Family-friendly restaurants and cafés

This well-loved address is frequented by trendy locals, shoppers hunting down a particular type of cheese and tourists who've managed to make it this far from the Eiffel Tower. Le Café du Marché really is a hub of neighbourhood activity. Its pichets of decent house plonk always go down a treat, and mention must be made of the food - such as the huge house salad featuring lashings of foie gras and parma ham.

With its modern interior of pale wood and choice of 15 artisanal ciders, this outpost of a restaurant in Cancale, Brittany, is a world away from the average crêperie. Perhaps because it’s owned by a Breton who once lived in Japan. For the complete faux-seaside experience, you might start with a plate of creuse oysters from Cancale before indulging in an inventive buckwheat galette such as the Cancalaise, made with potato, smoked herring from Brittany and herring roe or the Charentaise with goats cheese, honey and salad. All ingredients are of high quality – such as Valrhona chocolate with 70% cocoa solids, Guéméné andouille sausage and seaweed and yuzu Bordier butter. One to keep in mind for Sundays, when many other restaurants in the Marais are shut. Make sure to call ahead to book. This restaurant serves one of Time Out's 50 best dishes in Paris. Click here to see the full list.

Angelina is home to Paris's most lip-smackingly scrumptious desserts - all served in the faded grandeur of a belle époque salon just steps from the Louvre. The hot chocolate is pure decadence; try the speciality 'African', a velvety potion so thick that you need a spoon to consume it. Epicurean delights include the Mont Blanc dessert, a ball of meringue covered in whipped cream and sweet chestnut, and, for those with a waistline to watch, a brand new sugar- and butter-free brioche aux fruits rouges. The place heaves at weekends, so be prepared to queue.

Continually hailed as the best ice cream in Paris, you can recognise the Berthillon ice-cream parlour and tearoom from the queues of people outside, except (somewhat strangely) in summer when the shop is closed! The flavours change throughout the seasons, but if it’s available don’t miss the strawberry sorbet, or the bitter chocolate sorbet made without and dairy products. In winter Berthillon offers delicious hot chocolate, made from melted chocolate and cream, and – perhaps even naughtier – a chocolate ‘affogato’ (a ball of vanilla ice-cream, served in a white porcelain mug with hot chocolate poured on top and topped with praline cream). Don't be put off by the queues - they're rarely for the tearoom itself.

A popular weekday lunch spot, Label Ferme is full of good things. Old crates on the walls hold salamis, jars of jam, fruit juices and fresh vegetables, and at the sandwich counter there are delicious trays of meats, cheeses and more for you to choose for your salad or sandwich (around €7 to €10 with a drink). There are a few tables, but it’s really about a quick takeaway lunch or buying cooking supplies. Further decoration comes from photos of the farmers behind the products, as Label Ferme’s philosophy is to make ‘fast’ food from quality ingredients. The owners have scoured the Savoie region and beyond to source homemade produce and promote sustainable agriculture practices. It’s not all organic or (eco)certified, but the origin of each product matters.

Just a few steps from Alésia metro station is Les Saveurs du Sichuan, a temple to the traditional dishes and flavours of China’s Sichuan region. The luxe décor is a contrast the wallet-friendly prices: €16 for a three-course lunch, including vegetarian spring rolls and Sichuanese beef ragu. For those who want to order à la carte, there are other regional specialities like mapo tofu (€13), Sichuan pepper prawns (€18.50) and steamed fish straight from the market. .

At Bac à Glaces, ice cream maker extraordinaire Sylvain Roël wows customers with consistently delicious ice creams and sorbets – all home made with only the choicest ingredients and no artificial colourings. Popular flavours include Créole (rum and raisin), chestnut, pineapple and coconut. Roël particularly likes playing with textures, adding pieces of fruit to his sorbets and chunks of chocolate or nuts to his ice creams. Sweet-toothed dieters are in for a particular treat here with a reduced sugar range that includes velvety strawberry, mango and blackcurrant sorbets. And liqueur lovers can get their fix too, with three tangy sorbets – cherry, raspberry and pear – infused with Eau-de-vie.

This former family ice cream parlour, founded in 1947, was bought in 2008 and converted into a salon de thé. Fortunately, the new owners keep the old Raimo spirit alive by making delicious ice creams and sorbets (according to traditional 19th century recipes) from only natural, seasonal ingredients. As well as time-honoured varieties like vanilla, praline or blackcurrant, there are quirkier varieties like orange flower and violet; if you really can’t make up your mind, choose the ‘palette de couleurs Raimo’, which lets you try eight different flavoured scoops.

You’ll be hard-pushed to find thicker, creamier ice cream than at Martine Lambert’s parlour on Rue Cler, where Normandy lait cru (unpasteurised milk) and crème fraîche are used in most of her recipes. Her sorbets are top-notch too: since she opened her first boutique in Deauville in 1975, Lambert has selected the best fruits from around the world to ensure that her flavours are as intense and fruity as possible. Even the nougat, preserved oranges and caramel are made on site to ensure the best quality. If you’re planning a dinner party, check out her ‘Créations’ range, which includes macaroons filled with sorbet and an extravagant ‘Omelette Norvegienne’ (meringue filled with sorbet on a layer of buttery biscuit) to share.

Forget French glace, Italian gelati and British Mr Whippy: every self-respecting Parisian nowadays eats Argentinean helado – preferably from luxury fast food store Clasico Argentino. Founded by Argentineans Enrique Zanoni and Gaston Stivelmaher, the shop-cum-restaurant serves eight flavours of ultra-creamy ice cream made on the premises, including dulce de leche (a sweet, milky cream) and fruit helados laced with alcohol. If you want to take the Argentinean theme to the extreme, borrow one of Clasico Argentino’s DVDs (€20 deposit). The collection includes famous and lesser-known Argentinean films: perfect for watching over a tub of ice cream.