Since I was a little kid, I had a weird thing for France. As a toddler, I wanted ballet lessons. In elementary school, I asked for French cassette tapes. In high school, I fell hard for a European history course. I was entranced by how different France seemed from the sunny San Francisco suburb where I’d grown up.

Then I studied abroad in Paris, and whoa boy, did reality come in hot.

One shock was the, ahem, customer service. Though I don’t need a store clerk to ask “how-are-we-doing-this-evening?,” I do expect people to be generally helpful. Yet there I found myself, in Paris, at the third metro station in as many hours, listening to the teller explain to me that ici non, they don’t sell resident metro cards, but the station I was at an hour ago does. When my kitchen sink clogged, my plumber scolded me for using Drano–“the pipes are too delicate!”–took apart my whole sink, and then disappeared on vacation for a week, leaving me to wash my dishes in the bathroom. And I’m certain that one especially excruciating line at the post office caused me to have an out-of-body experience.

Strikes were also a surprise. In Paris, strikes are far more frequent and far-reaching than they are in the States. The moment one union declares a strike, multiple other unions strike in solidarity. In one particularly weird combination, my butcher closed his shop to show support for the striking transit workers.

The endless bureaucracy also tested my patience. Getting my student ID required bringing a variety of forms to an office–then being sent home because I didn’t bring the forms in duplicate. And heaven forbid you want to renew or extend your visa.

Beyond this, there were all the normal hazards of city living: public urination, theft, littering (veritable snowdrifts of cigarette butts accumulate on the sides of streets), and so on.

And yet, and yet.

In the interstices between navigating a metro strike and pleading with postal workers, all of my rosy-but-hazy dreams about life in Paris came true. My apartment really was in a stately old Hausmannian building, complete with an interior courtyard and winding wooden staircase. Men and women alike dressed in striped shirts and jaunty neck scarves. Sundays came to mean mass at Notre Dame and then hours of flânerie–aimless wandering–stopping to browse in a bookstore or poke around in a kitchen shop if the mood struck. When I took the metro to school, a live band serenaded me at Châtelet station; when I walked, the Eiffel Tower winked at me as I crossed the Seine.

Most wonderfully, I reveled in eating well, every single day. At breakfast, my pain au chocolat left a flurry of buttery flakes down the front of my wool coat. At lunch, a bowl of humble soup or a croque-monsieur bolstered my spirits for the afternoon slog. And at dinner– anything was possible. I indulged in shatteringly crisp duck confits and buckwheat galettes. I ate an impossible quantity of rotisserie chicken, picked up at the stand on my way home from school. I became known at my favorite steak-frites joint. I got to know the baker and butcher around the corner from my apartment, the wine vendor down the block, and the cheese vendor at the market. I drank bottle after bottle of wine, plus a kir royale or two for good measure.

Over the past decade, I’ve had the privilege to return to Paris often. And though now I expect the city to play me (the 2018 train strike wasn’t great), my time in Paris taught me that whatever goes wrong, it’s almost never something that an excellent meal, sweet treat, or bottle of wine can’t solve– or at least salve.

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Previously:
One year ago: Umami Bomb Mushroom Soup + How to Make Your Veg Taste Better
Two years ago: How to Reduce the Bite of Red Onions

And for my Australians:
Six months ago: Asian Chicken Salad with Snap Peas and Bok Choy
One and a half years ago: Ratatouille

Other travel guides:
Tulum Food Guide
Mexico City Food Guide

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Paris Food Guide

Just because Paris is a great food city does not mean you can walk into any restaurant and have a great meal. To make sure you eat well, I’ve compiled a list of my favorite restaurants, cafes, bakeries and markets.

The guide is organized very roughly by neighborhood (not arrondissement). You’ll notice that many of my recommendations are clustered on the Right Bank, where I lived and where I spend most of my time when I visit.

Looking for beyond-the-beaten-path tips on sightseeing? You’ll find them at the bottom of the post.

Central Paris (Île de la Cité, Île Saint-Louis, Louvre, and Tuileries Area)

Beware: There are plenty of mediocre restaurants in this heavily touristed area. Try one of these places, instead.

G. Detou

The deal: A small but well-stocked food store featuring specialties from all the regions of France: think boxes of salted caramels from Normandy, coussins from Lyon, callisons from Provence, Dijon mustards from Bourgogne, excellent tinned fish from Marseille, and much more. (Indeed, the shop name is a play on words that means “I have it all.”) A great place to pick up a few treats for yourself or for family and friends.
Where: 58 rue Tiquetonne, 2nd (map)
Métro: Étienne Marcel (line 4), Louvre – Rivoli (line 1)

Le Trumilou

The deal: An unassuming façade opens up onto a very solid, no frills (and, thankfully, budget-friendly) French bistro. I ordered the filet de boeuf au poivre, which was perfectly cooked, and a side of fries, which were blissfully crisp. Outdoor tables available (if you don’t mind eating alongside a busy road), or sit indoors in the old-school-but-cozy dining room (with filtered views of Notre Dame from the front windows!).
Where: 84 Quai de l’Hôtel de Ville, 4th (map)
Métro: Hôtel de Ville (lines 1, 11), Cité (line 4)
Website: http://www.letrumilou.fr
 

La Charlotte de L’Isle

The deal: A warm, dream-like, charmingly cluttered tea room. The thing to get here is the hot chocolate – so smooth and velvety. Perfect for after visiting Notre Dame on a winter morning.
Where: 24 Rue St-Louis-en-L’Île, 4th (map)
Métro: Pont Marie (line 7)
Website: http://www.lacharlottedelisle.fr

Maoz Paris

The deal: Everyone—including me—raves about L’As de Fallafel. But I am going to go out on a limb to say that this falafel joint might be even better: there are no lines, the falafel are just as crispy, you can add fried eggplant (!), and there is a whole bar of excellent—and free!—additional toppings. Not atmospheric at all, and not much seating, but that’s not what you’re here for; just grab your food and eat it Seine-side. Open very late on weekends, in case you find yourself stumbling home from a night out.
Where: 36 Rue St-André des Arts, 6th (map), or a few blocks away at 8 Rue Xavier Privas, 5th (map)
Métro: Saint Michel (line 4), Odéon (line 4), Cluny-La Sorbonne (line 10)
Website: http://www.maozusa.com/restaurants/locations/paris

Marais

The Marais was one of the only neighborhoods left untouched by the 19th-century urban renewal that created the big, wide boulevards and uniform architecture we associate with Paris. Historically, this was the Jewish neighborhood. More recently, its winding alleys have filled up up first with cafes, then with “bobo” (bourgeois-bohème) Parisians, and now, increasingly, with tourists. There’s plenty of excellent food to be eaten and window shopping to be done here.

Aux Merveilleux de Fred

The deal: A patisserie that sells just one kind of treat: the merveilleux. A merveilleux (yep, “marvelous”) is made of two light meringue biscuits, between which is dolloped a layer of chantilly cream. The whole sandwich is then enrobed in another layer of cream and quickly rolled with shaved chocolate. The overall effect manages to feel both light (thanks to the meringue) and indulgent. Hailing from Lille in northeastern France, these little guys aren’t terribly common in Paris, so you’ll have to pop by here if you want to give them a try.
Where: 24 rue du Pont Louis-Philippe, 4th (map)
Métro: Saint-Paul (line 1), Hôtel de Ville (line 1, line 11), Pont Marie (line 7)
Website: http://www.auxmerveilleux.com/home_en/ 

Becquerel / Boucherie Saint Paul

The deal: A little butcher that sells rotisserie chicken and potatoes. The chicken is glazed with this amazing mustard-rosemary sauce that a friend whom I took here still likes to talk about, years later. (Though clearly: same.) This is the best chicken I’ve ever had, hands down. Open at lunch and then again at dinnertime (so don’t expect to pick up a chicken at 2:30pm). Make sure to order peppers with the potatoes if they’re on offer! Consume ASAP– best piping hot.
Where: 113 rue St-Antoine, 4th (map)
Métro: St Paul (line 1)

Breizh

The deal: A creperie where Normandy meets Japan–sounds strange, but it works. I switch it up among the savory dishes, but for dessert, I always get a salted caramel galette. Galettes are made with buckwheat flour–typical of cuisine in both Normandy and Japan–which provides this amazing, savory, nutty contrast to the sweet caramel. Wash it all down with a dry Normandy cider. This place has become very hip, and, with the popularization of the Marais among tourists, increasingly busy since I lived in Paris. Best to come early or make a reservation (you can do this online) if you want to guarantee a table.
Where: 109 Rue Vieille du Temple, 4th (map)
Métro: Saint Sébastian-Froissart (line 8), Filles du Calvaire (line 8)
Website: https://breizhcafe.com/en/

Café des Musées

The deal: A cozy café/bistro on the western edge of the Marais, not far from the Musée Picasso. I’ve had a number of good meals here, but remember particularly enjoying a chicken liver terrine and the escargots. (Relatedly: this is not a good place to take a vegetarian.) Such a lovely, classic, unassuming French meal–I really can’t recommend it enough– great value for money and a lovely experience. (I now see you can make reservations online, as well!)
Where: 49 rue de Turenne, 3rd (map)
Métro: Saint Sébastian-Froissart (line 8), Filles du Calvaire (line 8)
Website: https://www.lecafedesmusees.fr/en/

Chez Manon

The deal: A good local patisserie– I especially like their pain au chocolat. Not something to go way out of your way for, but if you’re staying in République or the Marais, this is an excellent waypoint on the walk downtown. No seating–just takeaway.
Where: 25 Rue de Bretagne, 3rd (map)
Métro: République (a bit of a walk; lines 3, 5, 8, 9, 11), Saint Sébastian-Froissart (line 8), Filles du Calvaire (line 8)

Edwart Chocolatier

The deal: An amazing little chocolate shop. The flavors here are ones that you wouldn’t normally associate with chocolate–think oolong tea, madras curry, and coriander–but they are beautifully executed, with each little chocolate moving through multiple flavors as it melts in your mouth. (I remember the curry chocolate, for instance, hitting the ganache note, then the curry flavor, then leaving me with a bit of heat in the back of my throat at the very end.) Not cheap, and you can only buy them by the box, but worth the money for the artisanship that goes into these–and beautifully packaged, if you’re looking for a gift to bring home.
Where: 17 rue Vieille du Temple, 4th (map); also at 244 rue de Rivoli, 1st (map)
Métro: Saint Paul (line 1) or Hôtel de Ville (line 1) for the location in the 4th; Tuileries (line 1) or Concorde (line 1) for the location in the 1st
Website: https://edwart.fr

L’As du Fallafel

The deal: The most famous falafel game in town. Crispy, crispy falafel, shoved into warm pita-type bread, smashed with a ton of toppings. People pretty much only get takeaway. There’s always a queue, but it moves quickly. Once you get yours, walk southeast down Rue des Rosiers. About halfway down the block, on your left, there is a little stone archway. Walk in: it’s a hidden garden! Eat your falafel there.
Where: 32-34 rue des Rosiers, 4th (map)
Métro: St Paul (line 1)

Le Loir Dans La Théière

The deal: A very cozy brunch/lunch spot: think leather chairs, walls plastered with posters, mismatched dishes, and a long wooden sideboard covered with tarts and pies for dessert. (I’d be crushed if you didn’t try at least two of these.) Food is uncomplicated, seasonal, and good–I usually get just the baked Saint-Marcellin cheese with a baguette and a salad. Gets very busy on weekends–get there early to avoid a queue.
Where: 3 rue de Rosiers, 4th
Métro: St Paul (line 1)
Website: http://leloirdanslatheiere.com

Marché Bastille

The deal: A must-do for food lovers. This is a huge market–hundreds of stalls stretch down a long plaza off of the Place de la Bastille. Vendors sell everything from fruit and veg, to fresh and cured meat and fish, to every kind of cheese, to nuts and dried fruits and more. Californians beware: this is not necessarily a farmers market, and, especially during the grey Parisian winter, many products will be coming from Spain and North Africa. Nonetheless, the market is an absolute feast for the senses, and, if you speak French, a great opportunity to learn more about the variety of cheeses and other products that we so enjoy. Pick up a load of whatever looks good and cart it over to the Seine, the Canal Saint-Martin, or the Champ de Mars for a pique-nique.

Random pro tip: there is usually a vendor on the clothes end of the market (toward the Place de la Bastille) who sells marinières–those oh-so-French heavy-duty striped shirts. They’re good quality, very fairly priced, and come in sizes from baby to adult; I usually pick up one for myself and a few as baby shower presents for friends.

When: Tuesday and Sunday, 7am – 2:30pm (get there on the earlier side if you want to avoid the crowds)
Where: Boulevard Richard Lenoir at Place de la Bastille, 11th (map)
Métro: Bastille (lines 1, 5, and 8)
Website: https://en.parisinfo.com/shopping-paris/73869/Marche-Bastille 

Poilâne

The deal: A famous bakery, known especially for its bread (think more big loaves than long baguettes), but what I always get here is one of their little rustic individual apple galettes, which made of flaky puff pastry on the edges and sweet baked apple in the center. There are a few other locations if you can’t make it to this one– check their website for addresses.
Where: 38 rue Debelleyme, 3rd (map)
Métro: Saint Sébastian-Froissart (line 8), Filles du Calvaire (line 8)
Website: https://www.poilane.com/en/

République and Canal Saint-Martin

I have a soft spot for this area, and it’s not just because it’s my old ‘hood: it reminds you that Paris is a real, vibrant, working, and multicultural city. Plus, this is ground zero for some of my favorite eats.

Astier

The deal: A traditional French bistro done right. The interior is cozy, with tile floors, wood walls, and big mirrors. The food is just spot on: an elevated kind of simplicity, perfectly executed. (Last time I was there, I had sardines on toast surrounded by a velouté of celery root, duck breast over bok choy, cheese, and baba au rhum for dessert.) The prix-fixe menus are, if still on the expensive side for a graduate student, a truly excellent value. And the cheese course—a heaving, all-you-can-eat board, passed around the dining room, with around 15 different kinds of cheese on it—is absolutely not to be missed. I can’t say enough good things about this place. Reserve online or arrive when it opens to guarantee yourself a spot.
Where: 44 Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, 11th (map)
Métro: République (lines 3, 5, 8, 9, 11), Oberkampf (lines 5 and 9), Parmentier (line 3)
Website: http://www.restaurant-astier.com/en/

Au Boeuf Couronné

The deal: My favorite steak-frites in the whole world. Order the rump steak rare and the pommes soufflées, which are fries that have been puffed up into magical little crispy potato balloons.
Where: 188 Avenue Jean Jaurès, 19th (map). I realize this isn’t at all in République, and is nowhere close to anything you would otherwise be seeing, but it is worth the trip, I promise.
Métro: Porte de Pantin (line 5)
Website: https://www.boeuf-couronne.com/en/

Du Pain et des Idées

The deal: Since its opening in 2012 or so, this bakery has been consistently rated as among the best in Paris. In an age when most places are both boulangeries and patisseries, Du Pain et des Idées has found success by being “just” a bakery—but oh, what a good one! The bread is always perfect, and daily specials–including a very rye-y bread on Fridays–keep you coming back for more. The few sweet things—such as a baked apple tart situation—are rustic and excellent. There are a couple of communal tables outside if you’d like to sit. Tragically, closed on weekends.
Where: 34 rue Yves Toudic, 10th (map)
Métro: République (lines 3, 5, 8, 9, 11), Jacques Bonsergent (line 5)
Website: http://dupainetdesidees.com

Zerda Café

The deal: Really great tagines and couscous–a welcome change from French food if you’re in Paris for a while. (And really, when you think about France’s colonial history, North African food is French food!) This place is very popular—if you’re more than one person or you’re trying to dine on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night, book ahead.
Where: 15 rue René Boulanger, 10th (map)
Métro: République (lines 3, 5, 8, 9, 11), Strasbourg-Saint Denis (lines 4, 8, 9), Temple (line 3)
Website: http://zerdacafe.fr/

Left Bank

Though my university was located in the heart of the Left Bank, I don’t typically spend a ton of time on this side of the river– everything is so very expensive! With that said, here are a few favorites–all posh patisseries with the exception of the very homey bistro Au Pied de Fouet.

Au Pied de Fouet

The deal: A wonderful, tiny tiny tiny, cozy place in a residential neighborhood. The food is extremely simple: shatteringly crisp duck confit, basic lentil salad, oeufs mayo, crème caramel… you get the picture. It is all served with table wine on checkered tablecloths. Patrons are locals: mostly upper-middle-class government workers. Prices are amazingly cheap for Paris. One of those meals and places that leaves you with a sense of wellbeing.
Where: 45 rue de Babylone, 7th (map)
Métro: Saint François Xavier (line 13), Vaneau (line 10)
Website: http://www.aupieddefouet.com/

Jean-Paul Hévin

The deal: Another upmarket chocolate shop. (My favorite is the dark chocolate raspberry ganache.) Get your chocolate and then nibble on it in the nearby Luxembourg Gardens, just across the street.
Where: 3 rue Vavin, 6th (map); other locations on website (see link below)
Métro: Notre-Dame-des-Champs (line 12), Vavin (line 4)
Website: https://www.jeanpaulhevin.com/en/nos-boutiques

Ladurée

The deal: The premier vendor of macarons. Founded in 1862, Ladurée recently expanded to the United States, making these two-bite pleasures a little easier to come by. But for the dead-accurate flavors, the perfect ratio of cookie to filling, and the exquisite packaging, these are still worth picking up if you wander past a store in Paris.
Where: 21 rue Bonaparte, 6th (map); or numerous other locations throughout Paris (see website below for full list)
Métro: Saint-Germain-des-Prés (line 4)
Website: https://www.laduree.fr/

Pierre Hermé

The deal: The patisserie to end all patisseries. Treats are quite expensive but as exquisite in taste as they are in looks. Get one and enjoy it in the Place Saint-Sulpice across the way.
Where: 72 rue Bonaparte, 6th (map); other locations on website (see link below)
Métro: Saint-Sulpice (line 4), Mabillon (line 10)
Website: https://www.pierreherme.com/storelocator/paris-bonaparte-en

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Further Paris recommendations

If you want to see the Eiffel Tower: Head to the Tour Montparnasse. There’s rarely a line, and the top deck affords an unbeatable view of the Eiffel Tower (unlike ascending the Eiffel Tower, where the view is of the very ugly Tour Montparnasse). Map here, website with ticket vending here.

If you want to be enraptured by stained glass: Head to Sainte-Chapelle. Most first-time tourists make a beeline for Notre Dame, which is amazing (duh) but very dark. Sainte-Chapelle, on the other hand, awes you with soaring walls completed entirely in stained glass. A friend described it as “existing in the middle of a ruby.” Buy tickets in advance and get there early to avoid a long line. Map here, website here.

If you need a break from the Hausmannian architecture: Pop into the Grande Mosquée de Paris. With its lush gardens, vibrant turquoise- and blue-tiled courtyards, and bubbling fountains, this mosque provides a needed break from the straight, grey lines and honking horns of the Parisian cityscape. Map here, website here.

If you don’t have the time for the Louvre or the Musée d’Orsay: Try the Orangerie, instead. Rotating and permanent collections of impressionist and post-impressionist work fill the small downstairs area, but the real calling card are the two bright white, skylit galleries that hold eight, wall-length paintings by Monet of his water lilies. I can sit in front of these for hours, and I’m sure you will, too. Map here, website here.

If you want to bring home some silk scarves: If Hermès isn’t in the budget, swing by an outlet of Monoprix, instead. It’s a French supermarket chain that sells some surprisingly nice clothes and accessories, including cashmere sweaters and silk shirts. 100 percent silk scarves range from 15 to 25 euros a pop. Not all locations sell clothing, but the location at Les Halles (map here) does.