Mekane in Paris

The 1932 bistro classique, Ducasse-stewarded since 2013.

Belle Époque salon de thé since 1903 — Mont-Blanc and chocolat l'Africain under the rue de Rivoli arcades

Tiny zinc-bar bistro near Châtelet — GaultMillau toque, charcuterie from named Auvergne producers.

Gaël Orieux's quiet Michelin star, sustainable fish only, fifteen years running.

1864 Belle Époque brasserie under a stained-glass dome — choucroute, plateaux de fruits de mer, full theatre.

Philippe Starck's 1970s post-office turned Trocadéro design hotel with rooftop kitchen garden.

1919 Place des Ternes brasserie — Laura Gonzalez interior, three-time MOF écailler.

1895 Saint-Lazare brasserie — Niermans mosaics, listed since 1989.

Brazilian asador — Lucas Baur de Campos's open-fire 11e room, Le Fooding, Infatuation cult.

Jody Williams's all-day gastrothèque — the SoPi room that never feels off.

Sartre and Beauvoir's corner of Boulevard Saint-Germain since 1887.

1927 Trocadéro tea-room — marble tables, white aprons, view across to the Tower.

The trompe-l'oeil fruit pastries you've seen on Instagram — boutique and salon

Mahogany expat bar from 1911 — birthplace of the Bloody Mary, between Opéra and the Place Vendôme

The original Pigalle boutique — leather banquettes, art on every wall, brunch all weekend.

Boutique design hotel inside a former metals factory — concrete, courtyard, cocktail bar at the centre.

Laurent Taïeb's reborn 1888 central post office with rooftop ROOF and Eiffel-facing terraces.

Former Hugo & Victor relaunched under the chef's name — 2003 French Dessert Champion's first eponymous boutique

Marais chocolatier with a tea room — millefeuille made à la minute, possibly Paris's finest caramels.

Manoj Sharma's modern Indian on rue de Choiseul — the 2e room that finally read Indian cooking as a chef's cuisine.

Robert Linxe's original chocolate boutique since 1977 — the room that defined Paris bean-to-praline

The tiny bistro between Saint-Sulpice and Luxembourg, Fooding-prize winner.

Alain Ducasse's bean-to-bar manufacture in the 11e — Nicolas Berger's atelier behind a cobbled courtyard

Southwest French institution since 1894 — Art-Nouveau dining room beside the Halles épicerie.

The bistronomy capital of Paris, on the Carrefour de l'Odéon.

Châtelet jazz club since 1984 — 300+ concerts a year, free Friday-Saturday midnight jam.

The oldest café in Paris, opened 1686 — Voltaire, Diderot, Franklin all ate here.

The soufflé restaurant of the 7e, behind Le Bon Marché.

Gaston Lenôtre's flagship since 1957 — the Plaine Monceau room that taught a generation of French pastry chefs

The other Saint-Germain café, with the better view of the church.

Mediterranean cooking with a Tuileries terrace at the foot of the Louvre

France's oldest tea house since 1854 — the Bourg-Tibourg flagship with the colonial-era painted casks

Jean-Louis Deniot-designed Evok hotel facing Comédie-Française, with Brasserie Réjane and a marble pool.

Meilleur Ouvrier de France 2000 chocolatier — the Madeleine flagship with the life-size chocolate sculptures

Eric Trochon's industrial bistronomy on rue de Seine.

Anglophone-led tasting menu in a triplex above the Palais-Royal — Paris's quiet neo-bistro standard

Adeline Grattard's bistro reincarnation — Franco-Cantonese cooking after Yam'Tcha proper closes