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Best Restaurants in Paris... Eating out is a part of the French way of life.   Don’t have a holiday in France without having a meal in a French restaurant.  Although there are many unusual French foods (frogs legs, snails, tête de veau etc.) you will find many foods that are a true delight!  And Paris boasts some of the best restaurants to choose from (as well as some awful ones aimed squarely at tourists which are worth avoiding!).
Which restaurant?  Try to find a restaurant that is targeted at French diners (French menus are a good clue!).  Don’t expect to find a fantastic restaurant adjacent to the major tourist attractions - here we would recommend something safe and straightforward such as pizza, crêpes etc..
Which time?  It’s often cheaper to eat at lunchtime and during the week.  Sunday lunch is always busy and it pays to book ahead.  In the evenings, don’t arrive too early - 7.30PM is often the earliest you can get served.
Which menu?  Don’t go for à la carte options.  Usually they have the same options as the menu prix fixe and they cost a lot more!  Avoid Menu Touristique like the plague!
Which wine?  Wine can be quite expensive if you go for named bottles.  But carafes of house white or red wine have usually been exquisitely selected by the restauranteur and are excellent value.  Refer to our wine section for more advice on wines in France.

Favourite Parisian restaurants:

   - Bistro Romain
   -
Chez Clement
   - Cocottes Constant
   - Hippopotamus
   - Ilot Vache
   - Le Procope
   - Reine Blanche
   - Relais Entrecôte
   - Restaurant Paul

See the details below.
L’Ilot Vache
35 rue de Saint-Louis-en Ile
75004 Paris
Tel : 0(1) 46 33 55 16
Website.
You are spoilt for choice for good restaurants on the Ile Saint Louis. This is just one of many. It occupies a corner plot about half way down the central thoroughfare and, as its name suggests, here the ‘cow’ reigns supreme as the restaurant is full of ‘bovine’ memorabilia – china cows, tin cows, paintings of cows etc…..etc….. The Ile Saint Louis was once 2 separate islands, one of which was the Ile aux Vaches, after which the restaurant is named. Not only is the décor fascinating but the food is great as well in true French style. It is pricey at €37 for a prix fixe menu. However this is not somewhere to come if you want any degree of privacy as the tables are closely packed together, which somehow adds to its ambience.
Café Scene

The café scene is very much a part of Paris and can be enjoyed year round, even sipping coffee outside in winter, thanks to the sophisticated heating systems in many of the awnings outside the cafés. The waiters who race back and forth, balancing trays while keeping tabs on everyone are great fun to watch. But it is observing Parisian life that is the best sport of all. Once, a very elderly, very chic, very Parisian lady (dripping with jewellery) along with her white lap dog sat next to us at Les Deux Magots (that famous literary haunt on the Boulevard St Germain) and sipped coffee while reading the stocks and shares page of her newspaper. Who was she……..we will never know, but it was fun imagining! Do take time out to ……..just sit. And if you want to find the best cafés that Paris has to offer get your hands on a little book called ‘Café Life Paris’ by Christine and Dennis Graf.