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5 of the best Paris restaurants and eateries for lunch or dinner

Like many of its European counterparts, the ‘city of love’ is known for its food. Take a stroll down any given street or avenue and you will easily find an authentic brasserie serving up delicious French classics or stumble across a quaint café baking fresh croissants and mouth-watering patisseries. But for those of you who would rather not leave your Parisian foodie adventure up to fate, we’ve pulled together our favourite spots – some chic, some more shabby-chic, but all delectably delicious. Ferdi Nestled between two boutiques in the 1st arrondissement, this pint-sized restaurant packs a ton of flavour. Monday through Sunday Ferdi has become a staple hotspot for the Paris scene whilst remaining a very casual affair. The menu (which is more book-like than menu) will take your senses south of the equator, on the same journey the owner took while travelling the world acquiring many of Ferdi’s recipes as well as the eclectic objects that decorate the restaurant. To define Ferdi by one type of cuisine would be limiting it, however there is a definite South American influence weaving through the menu. The crowd is just like the restaurant, eclectic – artists, socialites, celebrities and everyone in between. You are made to feel comfortable, well taken care of, and do not expect to leave hungry. Ferdi Must taste: The McFerdi burger, the meatballs, the corn on the cob, the ceviche, the walnut salad. Must drink: Mango Margarita, Bloody Mary Address: 32 Rue du Mont Thabor, 75001 Hours: Ferdi is open for dinner Monday through Sunday (you may want to reserve ahead), and lunch on Saturday (starts at 1:15pm) for which no reservations are taken, walk-ins only. L’Avant-Comptoir This tapas/wine bar at the heart of the Latin Quarter requires you to enjoy the food while standing. Be that as it may, once you catch a glimpse of the hanging flash cards from the ceiling, offering you a wide array of options for your quick bite or your full on gob-fest, any reservations you had (about standing or at another restaurant) will be forgotten. As you order a glass of wine and start an in-depth debate with yourself about what to order you realize you are going to have to come back for more. The menu offers a selection of different styles of cuisine, French, Spanish, as well as vegetarian options. Once you have enjoyed a balanced meal or snack you are required to exit the hustling and bustling place through their unavoidable crêpe station, so indulge. The crowd is comprised of suits, foodies, and bohemians mostly. L'Avant-Comptoir Must taste: Duck confit hot dog, chocolate banana waffle Address: 3 Carrefour de l’Odéon, 75006 Hours: Open every day, 12pm-11pm Reservations: No reservations; it is best to avoid peek hours. L’Avenue L’Avenue is the quintessential people-watching restaurant. Part of the Hotel Costes collection, the uber-chic Avenue Montaigne location makes this particular restaurant a great place for lunch or dinner. The heated terrace will keep you toasty while you order from the signature menu. If you have been to Costes restaurants before do not expect any surprises. The menu is, except for one or two items, identical year-round. The fact of the matter is that you come to L’Avenue for the setting. At the corner of Avenue Montaigne and Rue Francois 1er you find yourself at the center of the Parisian Golden Triangle. A stone’s throw from the Champs-Elysées and the Plaza Athénée, surrounded by designer label boutiques, sit down and enjoy. Have one of their signature dishes or try their seasonal ones for a change. Though be warned, you may be discouraged from eating your portion of fries once you spot the gaggle of models regularly sauntering in and out. L'Avenue Must taste: Lobster & French Fries, Tigre qui pleure, Nems Address: 41 Avenue Montaigne, 75008 Hours: 8am – 2am Reservations: Yes Shang Palace Shang Palace is as good as it gets in terms of Chinese cuisine in Paris, or rather Cantonese cuisine to be exact. The restaurant boasts one Michelin star and is located in the Shangri-La Hotel. The hotel itself is a feat of architecture dating back to the early 19th century when it was built as a palace for Napoleon Bonaparte’s grandnephew Prince Roland Bonaparte. Right off Place d’Iéna, the hotel offers incredible views of the Eiffel Tower, the Seine, the Louvre, and Montmartre. Shang Palace may be seen to be taking a slightly different approach to Chinese food for anyone who has not had Cantonese cuisine before. However each dish is tastier than the next and the menu only leaves you not knowing which dish to choose. Fear not, your meal can be served “Cantonese” style where all the dishes are shared between guests. The setting is quite luxurious with gold ornaments and crystal chandeliers; the service is impeccable and right in line with the hotel’s reputation for excellence. The crowd is a mix of hotel guests, countrymen, elegant tourists, and aficionados of fine Asian cuisine. Must taste: Bacon rolled cucumber with chilli sauce and fried onion, Roasted Peking duck, Hot and sour soup. Must drink: Shangri-La’s own vineyard produces an amazing white wine, Hospice des Beaunes. Address: 10 Avenue d’Iéna, 75116 Hours: Thursday to Monday; 12pm – 2pm (Dim Sum Lunch), 7pm – 10pm (Dinner) Reservation: Yes (mandatory for dinner) L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon This casually chic restaurant will have you wondering how you could have missed the chance of enjoying the artistic dishes of this top-notch chef until now. The red and black tones with mirrored accents will keep your gaze busy within this trendy hotspot. Guests sit at a bar that wraps around the kitchen, therefore enjoying the visual aspect of the cooking itself as well as the delicate smells the position offers. Sit down tables are also available. The mouth-watering menu of modern French cuisine will certainly breed some food envy, so expect a bit of dish sharing. You will not want to feel like you missed out on anything. Enjoy familiar ingredients you know and love such as rack of lamb, asparagus, and quail but always with a flavour combination and intensity you have never experienced before. Be sure not to bypass the dessert menu because you might very well regret it. L’Atelier has been featured in numerous publications as one of the best places to satisfy your appetite. Its popularity has inevitably forced it to spread, seeing locations open in Hong Kong, Las Vegas, Singapore, and Tokyo. L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon Must taste: Truffle pizza, Asparagus and cheese, rack of lamb Address: 5 rue Montalembert, 75007 Hours: Lunch, 11:30am – 3:30pm; Dinner, 6:30pm – 12:00am Reservation: Yes (mandatory) John-Christian Moquette is a Partner at IAVRA. If you would like to be a guest blogger on A Luxury Travel Blog in order to raise your profile, please contact us.

John-Christian Moquette

John-Christian Moquette is a Partner at IAVRA.

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8 Comments

  1. Thanks for the info. Quite a lot of good choices out there.
    What are the price ranges for these for dinner?

  2. These all sound wonderful in their own unique ways and I’ve not come across L’Avant-Comptoir before so I will definitely be checking that out when I’m next in Paris (and quite possibly some of the others too!)

  3. Hey, so Ferdi and L’Avant-Comptoir are quite affordable and portions are quite small so you are able to taste a lot of what the menu has to offer. L’Avenue, L’Atelier and Shang Palace are quite expensive.

  4. I took my wife to Paris for our anniversary and we stayed in the Novotel a short distance from the Eiffel Tower. I didn’t realise it when I booked but the hotels main restaurant was Japanese which is one of my wife’s favourite types of food. Although we ate at several French restaurants during our stay we stayed in for the main meal of our Paris break. The restaurant was called Benkay and it was one of the best Japanese meals i’ve ever had. The staff were also really helpful explaining some of the items which we were unable to translate ourselves.

  5. I like the L’Avenue restaurant, it is definitely trendy, and favors their regular clientele. The hostess was very busy looking over my shoulder waving to all her cronies, but she promptly got us to our table. They seem to seat newbies upstairs – which was fine with us, as the downstairs was a real fashion show / paparazzi scene. Food was good-to-great; wine list limited, but adequate. Our server was perfect – Martarina, from Poland – she never left us waiting and sequenced everything perfect. We tipped extra. Getting a taxi after dinner was difficult but Metro not far away…

  6. My favorite is this one and I’m a Parisian :
    https://www.a-noste.com/

    Staff is great, the food amazing. Tapas bar in the ground floor, full course restaurant on the 1st floor. Basque food reinvented, with interesting influences (try Curry shrimps, to die for).
    Best fried squid with Espelette chilli you can dream of.
    And desserts are a lot better than in many French restaurants I know, which constantly lack originality in my opinion.

  7. Thank you for the informative post! Just came back to Paris and was a bit disappointed with food:( Will try to visit these restaurants next time. When going to new city, it’s very important to know the good spots in advance.

  8. “… full on gob-fest” I like that!
    Food is the language of love in my book so decent places to grab a bite are a big part of any trip I liked the variety when I’ve been there, it’s not all fancy stuff with a bite for a main course type of thing because although those sorts of artistic dishes are great, sometimes you just want a proper meal that’s going to fill you up. These sound like some top notch options. Dining in the Shangri-La Hotel would be quite nice, I imagine you can do that without being a guest there. That should offer some incredible views. Interesting that they make their own wine too, brings a new meaning to ‘house wine’.

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