Famed for their dashi-soaked veal brains and sunny Belle Époque decor, this monument historique is perennially packed with expats and tourists tucking into classic French dishes with a distinctly Japanese touch. Don’t let the crowd deter you: this is one of the most perfect meals in the city, especially when washed down with a glass of natural wine at the zinc bar or out on the terrace (if you don’t mind second-hand smoke). Come here for a full meal, or for a bite-sized portion of what might be the best beef tartare in Paris, served on a crispy cracker of nori and puffed rice.
Photo: 11h45 / Courtesy of Maison Sota
This is a home-cooked meal like nothing you’ve ever had: Maison Sota is in fact a house—the only one on rue Saint Hubert, formerly used for wine storage and as a repair workshop for coffee machines—now converted into an airy, loft-like space that seats 40 around an open kitchen; the best seats are along the communal table or facing the wood-fired oven at the bar. Chef Sota Atsumi, formerly of Clown Bar, mans the kitchen himself, while guests snack on addictively good chestnut bread and ogle the room’s warm rhubarb hues and traditional terracotta tiles. Chef Atsumi’s tasting menu is available at lunch and dinner, including Sunday lunch. Expect plump scallops with licks of vibrant uni and fresh jerusalem artichoke juice, or dehydrated cabbage leaves rehydrated in dashi to deliver a saucy surprise. While tasting menus are often a tick off the bucket list, this is one you’ll want to return to again and again.
Tucked among the labyrinth of flower stands, butchers, and Moroccan traiteurs in Paris’ oldest food market, this seasonal seafood-focused stall never disappoints (except when you can’t snag a stool). Dishes are plated with precision and Pollock-esque flair, like spiky Galician sea urchins with duck consommé and garlic flowers flecked with herby oil. The wine list is equally show-stopping—the energetic, bilingual servers will be glad to pour you a taste or two, or set you up with something special, like a bottle of mineral-driven Jean-François Ganevat alongside pancetta-like cubes of pressed pig ears with green asparagus and kumquats. Best of all, they’re open on Sundays, when many other restaurants are closed.
Photo: Jean Pierre Salle / Courtesy of Lapérouse