2 Best Restaurants in Montmartre, Paris

Though everyone talks about the "new Montmartre," exemplified by a wave of chic residents and throbbingly cool cafés and bars, the old Montmartre is alive and well at the untrendy-and-proud-of-it Mascotte. This old-fashioned café-brasserie—which dates from 1889, the same year that saw the opening of the Tour Eiffel and the Moulin Rouge—is a local favorite. Loyalists come for the seafood platters, the excellent steak tartare, the warming potée auvergnate (pork stew) in winter, and the gossip around the comptoir (bar).

This "bistronomic" (think "bistro" and "gastronomic") outpost set in a classic Art Nouveau--era bistro—complete with romantic mosaics and a marble bar that made it a favorite meeting place of the Surrealists—draws a lively food-centric crowd that's wild about chef Charleyne Valet's tasty shareable plates. Bistro favorites include egg parfait with smoked potato mousse and sunchoke chips, a delicious riff on grandmère's lentil soup, or haddock with raisins and almonds all served with a small but deftly curated selection of natural wines.