Plekken 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.