Mekane in Paris

Greg Marchand's 2e bistro that rewrote the neo-bistro template in 2009.

Bertrand Grébaut's 11e neo-bistro that reset the gravitational centre east in 2011.

Anglo-French neo-bistro on Faubourg Poissonnière — a wine list with weight, an unfussy kitchen.

The 1932 bistro classique, Ducasse-stewarded since 2013.

1890 Lyon-bouchon-style bistro — under the Dumant family from 2025, after Ducasse

The 11e's reference bistro — steak-frites, soufflé, white tablecloths and zero affectation.

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

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.

Jean-Marc Notelet's chalkboard bistro — spice-forward cuisine du marché near l'Étoile.

Saint-Germain hunting-lodge speakeasy by Thomas Codsi — Le Fooding-listed, weekend basement DJ floor.

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

Septime's no-reservations seafood sister — daily-catch small plates on rue de Charonne.

Belle Époque tiles, marionette-sized kitchen, neo-bistro cooking — opposite the Cirque d'Hiver.

Italian trattoria in a former Jean-Paul Gaultier boutique — Le Fooding 'Best Decor' 2017, still buzzing.

1883 Belle Époque seafood brasserie — Rostang family, daily-port-sourced fish.

The Goncourt Prize restaurant since 1914 — Place Gaillon institution under chef Romain Van Thienen

The 2007 Sentier speakeasy that built modern Paris cocktail culture — still no reservations

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.

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

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

Pigalle bar-restaurant by Fabien Lombardi (ex-Prescription) — natural wines, aged cocktails, PUNCH-listed.

Pauline Séné's Top Chef-pedigreed bistronomy at the more ambitious end of rue Paul Bert.

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

Cyril Lignac's classified-monument bistro — fish-forward menu in an 1894 zinc-and-mosaic room.

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

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

Marble-clad tapas-and-wine room next to the old Chateaubriand — Rem Koolhaas interior, natural-wine list.

Franck Baranger's bistronomy benchmark — Bib Gourmand on a Pigalle backstreet.

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

Vegetable-driven neo-bistro with a 400-bottle wine list and savoury-leaning desserts.

The Levha sisters' Franco-Filipino neo-bistro under a hand-painted ceiling on rue Saint-Maur.

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

Contemporary Lebanese on rue de la Banque — Liza Asseily's Beirut-Paris dialogue

Pigalle absinthe speakeasy — 50 Best Discovery, the Little Red Door team's Storyville room.

Mokonuts duo's chef-residency room — Le Fooding 2025 Honorary, rotating Palestinian / Korean / Filipino kitchens.

Candlelit 9e dining room, reborn under chef Lucie Boursier-Mougenot.

Big Mamma's four-floor Florentine theatre under a Pigalle glass roof.

Italian bistrattoria in the 19th-century Passage des Panoramas — Simone Tondo's Michelin-starred room

Eric Trochon's industrial bistronomy on rue de Seine.