates, but lately this has been changing thanks to a handful of regional restaurants that make no compromises on ingredients. Probably none is as courageous in confronting the French fear of chili as L’Orient d’Or, run by a young chef from Hunan province. The birthplace of Chairman Mao, this revolutionary region is also home to one of the country’s boldest cuisines – even more so than Sichuan with its tongue-tingling peppercorns. Here the hot red chili is king, often appearing by the dozen in a dish...
- 22 rue de Trevise, 9e
Shu
To get into Shu, you have to get in through the rustic old cellar door, bending over to get down the first series of steps. But once inside this mysterious cavern, the décor transforms into an expert mix of contemporary chic, enormous old beams that are characteristic of the centre of Paris, and Japanese effects, of which the most obvious example is the layout of the bar, which punters sit around on low, thick cushions.The restaurant specialises in kushi-agué – a sort of Japanese kebab, with different ingredients breaded and fired on sticks. Each one is different and served with great care and three seasonings...
- 8 rue Suger, 6e
Yam'Tcha
Yam’Tcha is indisputably one of our favourite restaurants in Paris, and even more so since its recent renovation, which has made the space lighter and brighter. An intimate dining room decorated with tasteful Asian accents, a calm atmosphere, a friendly welcome and highly experienced chefs all add up to a practically perfect place to eat.Adeline Grattard, co-owner with her husband Chiwah (the tea guru), is in her element here. Drawing on her long experience in Asia, she creates exotic dishes full of subtle textures and flavours which are, at times, astonishing (scallops with peppers and black soya), even disconcerting...
- 4 rue Sauval, 1e
ZenZoo
For an unforgettably unique tea-time snack head to Zenzoo, where you can get green tea cheesecake or an excellent cake made of red bean paste. While you’re getting your (light) sugar fix, knock back a carton of bubble tea, the iced tea with tapioca balls that’s all the rage among Japanese teenagers – hot or cold, with or without milk, with almond, sesame or kumquat, it's oddly fun and refreshing. For main meals, the Taiwanese cooking is simple but full of flavour, cooked with great care. The set menu is €14 (€17 with a dessert, €10 for the lunchtime special), with a choice of...
- 13 rue Chabanais, 2e
