Food Guide to Paris — Where and What to Eat

Le Marais — the falafel street and beyond

L'As du Fallafel (Rue des Rosiers, 48): the falafel that made the street famous. Get the falafel wrap, eat it standing on the pavement, finish with a pomegranate juice from the cart next door. For something slower: Chez Janou (Place des Vosges): generous Provençal cooking, a terrace that feels like the South of France. Book ahead.

Saint-Germain-des-Prés — café culture at its peak

Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots are the famous ones. Both are expensive for what you get, but the terrace people-watching is real. For better food and better coffee: Café de la Paix (Place de l'Opéra) or Café des Musicians in the 9th. The secret: Paris cafés do not charge you for sitting — the price is the same whether you're inside or out.

The 10th and 11th — the new Paris food scene

The Belleville and Ménilmontant neighborhoods have a generation of young chefs doing original work. Le Baratin (Rue de la Roquette): natural wine, French bistro food with real soul. Septime (Bercy, one Michelin star, three weeks ahead to book): Bertrand Grébaut's neighborhood restaurant that changed everything. Frenchie (Rue du Nil): small plates, natural wine, and a constant waitlist. Book one month out.

Chinatown (13th arrondissement)

Paris's largest Chinatown has Vietnamese, Chinese, and Cambodian restaurants that outperform anything in the tourist zones. Le Dien (Avenue de Choisy): Vietnamese bánh mì and pho that convinced the entire 13th arrondissement. Paradis Fruit: freshly made tropical fruit juices. Walk from Place d'Italie to the end of Avenue de Choisy.

Markets and takeaways

Marché d'Aligre (9th, Tuesday–Sunday): the best covered market in Paris, locals only. Marché des Enfants Rouges (3rd, Mar–Sat): the oldest covered market in Paris (1615), Moroccan tagines, Japanese bentos, Lebanese mezze. Pierre Hermé (multiple locations): macarons that redefined what a macaron could be. His ispaahan (rose-lychee-raspberry) is the one to try first.