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Currently Recommended Paris Restaurants

These are some of my traditional favorites. Note that in all cases, prices include service but not wine. All restaurants accept credit cards.

For Daily Dining:

• L’ASTRANCE
  4, rue Beethoven
  Paris 16
  Tel: 01 40 50 84 40
  Fax: 01 40 50 11 45
  Closed Monday, and Tuesday at lunch. About 75 euros.

Best newcomer in recent years: modern, inventive, full of lively flavors Great bread and some young new wines to discover. My find: The glorious white Minervois Domaine de la Tour Boisée, a floral blend that includes both chardonnay and viognier grape. Hope that the ravioli of avocado and crab is on the menu that day! Small and popular, so book ahead.

• CLAUDE COLLIOT
  LE BAMBOCHE
  15, rue Babylone
  Paris 7
  Tel: 01 45 49 14 40
  Fax: 01 45 49 44
  Closed Saturday and Sunday. About 30 euros at lunch, 50 euros at dinner.

Claude and Chantal Colliot make a perfect pair of restaurateurs. As he animates the kitchen with a deftness and sense of authority, Chantal make their tiny eight-table restaurant come alive. Bamboche is a model of its genre. Try the oyster ice cream (!) starter, any of the lamb or veal dishes, and follow Chantal’s advice on wine.

• ZE KITCHEN GALERIE
  4, rue des Grands Augustins
  Paris 6
  Tel: 01 44 32 00 32
  Closed Sunday. About 30 euros.

Chef William Ledeuil has done it again. He has his finger (and palate) on the pulse of the modern diner. Despite the kitschy name, Ze Kitchen Galerie is a delight: pastas (roborative macaroni with pesto, pine nuts and grilled chorizo), a selection of raw fish and shellfish (yummy oysters and scallops in a spicy horseradish cream) and a small but always inviting wine list. The décor is modern and a touch cold, but that’s the style today.

• L’ANGLE DU FAUBOURG
  195, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré
  Paris 8
  Tel: 01 40 74 20 20
  Fax: 01 40 74 20 21
  Closed Saturday lunch and Sunday. 50 euros.

This is Jean-Claude Vrinat’s second restaurant after the famed Taillevent, just a few blocks away. L’Angle specializes in well-priced and well-chosen wines from the Taillevent cave almost next door. The food is authoritative and delicious: try the daily risottos, lamb shoulder with black olives, and braised veal. Drink from the Languedoc or Rhône.

• FISH LA BOISSONNERIE
  69, rue de Seine
  Paris 6
  Tel: 01 43 54 34 69
  Fax 01 46 33 15 29
  Closed Monday. About 30 to 40 euros.

Juan Sanchez not only manages to run the best little wine shop in Paris (La Dernière Goutte, 6, rue Bourbon le Chateau, Paris 6 ) but also keeps his wine bar, Fish, packed day after day. The food is endearing and unpretentious: mussels steamed with fresh coriander; a sturdy bruchetta laden with mozzarella and tiny tomatoes; a fine penne with eggplant and pine nuts. Wines? Try the rough and red St Chinian from the Mas Champart.

• CHEZ GEORGES
  1, rue de Mail
  Paris 2
  Tel: 01 42 60 07 11
  Fax 01 47 03 34 28
  Closed Sunday. About 60 euros.

This classic Parisian bistro never disappoints: a classic endive salad full of crispy bacon ; great duck with wild cepe mushrooms; perfect fries and meaty steaks; and delicious Brouilly to wash it all down.

• LE DOME
  108, boulevard du Montparnasse
  Paris 14
  Tel: 01 43 35 34 82
  Fax 01 42 70 01 19
  Open daily. About 70 euros.

I could dine at Le Dome once a week, feasting on platters of briny oysters and their incomparable sole meunière. Try the Quincy, a white that is made for fish and shellfish.

• AUBERGE PYRÉNÉES-CEVENNES
  106, rue de la Folie Mericourt
  Paris 11
  Tel: 01 43 57 33 78.
  Closed Saturday lunch and Sunday. About 40 euros.

With cheery and chatty Francoise in the dining room and Daniel in the kitchen, we are assured of great Lyonnais curly endive salads topped with chunks of bacon, a fine cassoulet (beans and preserved duck), and platters of weeping Saint-Marcellin cow’s milk cheese. Most of all, there is FUN and Beaujolais!

• L’ALSACO
  10, rue Condorcet
  Paris 9
  Tel: 01 45 26 44 31
  Closed Saturday lunch and Sunday. About 20 euros.

This out-of-the-way Alsatian wine bar is THE place to go for overwhelming platters of choucroute – sauerkraut teamed up with a variety of sausages, fat slabs of bacon, and braised pig’s knuckles. A fine selection of Alsatian wines and some pretty outstanding beers as well. The outgoing Claude Steger is part of the show.

• LE PETIT MARGUERY
  9, boulevard du Port Royal
  Paris 13
  Tel: 01 43 31 58 59
  Closed Sunday and Monday. About 40 euros.

For more than 20 years the Cousin brothers -- Jacques, Michel and Alain – provided us some great moments at table: platters of perfectly seared and seasoned mushrooms, dreamy raie – skate – in mustard sauce, and game in the fall and winter months. The 1930’s brasserie-like restaurant is always bustling and fun. There are new owners as of the autumn of 2002, but the place is as good as ever.

• AU BASCOU
  38, rue Réaumur
  Paris 3
  Tel: 01 42 72 69 25
  Fax 01 42 72 69 25
  Closed Saturday lunch and Sunday. 40 euros.

Owner Jean-Guy Lousteau cooks with the best ingredients of his native Basque country: incredibly moist and delicious baby lamb, fresh blood sausages (boudin de pays), wonderful tiny squid in ink (chipirons à l’encre), and marvelous ground veal with onions and Basque peppers (axoa de veau). A crazy-looking neighborhood bistro, with some good wines of the region.

• CAP VERNET
  82 avenue Marceau
  Paris 8
  Tel: 01 47 20 20 40
  Fax 01 47 20 95 36
  Closed Sunday. About 40 euros.

Still the best oysters in town! I also love all their fish selections including dorade and home-cured salt cod on a bed of cabbage.

• CHEZ MARCEL
  7, rue Stanislas
  Paris 6
  Tel: 01 45 45 29 94
  Closed Saturday and Sunday. About 20 euros.

Diners who fall at the knees when confronted with an authentic 1930’s style bistro should reserve at table at Chez Marcel, a pocket handkerchief-sized bistro actually founded in 1919. Everything from the wooden cabinet for holding napkins and napkin rings for regular customers and on to the little service window open to the kitchen, hugs at our heartstrings. The food is just as appealing: Excellent poached pistachio-studded sausages paired up with creamy warm potatoes; a sturdy coq au vin; a nicely flavored baby chicken – coquelet – seasoned with tarragon; and plenty of Beaujolais flowing through the dining room. Try the Brouilly, Cret de Garanches.

For Special Occasions:

• GUY SAVOY
  18, rue Troyon
  Paris 17
  Tel: 01 43 80 40 61
  Fax 01 46 22 43 09.
  Closed Saturday lunch, Sunday and Monday. 170 to 200 euros.

I have loved Guy Savoy and his authentic, inviting and exciting fare for more than 20 years. He deserves Michelin’s top three-star accolade but to date has been denied that honor. Savoy loves life, loves food, loves feeding people: Don’t miss his artichoke soup with Parmesan and truffles; quick-cured foie gras; sea bass – bar – grilled with spices, and all the marvellous desserts. Follow sommelier Eric Mancio’s advice: You won’t be disappointed.

• PIERRE GAGNAIRE
  6, rue Balzac
  Paris 8
  Tel: 01 44 35 18 25
  Fax 01 44 35 18 37
  Closed Saturday, and Sunday at lunch. 150 to 200 euros.

No chef is as wildly creative as Pierre Gagnaire. I adore his daring nature, his honesty and his way with ingredients. But this is a fasten-your-seatbelt place, for you never know what Gagnaire is going to dream up that day. The menu changes, literally day to day. The cool modern dining room is a dream, and service adorable. Don’t skip the cheese tray.

• LE PRE CATELAN
  Route de Suresnes
  Bois de Boulogne
  Paris 16
  Tel: 01 44 14 41 14
  Fax 01 45 24 43 25
  Closed Sunday dinner, and Monday. 100 euros.

Frederic Anton is a master: I adore his sumptuous crab and caviar creations; risottos, dreamy sea urchins, inventive desserts. This is one of the most romantic restaurants in Paris, particularly in the summer months when one can dine outdoors.

• CARRE DES FEUILLANTS
  14, rue de Castiglione
  Paris 1
  Tel: 01 42 86 82 82
  Fax 01 42 86 07 71
  Closed Saturday lunch and Sunday. 75 to 100 euros.

Chef Alain Dutournier rarely disappoints in this warm and cozy setting: Try anything with oysters, scallops, foie gras, game or exquisite roast chicken. This is food from the heart, made with care and attention. Extraordinary wine list.