Paris currently boasts over 70 Michelin-starred restaurants, making it one of most foodie-friendly capitals in the world. Sieving through the list can be daunting (especially when you see the menu prices, which frequently ride over the €150 mark), so here’s our list of the best Michelin awardees, whether you fancy food that has been awarded one, two or three (very dramatic) stars...
Tip: It’s usually cheaper to eat in Michelin-starred restaurants at lunchtime, so if you’re on a budget, make an afternoon of it.
The sheer glamour factor would be enough to recommend this restaurant, Alain Ducasse's most lofty Paris undertaking. The dining room ceiling drips with 10,000 crystals. An amuse-bouche of a single langoustine in a lemon cream with a touch of Iranian caviar starts the meal off beautifully, but other dishes can be inconsistent: a part-raw/part-cooked salad of autumn fruit and veg in a red, Chinese-style sweet-and-sour dressing...
Assuming you can swallow an exceptionally high bill - it’s €42 for a potato starter, for example - chances are you'll have a spectacular time at chef Alain Passard’s Left Bank establishment. His attempt to plane down and simplify the haute experience - the chrome-armed chairs look like something from the former DDR - seems a misstep; but then something edible comes to the table, such as tiny smoked potatoes served with a horseradish mousseline...
With its extravagant Louis XVI decor, mosaic tiled floors and modish restyling by Philippe Starck, Le Meurice is looking grander than ever. All 160 rooms (kitted out with iPod-ready radio alarms) are done up in distinct historical styles; the Belle Etoile suite on the seventh floor provides panoramic views of Paris from its terrace and you can relax in the Winter Garden to the strains of regular jazz performances...
Set on the exclusive rue du Faubourg St-Honoré, near luxury boutiques such as Christian Lacroix, Azzaro, Salvatore Ferragamo, Givenchy and Dolce & Gabbana, the Bristol is a supremely luxurious ‘palace’ hotel with a loyal following of fashionistas and millionaires drawn by the location, impeccable service, larger than average rooms and a three Michelin-starred restaurant with Eric Fréchon at the helm...
At Pierre Gagnaire most starters alone cost over €90, which seems to be the price of culinary experimentation. The €90 lunch menu is far from the experience of the carte: the former is presented in three courses, whereas the latter involves four or five plates for each course. Even the amuse-bouches fill the table: an egg ‘raviole’, ricotta with apple, fish in a cauliflower jelly, and glazed monkfish...
Lasserre’s rich history is definitely a part of the dining experience: notables like Audrey Hepburn, André Malraux and Salvador Dali were regulars; it harboured Resistance fighters during the war; and it was while dining with Malraux that Marc Chagall decided to paint the ceiling for the Opera Garnier. But its illustrious past is nothing next to the food: chef Christophe Moret (ex-Plaza Athénée) and his pastry chef Claire Heitzler (ex-Ritz) create lip-smacking delicacies to die for...
Alain Senderens reinvented his art nouveau institution (formerly Lucas Carton) a few years ago with a Star Trek interior and a mind-boggling fusion menu. Now, you might find dishes such as roast duck foie gras with a warm salad of black figs and liquorice powder, or monkfish steak with Spanish mussels and green curry sauce. Each dish comes with a suggested wine, whisky, sherry or punch (to match a rum-doused savarin with slivers of ten-flavour pear)...
A stone’s throw from the Champs Elysées but a world away from the crowds, La Table du Lancaster is hidden away in the luxurious Hôtel Lancaster, as discreet as it is enchanting. This two Michelin-starred venture was run for many years by Michel Troisgrois (who has three stars at the Maison Troisgros in Roanne), but since November 2012 has passed to the executive chef, Julien Rocheteau. The décor is timeless, immune to the capital’s trends...
As the only Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant in France, Shang Palace certainly doesn’t disappoint with its subtle Asian décor (think marble tables and a carpet patterned with a Hokusai print) and a vast menu of dishes from the Canton and Huaiyang regions of south-east China. In the kitchen, chef Samuel Lee Sum focuses on refining classic flavours, presenting plates that are meticulously crafted and absolutely divine...
This Paris institution is regaining its lustre following the death of aged owner Claude Terrail in 2006. In the kitchen, Breton-born Stéphane Haissant has brought a welcome creative touch to the menu, bringing in unique dishes such as a giant langoustine dabbed with kumquat purée and surrounded by lightly scented coffee foam. But he also shows restraint, as in duck (the house speciality) with cherry sauce and a broad bean flan...
All done out in wood, metal and stone, with bouquets of flowers and an open kitchen at the back, Saturne is a calming space. The cooking shows a similar talent for detail and harmony with flashes of inspiration – the chef and the sommelier, Sven Chartier and Ewen Lemoigne, work hand in glove to pair fine ingredients and natural wines. For €40 at lunch and €60 at dinner (or €65 for a six course tasting menu/€120 for wine matching), you’ll find a balance between élan and elegance...
On the edge of the Seine, with tall bay windows overlooking the Eiffel Tower, and chic grey and mauve décor, Antoine is a shrine to the sea – albeit a posh one! Moneyed crowds from the nearby Triangle d’Or gather day and night to sample chef Mickaël Feval’s perfect-every-time oysters and extravagant dishes like whole roasted lobster served with winter vegetable en cocotte, plump St-Jacques scallops, and thick, fish-rich Bouillabaisse (fish soup) served with saffron tinted rouille (garlicky mayonnaise)...
Eager journalists have already spilled a lot of ink over chef David Toutain's eponymous restaurant since it opened in December 2013. For those who aren't in the know, Toutain attracted considerable attention in the kitchens of Agapé Substance a few years back, before fleeing the capital for some culinary capers abroad. The grand opening in December was therefore bolstered by a sense of homecoming...
Named for Parisian novelist Eugène Sue, the gourmet cuisine at La Table d’Eugène is actually affordable. Too bad for Eugène himself, who departed this life in 1857. The décor is, admittedly, charmless, but the men behind the scenes – Geoffroy Maillard and François Vaudeschamps – are both talented and driven. They cook up some magnificent food using simple flavours, all skilfully assembled and beautifully presented...
Guillaume Muller (former sommelier at l’Arpège) chose a very upmarket area of the 7th arrondissement in which to open the red-hued Garance. There’s an elegant, light-filled dining room on the first floor, and downstairs a classically Parisian bar where you can eat if you’re alone or just want to watch the world go by, and a tiny open kitchen. At lunchtime, the restaurant manages to please both busy white collar workers and relaxed bons vivants with a solid €34 menu...
Hiding discreetly behind a sombre façade in a charming corner of the 9e, l’Atelier Rodier is more for the discerning aficionado of creative cuisine than for the tourists. You come here to broaden your culinary horizons, not to stuff yourself. The muted aesthetic continues indoors, where wooden tables sit among tasteful silver-plated walls and the odd contemporary painting. The thoughtful presentation extends to the food itself...
Akrame has been one of the hottest Paris addresses since it opened its doors in early 2011, and talented young chef Akrame Benallal confirmed his potential when the Michelin Guide took the unusual step of awarding the restaurant a star in its first year. So expectations are high. Benallal worked with both Ferran Adrià and Pierre Gagnaire, and the buzz only increases when you discover how difficult it is to get a reservation, followed by a reminder call from the maitre d’ on your mobile at 9.30 the morning of the booking to reconfirm...
The Faubourg Saint-Antoine area has been making waves on the food scene for quite a while: Rue de Cotte, Rue Trousseau, the Marché d’Aligre and lots of other little streets offer an excellent range of good things to eat, and since the Rue Charonne's latest makeover, the area is more than ever on the up. Graphic arts bookshops and trendy boutiques proliferate, so it’s no surprise to fine Bertrand Grébaut’s latest restaurat venture here...
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