A carnet for guests of our apartment on Rue du Sentier — what to book before you land, and where we actually eat.
Some restaurants — and some museums — are hard to book in Paris. It is, without a doubt, a food city. Since France takes food seriously, you'll need to be rigourous to get one of the hardest tables in town. Or you can be more last-minute and dive into our family addresses — more affordable, and mostly walk-in. And we didn't forget the most important: our favourite pastry chefs.
Three chapters follow: the toughest tables to book now, the family favorites where we actually eat, and the pastry pantheon — it's Paris, after all.
Beyond what's in this guide, our Google Map gathers our favorite places across Paris — restaurants for every budget, our top three bakeries, shops (including the grands magasins), and museums we love.
Besides being some of the most expensive tables in the city, these are the hardest to book — start months ahead, or you won't get in. A heads-up on budget: Plénitude and L'Arpège are three-Michelin-starred, so prices match — but the experience is once-in-a-lifetime.
The Everest
Cheval Blanc, 8 Quai du Louvre, 75001 Three Michelin stars
The hardest table to get in Paris. Chef Arnaud Donckele earned three Michelin stars in seven months. A love letter to sauces, with a Seine view. Tasting menu around $450 per person (drinks not included). Book 8–12 months ahead.
Alain Passard went fully vegan in 2025. After Passard, you'll never see vegetables the same way — even the ones you thought you knew. Lunch around €260, dinner tasting menu €420 (drinks not included). Book months ahead.
Sister of NYC's 4 Charles Prime Rib. The Instagram favorite of 2025-26. Reservations open 30 days ahead at 9 AM. Walk-ins possible at the downstairs lounge.
The Neighbor
5 Rue du Nil, 75002 One Michelin star
Two minutes from the apartment. Chef Gregory Marchand's no-choice tasting menu changes daily. Reservations open 3 weeks ahead and sell out within hours.
The neo-bistro that started the movement in 2011. Five courses at lunch (€85), seven at dinner (€135), all surprise. Reservations open 3 weeks ahead at 10 AM Paris time and fill in milliseconds. Lunch is easier.
Chef Mory Sacko blends his French-Malian heritage with Japanese influences. 15–25 courses, €145–€255. Locals book six months out. Best shot: the waitlist — cancellations happen.
Tiny mint-green facade. Run by a French-Lebanese and Japanese-American couple. Lunch only. Reservations open 2 months ahead.
Eat Inside the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower, 5 Avenue Gustave Eiffel, 75007 Two Michelin stars
Yes — you eat inside the Eiffel Tower itself. Not a tourist trap (2 Michelin stars restaurant). Private elevator on the west side, three dining rooms, Paris at your feet. Reservations open 90 days ahead. Weekday lunch is easier — and the views are better.
Our family eats all over the map.
Our family eats all over the map. We love Japan and its food, so you’ll find plenty of Japanese spots on this list. When we’re in the mood for French, we’ll usually go for a brasserie, or a bouillon. With friends, we lean toward the pricey neo-bistros that are so trendy in Paris right now (see above). And when we’re in a neighborhood we don’t know as well, we always check this guide — Le Fooding — still the best out there for eating in Paris. They actually test every single place.
Iñaki Aizpitarte launched the bistronomy movement here. Septime, Frenchie, Saturne — they all grew up in his shadow. Single set menu, natural wines, no fuss. A few days ahead is usually enough. Touristy, but locals love it too.
Right next door to Le Chateaubriand. Marble interior by Rem Koolhaas, small plates, walk-in friendly. Different vibe though: Le Chateaubriand is for a proper night out with friends, Le Dauphin is for a quick bite for two. For an affordable and efficient weekday lunch, their menu du jour is always lovely (around €25-29).
Our Guilty Pleasure
7 Rue de la Michodière, 75002
A few minutes from the apartment. Forget the decor. Mr. Koba's confidential restaurant has some remarkably well sourced fish — and we go back so far with him that we’re simply loyal. We come here when we are starving of sushi! Mention you’re coming from Yann, and you’ll get the special omakase for €40. We’ve been going for 30 years, since day one.
The oldest Japanese restaurant in Paris (1958). Ten minutes from the apartment. When we want sushi done seriously. Around €60 per person.
The Time Machine
115 Rue Saint-Lazare, 75008
Across from Saint-Lazare station. Open since 1867, Art Nouveau decor classified as a historic monument. Our go-to when time is short. Open until midnight, every day.
When we fancy a real English breakfast or brunch. The English brasserie of Paris — chef Oliver Woodhead serves a proper Sunday brunch with homemade muffins, granola, English sausages and back-bacon from rare Gascon Black Pigs. Their Sunday roast is the real deal. One of our personal favorites.
The Belle Époque Institution
7 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre, 75009
One minute from the apartment. Open since 1896. Listed historic monument, Belle Époque dining room, waiters in traditional black vests writing your bill on the paper tablecloth. Very touristy, very busy — best avoided during peak meal hours. Go for the setting, the history, and the wallet-friendly prices. The food is just okay.
According to critics, the best bouillon in Paris. Traditional French classics (œufs mayonnaise, blanquette de veau, île flottante) with surprisingly good sourcing and ultra-low prices. Their œuf mayo was crowned "world's best" in 2019. Reservations recommended.
Five minutes from the apartment, in the Japanese district near Rue Sainte-Anne. Our go-to for ramen, udon, donburi, karaage and curry. Open every day, no reservations, generous portions, very affordable. A solid value for years.
The oldest covered market in Paris (1615), and still the most fun. Forget a sit-down dinner — you wander, you graze. Moroccan, Japanese, Italian, Lebanese, all under one roof. Come hungry, come early, and don’t expect a table. This is lunch the way we like it: messy, loud, and delicious.
Real Breton crêpes — buckwheat galettes for the savory round, sweet crêpes to finish, and cider in a bowl, as it should be. Nothing fancy, nothing fussy. When the kids want crêpes (which is often), this is where we go.
Yes, a kebab — and a very good one. Three minutes from the door, perfect when no one wants to cook and everyone wants something now. No reservation, no decor, no pretense. Just go.
Jean-François Piège’s temple to the grill. Exceptional cuts, aged beautifully, cooked over fire — plus one of the best burgers in town if you’re in that mood. Not cheap, but worth it when the craving is serious.
On the legendary Rue Sainte-Anne, Paris’s little Japan. Our kids are obsessed with the gyoza — and honestly, so are we. Big steaming bowls of ramen, dumplings hot off the griddle, a line out the door. Worth the wait every time.
Right on our street — one minute from the apartment — for breakfast or goûter. A true bean-to-bar manufacture: the beans are sourced bean by bean, roasted and ground on site. Here’s our tip: grab croissants from the excellent bakery across the street, bring them in, and pair them with what is, hands down, the best hot chocolate in the city — thick, intense, made to order. Sunday morning, sorted.
Open 24 hours, every single day — and has been since 1947, with one exception: Covid forced them to install a lock for the first time in their history. We come here with friends when the night has gotten the better of us. Onion soup, oysters, and of course the namesake pig’s trotter. A relic of the old Les Halles market, when porters and night owls ate side by side. Some things in Paris you do just once. This is one of them.
Paris is the pastry capital of the world. On the names that matter — these are our family’s favourites.
Paris is the pastry capital of the world. On the names that matter — these are our family’s favourites.
The Best
Pop-up locations — see online
World's Best Pastry Chef 2023 (UBIC) and 2024 (World's 50 Best). Our personal favorite. She runs pop-up shops, so check online to see where she is.
Signatureeverything.
The Master
72 Rue Bonaparte, 75006
39 Avenue de l'Opéra, 75002 — close to the apartment
The Picasso of macarons. World's Best Pastry Chef 2016. Started at 14 with Lenôtre and Fauchon.
Signaturethe Carrément Chocolat — the best chocolate cake in the world, in our book. And the Mogador macaron (milk chocolate, passion fruit).
The internet’s most famous pastry chef — he broke the web with his trompe-l’œil fruits so realistic they look fake. Except they’re cake. World’s Best Pastry Chef 2018. In 2025, he opened La Chocolaterie, a shop devoted entirely to his obsession with chocolate.
Signaturethe lifelike fruit pastries, the famous Rubik's Cube cake.
TV face, serious work. Trained with Hermé and Ducasse. Multiple shops in Paris.
Signaturethe Equinoxe (vanilla, caramel, speculoos), lemon meringue tart, chocolate éclair.
The Soul
37 Rue de Varenne, 75007
Inventor of the verrines. Deep, emotional, French to the bone.
Signaturehis Paris-Brest — many pastry chefs call it the definitive version.
World's Best Pastry Chef 2005. Trained at the Plaza Athénée. Playful, modern, technically brilliant.
Signaturethe Kosmik (layered glass desserts), his rum baba.