16 Best Restaurants in Around the Eiffel Tower, Paris

Don't expect to be mobbed by tourists at this casual, bright café two minutes from the Champ de Mars. Locals love it for the sidewalk terrace and garden seating in the back—not to mention the good coffee, tea, and stellar brunch. Even if you don't snag a seat outside, the charming interior is a cheerful spot to tuck into a heaping plate of eggs Benedict, smoked salmon tartine, or avocado toast. There are also fresh fruit smoothies and home-baked pastries. Its all-day hours (seven days a week) makes it the perfect place for a well-priced lunch or teatime. Reservations are always a good idea, especially on weekends.

Although two-Michelin-star chef David Toutain's approach may be exasperatingly conceptual for some, others find his earthy, surprising, and inspired concoctions, served in a sleek modern space, utterly thrilling. Each dish is a lesson in contrasts—of temperature, texture, and flavor—as well as a feat of composition: briny oysters, brussels sprouts, and foie gras in a warm potato consommé; creamy raw oysters with tart kiwi and yuzu; crispy pork chips alongside velvety smoked potato puree. Toutain has a particular soft spot for root vegetables and truffles, which he sprinkles liberally throughout dishes like salsify broth with lardo and black truffle. 

Elegant and relaxed don’t usually come together so seamlessly in this upscale neighborhood, but this beautiful, cozy dining room—luminous in the daytime and romantic at night—is the perfect setting for a meal that’s ambitious without being pretentious or fussy. Chef Maxime Le Meur, finally on his own after stints in top Parisian kitchens, crafts beautiful dishes with surprising pairings that combine meat and fish, but can be tailored to your desires: tuna ceviche and foie gras with apple, grapefruit, and a vibrant watercress sauce; or velvety veal on a bed of salsify with sweet burnt onion and shaved black truffle. For dessert, the signature chocolate soufflé and Paris Brest are not to be missed. Prices for this quality, especially in this neighborhood, are exceedingly gentle (€90 for 5-course menu, €140 with five wine pairings; 7-course menu €110, €180 with wines). Dining outside on the sidewalk terrace is a delight in summer.

Breton-born Alain Passard, one of the most respected chefs in Paris, famously shocked the French culinary world by declaring that he was bored with meat. Though his vegetarianism is more lofty than practical—L'Arpège still caters to fish and poultry eaters—he does cultivate his own vegetables outside Paris, and his dishes elevate the humblest produce to sublime heights. On his menus, you might find salt-roasted beets with aged balsamic vinegar, leeks with black truffles, black radishes, and cardon, a kind of thistle related to the artichoke, with Parmigiano-Reggiano. The understated decor places the emphasis firmly on the food, but try to avoid the gloomy cellar room.

In a highly publicized battle, the prestigious helm of Paris's most haute (literally; it's in the Eiffel Tower) restaurant was wrested from Alain Ducasse by three-star chef Frédéric Anton of the prestigious Le Pré Catelan in the Bois de Boulogne, with Anton's "zero waste" approach and his idea to serve less complicated fare, focusing on French meats and vegetables produced by smaller French artisanal farms and regional delicacies, winning out. Though not cheap (tasting menus from €290), winning a second Michelin star in 2024 clinched the restaurant's standing as one of Paris's top splurge-worthy dining rooms.

With chef Alain Solivérès (formerly of Taillevent) at the helm, this much-beloved outpost has taken on a new shine—and a Michelin star. The food is sophisticated and the atmosphere is lively and chic; reservations are essential. Pastry chef Kimiko Kinoshita's gorgeous creations top off a ravishing, well-priced meal. With wines starting at around €40 (and €58–€65 lunch menus on weekdays), this is a wonderful place for a classic yet informal French meal.

Chef Tomy Gousset, who learned his skills in some of the city's most prestigious kitchens, flies solo at this wildly popular bistro, which won its first Michelin star in 2019. The appealingly spare dining room is an excellent backdrop for some truly dazzling dishes that taste every bit as sublime as they look. Best of all, despite being one of the best tables in the neighborhood, it's not overly expensive.

The otherwise unexciting 15e arrondissement is home to much-lauded chef Ludivine Merlin and her Basque-inspired recipes. Basque cooking is known for its bold flavors and generosity, and the choices at Afaria are no exception. Crisp-skinned duck breast with balsamic-fig vinegar (for two) is served dramatically, inside a ceramic roof tile, with the accompanying potato gratin perched on a bed of twigs. Big chunks of spoon-tender, slow-cooked pork from Gascony come in an earthenware dish with cubes of roasted celery root. Tapas are served at a high table near the entrance, and there's a large-screen TV for rugby matches.

This "best craftsman of France" revives the gastronomic art of French charcuterie in dishes like dreamy foie gras and succulent slabs of country terrine enrobed in a golden buttery crust. The small-but-choice menu also highlights specialties from the sea: shellfish soufflé or delicate fish quenelles (a specialty of Lyon, France's charcuterie capital).

To see what well-heeled Parisians eat these days, book a table at this chic little bistro run by Jacques Lacipière as soon as you get to town. The contemporary dining room is unusually comfortable, but it's the excellent, well-priced cuisine du marché that has made this spot a hit. The sophisticated fare sometimes features Salers beef and green asparagus, roasted lobster with mushroom risotto, and game in season. House-made desserts could include citrus terrine with passion-fruit sorbet or caramelized apple mille-feuille with hazelnut ice cream. The €45 prix-fixe dinner menu, featuring dishes with distinct haute-cuisine touches, is one of the city's great bargains.

The red-checked tablecloths and the jovial maître d' at this authentic southwestern French bistro near the Invalides might seem like a tourist trap until you realize that it's just as popular with food-loving locals and top French politicians as it is with foreigners. Everything on the menu is hearty and delicious, if not especially refined—don't miss the gooey help-yourself chocolate mousse. The best way to start a meal here is with the "chariot" of starters, everything from lentil salad to ratatouille; just point to the ones you want. Classics among the main courses are duck confit with sautéed garlic potatoes, cassoulet, and game dishes in winter. 

If you love Yves Camdeborde's southwestern France–inflected cooking at Le Comptoir but can't get a table for dinner, head to this tavernlike Basque restaurant run by his longtime second-in-command, Stéphane Jégo. Jégo's style is remarkably similar to Camdeborde's because he uses the same suppliers and shares his knack for injecting basic ingredients with sophistication reminiscent of haute cuisine. You can go hearty with Spanish piquillo peppers stuffed with salt-cod paste or poulet Basquaise (chicken stewed with peppers), or lighter with seasonal dishes that change weekly. The restaurant is popular with rugby fans (a sport beloved of Basques), who create a festive mood. Reserve at least a week ahead for dinner.

Come for the early sitting at this buzzing bistro (reservations are essential) specializing in solid French "bistronomic" fare and you'll often discover the dining room filled with more than a few tourists—the waiters speak English perfectly. The dining room excels in such French comfort foods as leg of lamb, warm Puy lentil salad, roasted quail, and a scintillating rum-soaked baba au rhum, not to mention the namesake dish of velvety bone marrow. Service can be brusque, with waiters plunking even the higher-priced bottles of wine on the table without waiting for the customer to swill and slurp. Still, these problems seem to be minor, judging by the ever-crowded tables. The restaurant's popular wine bar, La Cave de l'Os à Moelle, across the street on Rue de Lourmel, serves a bargain prix-fixe menu for €31.

It's not just this contemporary bistro's chic black storefront and floor-to-ceiling windows that stand out among the elegant neighborhood's pale sandstone buildings and pricey dining. A frisson of excitement in fresh, imaginative, and unfussy dishes paired with small-producer wines brings a breath of fresh air.

Set in a quiet, aristocratic quartier near the Musée Rodin, postage stamp–size La Table d'Aki features cuisine centered on the sea. Chef Akihiro Horikoshi works all alone in an open kitchen while 16 lucky diners await the next course: lush, simple dishes like plump langoustine shimmering in a silky shallot-fennel sauce or delicate medallions of sole in a mellow red-wine-and-leek reduction. Although perfect for a long, leisurely lunch, the glaring lighting isn't ideal for a romantic dinner.

A quiet residential street shelters one of Paris's great neighborhood bistros, which retains its moleskin banquettes, blackboard menus, and small wooden tables where you'll touch elbows with your neighbors. Expect fresh market ingredients in a gastronomic menu that's liberal with deluxe details. A typical meal might include vegetable soup with foie gras and cream, truffle tagliatelles, panfried scallops in crab sauce or axoa de veau (a Basque veal sauté), and a vanilla soufflé with cherry jam. All this plus a great choice of wines by the glass keep happy regulars filling the dining room. Prix-fixe menus start at €32 at lunch.