Paris

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Eating and drinking

Somehow, in the past few years, Paris has become the underachiever of European dining. Spain pushes the culinary boundaries, London sets the standard for cool and Italians understand the sandwich in a way that the French, with their jambon-beurre, never will.

That said, Paris restaurants – perhaps in response to competition from elsewhere – are not standing still. Increasingly, young chefs (and older ones, such as Joël Robuchon with his Atelier or Alain Senderens of Senderens; are rejecting the rigid, hierarchical system that was once the only road to success. They are opening their own bistros, inventing their own styles, choosing their own tableware and decor, and even encouraging kitchen staff to create their own restaurants in turn. Perhaps for the first time, Paris chefs feel free to do their own thing – and their contentment shows in the food.

 

The most notable example is Yves Camdeborde, who sold his landmark bistro La Régalade to a promising young chef and now runs a chic St-Germain-des-Prés hotel with a low-key restaurant, Le Comptoir. Even haute cuisine chefs are daring to have fun: at lofty hotel restaurant Les Ambassadeurs, Jean-François Piège invents desserts inspired by childhood sweets; Alain Ducasse has also been indulging his soft spot for marshmallows. Yes, it’s possible to eat badly in Paris, as in any world capital – but this is still a city that worships food, as proved by its 90 or so markets and hundreds of specialist produce shops.

 

The new generation of bistro chefs has been making the most of this plethora of ingredients, offering regularly changing, market-inspired menus that let them keep prices reasonable – though the days of the €10 three-course lunch are well and truly over. Many of the best are listed in this guide, and while it can be hard to secure a last-minute reservation for dinner, they’re usually quieter at lunchtimes. Note that the hastily scribbled blackboard menus typical of these bistros rarely come with English translations, unless you’re lucky enough to be served by a bilingual waiter.

 

For all the ups and downs, something about the world’s original gastronomic capital keeps people coming back in search of the bistro that hasn’t changed its menu in decades, the brasserie where oyster-slurping is really just an excuse to indulge in some of the world’s finest people-watching, and the haute cuisine temple where food becomes art. Thankfully, only the most unprepared visitors leave without having experienced a meal that justifies the city’s high culinary reputation. The city’s gorgeous brasseries, including Bofinger in the Bastille, were mostly built during the 19th century as the booming French capital struggled to feed growing crowds of tourists and office workers. The haute cuisine tradition also blossomed during the Belle Epoque, as Paris’ newly wealthy bourgeoisie thrilled to elaborate meals of luxurious food served in lavish settings. Taillevent is a perfect example of this tradition in terms of setting, service and impeccable haute cuisine cooking.

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