5 Best Restaurants in St-Germain-des-Pres, Paris

Within the beautifully restored Monnaie de Paris, you'll find star chef Guy Savoy's hallowed dining room. The market-fresh menu features à la carte classics such as artichoke truffle soup or turbot with fresh herbs, but if you want the ultimate gourmet dining experience, splurge on the 12-course, €680 tasting menu. The more modest seven-course lunch menu will only set you back €260, or an à la carte lunch plate is about €150 (these prices do not include wine). Whatever you order, every dish is a work of art.  

Portraits of cows adorn the stone walls of this no-nonsense bistro near the Luxembourg Gardens, hinting at the kitchen's penchant for meaty cooking (Ferrandaise is a breed of cattle). Still, there's something for every taste on the market-inspired menu, which changes monthly and lists at least one fish, one poultry, and one vegetarian main. The dining room buzzes with locals who appreciate the friendly service and the inexpensive lunch menu although there are always diners eager to sample the copious €46 three-course prix-fixe dinner.

Michelin-starred chef Hélène Darroze made a name for herself decades ago, and her long-established restaurant in Paris has been revamped and renamed Marsan, a nod to her birthplace in the country's southwest. It's prix-fixe only, at lunch and dinner, whether you opt for the elegant upstairs dining room or the semiprivate table for six with a view of the open kitchen. At the table next to the kitchen (la table du chef), there is a multi-course tasting menu for €325. The elegant dining room serves a four-course lunch menu on weekdays (€95) and a six- or nine-course tasting menu for lunch or dinner (€195 or €250, respectively) that features beautifully presented dishes such as foie gras, lobster, sea bass, farm-raised squab, and Darroze's signature baba, an Armagnac-infused cake with vanilla syrup and candied pears. For truffle fanatics, one can request additional white and black truffle dishes (available only during truffle season).

Chef Martin Maumet has taken over chef William Ledeuil's former Kitchen Galerie Bis and opened Oktobre with its equally refined signature dishes. The catch of the day or quail served with seasonable vegetables does not disappoint. A three-course lunch menu is €39 is offered only on weekdays (but not on public holidays). On weekday evenings, one can choose to order à la carte or the six-course tasting menu for €83 per person. On Fridays and Saturday, the tasting menu is five courses. For groups of six or more, it's the tasting menu only in the evening.

The serious, unpretentious, and mightily creative cuisine here quickly catapulted Quinsou to culinary fame. An emphasis on first-rate growers and suppliers puts vegetables in the limelight, though fish, shellfish, and game also make welcome appearances in the small number of market-fresh dishes that grace the daily menu. Prix-fixe menus are the only options, with a four-course lunch menu (€95) or a five-course dinner menu (€125). Both menus are offered with wine parings for €160 and €200, respectively. It's difficult to convey the originality of these dishes, but Parisians are smitten, and you will be, too.