The 30 best bistros in Paris

Who’s running this neighbourhood café, that welcomes us with open arms from the first morning coffee to the last evening calvados? The incredible Florent Ciccoli, a seasoned serial restaurateur. In Recoin’s cosy little space with azure mosaics and blonde wood, pour over a delightful bistro menu with friendly prices, crafted by chef Julie Della Faille: think aged beef rib and Catalan chicory, and pasta with clams. A little corner of paradise. 

An industrial and bustling space launched by the duo Michelle Primc and Jérémy Grosdidier, where the staff in blue work overalls hustle between the open kitchen and terrazzo tables to serve seasonal, mostly vegetarian and regional dishes to local professionals. In the evening, Pristine transforms into a tapas bar with enticing offerings like leek baba ganoush and charred carrots. 

Think of this tall, white-tiled room as a chic laboratory, where Alice Tuyet and chef Erwan Crier have reinvented the vegan bistro. Faubourg Daimant’s kitchen is inspired by traditional neighbourhood cuisine, with comforting richness, legendary recipes and powerful sauces, but without any meat. Successes keep coming: the already famous crispy croquettes, carrots glazed with BBQ sauce, Provençal stuffed veggies. A plant-based delight. 

Édouard Vermynck (formerly of L'Entrée des Artistes) has transformed the old Gaspard de la Nuit into a nearly century-old-style bistro with framed vintage photos, an antique mirrored sideboard and stunning hand-painted signage on the front. Embracing nostalgic charm, the menu at Bistrot des Tournelles features timeless French classics, well-executed and familiar, like sautéed porcini mushrooms, andouillette with matchstick potatoes and chicken with fluffy mashed potatoes. This is retro cuisine at it’s finest. 

Behind the red Basque storefront, there’s a small room that Simenon would have loved, packed tightly with Baumann chairs, Formica tables, and vermilion moleskine banquettes. From this modest HQ, Paul Boudier and Albert Touton, former members of Chateaubriand, launched a bistronomic offensive that has taken the neighbourhood by storm. Le Maquis’s very reasonably priced lunchtime set menu offers knockout dishes with disarming simplicity, clockwork precision, and clever pairings. The evening gourmet menu is spectacular too. 

Another local spot taken over by Florent Ciccoli, and yet another clear success. The decor? Layers of old frescoes, mosaic floors, and an old phone booth relic. The dishes? Pure and simple delight crafted by chef Hugo Giudicelli, with the waitress also serving up garlic ham-butter sandwiches. We love you, L’Orillon Bar.

Reading the menu while seated elbow-to-elbow with your neighbours in the small room (large mirrors, exotic wood, and whitewashed bricks), you can sense L’Arpaon’s two young chefs in their twenties, Yann Botbol and Nathan Sebagh, bustling in the narrow open kitchen, eager to have fun blending influences from Tunis, Tel Aviv, and Paris, from veal tagine vol-au-vent to lightly seared langoustines with amba mayo. It’s cheeky and charming neo-bistro fare.

This charming retro spot with its mosaics, moleskine and mouldings rules over the top of Belleville, from morning croissants to after-dinner digestifs. Léa Fleuriot serves up traditional dishes sometimes given a twist with a herb, condiment, or a bit of spice, like the pot-au-feu with beef shoulder lovingly paired with fermented soybean. Meanwhile, her brother Louis-Marie handles the drinks, expertly selecting natural wines and sakes. Le Cadoret? Forever the neighbourhood’s beloved favourite.

Le Boréal is an industrial-chic and tidy spot opened by Charles Neyers, working alongside Philippine Jaillet in the kitchen to offer top-notch bistronomy to the locals of this somewhat off-the-beaten-path part of the 18th arrondissement. Both lunch and dinner feature truly indulgent dishes like a charming coquelet with coco beans or a plump vegetarian Wellington with butternut squash.