My ultimate foodie guide suggests affordable, casual restaurants as well as some mighty fine-dining splurges in the darling dining cities of Paris and Lyon. Paris feels a bit like Hong Kong where, every few metres, there’s someone selling you something you can eat! It’s wonderful that quality food and preparation are taken seriously that you can stumble anywhere and find fresh pastries, cheeses, meat, fish, and breads all within a few feet of each other.
Avoid paying for water at restaurants
Avoid paying exorbitant prices for water by asking for une carafe. The servers will give you free tap water if you say une carafe, but if you ask for still or sparkling water then you’ll get charged €7 or more for a bottle. Make reservations for any restaurants you’re committed to trying to avoid disappointment. What’s great about a lot of French restaurants is that they offer reasonably priced prix fixe (or set menus) starting around €30 (from what I’ve observed). This is great for trying out a few different things on the menu and getting the best of all worlds.
Bring casual and dressy outfits
Dress code could be casual or elegant depending on which splurge-worthy, fine-dining restaurant you’re looking to try. I recommend packing a couple of nice outfits as backup in case you choose to eat decadently. And keep an open mind about restaurant locations! Most people say to avoid tourist areas, or to only eat at “authentic” French restaurants only. I understand that nobody wants to pay exorbitant prices for bad food (i.e. tourist traps), but I find that restaurants serving delicious food can be found anywhere. The most important thing is to focus on the quality of the food and service (which can be found in all sorts of places). So make sure to take chances on where you eat and you might just stumble into some hidden gems!
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Essentials
Language: French.
Currency: EURO (€)
Voltage: 230 V. See my post on Essential Items to Pack in your Carry-on for tips on what plug adapters to buy.
Major Train Stations: There are 6 major train stations in Paris. They all go to different parts of France and to the rest of Europe.
Major Airport: Charles de Gaulle or Orly. Charles de Gaulle might be slightly farther from downtown Paris, but it all depends on where you’re flying in from.
Ultimate Foodie Guide to Top Places to Eat in Paris
Paris is filled with some of the best restaurants in the world. I’ve compiled a list of restaurants ranging from cheap and delicious, to casual elegant, to luxury-fine dining.
Check out my ultimate travel guide to 5 days in Paris for tips on where to stay and what to see!
Quartier Lorette
Website: https://www.quartierlorette.com/
Style: Casual bistro dining.
Price range (as of October 2024): Between €10 to €30.
We passed by this bistro on our way to Sacré-Coeur and fulfilled our dreams of munching on croque madame and croque monsieur. Both sandwiches are prepared with béchamel sauce, grilled cheese, and ham, but a croque madame gets a fried egg on top. Try some local cheeses too like Saint Marcellin (originating from Lyon), Comté 6 mois (aged 6 months), and Saint Nectar fermier.
Bouillon Julien
Website: https://www.bouillon-julien.com/
Style: Casual dining.
Price range (as of October 2024): Between €5 and €15. An insanely cheap and delicious joint. The restaurant boasts on their website that at the Bouillon Julien everything is beautiful, delicious, and of great value. Reserve online in advance! There will be long lineups out the door.
Bouillon Julien exists because the founders believed that the people should be able to eat delicious, good food at great value in a beautiful art nouveau setting. Dine under Alphonse Mucha-inspired paintings, stained glass ceilings, and next to large, shiny mirrors. I recommend trying the rabbit terrine for appetizer and calf’s head (veal cheek) your main course. Give the classic steak frites a taste too and finish off with a creme brûlée for dessert.
Le Moulin de la Galette
Website: https://www.moulindelagaletteparis.com/
Style: Casual-elegant dining, family friendly, French classics.
Prices (as of October 2024): Between €20 to €50 per dish.
A fun, casual-elegant joint in Montmartre perfect for families as well. Give the escargots a try as well as the quintessential French onion soup. The duck leg confit and coq au vin make great entrées too. All the dishes are hearty and bursting with flavour. And remember to order a glass of champagne to start. (Isn’t it great that you can order champagne before dinner in Paris and no one bats an eye?) This is a great choice for dinner if you’re planning to catch the Moulin Rouge show after. It’s only a 10 minute walk from this place.
Neige d’été
Website: https://www.neigedete.fr/
Style: Fine-dining with prix fixe menu (there are no à la carte choices).
Prices (as of October 2024): €155 per person with optional wine pairings of either 4 glasses (€60) or 5 glasses (€75).
The talented chef Hideki Nishi offers a prix fixe menu of classic French dishes with Japanese inspirations. There are no à la carte options here. This is a splurge-worthy event if you’re looking for a fine-dining experience that melds fine French cuisine in an omakase style menu. It’s a refined but cozy restaurant with innovative creations. This was definitely a highlight and a hidden gem for us.
Bistro La Ferme du Pré
Website: https://leprecatelan.paris/bistrot-la-ferme-du-pre
Style: Elegant bistro dining with hearty, but refined, French classics.
Prices (as of October 2024): About €20 to €30 per dish.
Chef Frédéric Anton created this fine, but un-stuffy bistro. This place is a treat for bistro French food where the chef creates upscale and hearty dishes. I loved the terrine de campagne, ris de veau (sweetbreads) with mushrooms and Madeira sauce, and the baba al rhum for dessert. The steak frites and devilled eggs with pulled chicken were all delicious choices too. Enjoy the whimsy décor: copper pots hanging on the walls, framed silver lids, and hunting-lodge style chandeliers. Definitely make a reservation and order a taxi to get there as it’s quite out of the way from downtown Paris, but absolutely worth it.
Bar de la Croix Rouge and Poilâne Bakery
Neighbourhood: In St Germain.
Prices (as of October 2024): Between €15 to €20 for tartines.
Tartine are open-faced sandwiches or, in other words, toast with toppings on it. Sounds lame? Don’t judge until you’ve tried it. I had salmon on toast and my partner had roast beef with mayo on toast. Divine! And you must get it accompanied with a nice glass of chilled beer. The bread is served with Poilâne bread (a legendary bakery in Paris). Poilâne is around the corner from Bar de la Croix Rouge and worth a visit if you want some fresh bread for breakfast. If you’re on the hunt for some of the best French bread, then this is where you go.
Le Train Bleu (at the Paris Gare de Lyon Train Station)
Website: https://www.le-train-bleu.com/en/
Style: Fine-dining in a majestic setting.
Prices (as of October 2024): Breakfast is between €5 to €20 and lunch and dinner prices can range between €30 to over €150 depending on how extensive your dish is. Check out their prix fixe menus for some more options.
Le Train Bleu opened during the 1900 Paris Exhibition to accommodate the visitors flooding to Paris via the Gare de Lyon train station. Enjoy breakfast crepes, or an omelette with a side of mushrooms, while sitting under Renaissance-style frescoes. The ambiance is ultra-luxurious, fine, and opulent, so it’s incredible that you can get off the high-speed rail and waltz into this restaurant with your luggage. Definitely make a reservation if you’re committed to trying this place out and make sure to check out all their prix fixe options that go from pretty affordable to opulent.
Ultimate Foodie Guide to Top Places to Eat in Lyon
I’ve listed some best restaurants to eat in Lyon with a range of prices from affordable to luxurious.
Check out my 5 day travel guide to Lyon for more trip inspiration.
PAUL Bakery in Gare Part-Dieu Train Station
Website: https://www.paul.fr/
Find the PAUL bakery when you’re at train stations in France. I found this one at the Gare Part Dieu in Lyon. PAUL is a bakery chain and they serve lovely pastries, like the most fluffy and buttery croissant of my dreams. Definitely seek them out if you’re waiting at the train station.
Restaurant Paul Bocuse (L’Auberge du Pont de Collonges)
Website: https://bocuse.fr/fr/
Style: Michelin star super-fine dining.
Price range (as of October 2024): Set menus range from €225 to over €600 and à la carte menu options start at about €100 per plate. There are optional wine pairings available.
The mother of all splurges for a stupendous meal. It’s Chef Paul Bocuse’s flagship restaurant with 2 Michelin stars. There are à la carte options available, but I recommend ordering a tasting menu if you want to try a bit of everything. Star dishes include an entire chicken cooked in bladder and stuffed with truffles and poached in stock. The cheese trolley is like something out of Harry Potter: it’s got endless drawers of cheese and you get to pick all the ones you want to try. The dessert cart is also sumptuous and overwhelming. Yes, you’ll splurge mightily here, but if you’re looking for a true once-in-a-lifetime fine French dining experience, then this might be it.
Le Café des Fédérations
Website: https://restaurant-cafedesfederations-lyon.fr/
Style: Casual family-style dining.
Price range (as of October): €34 for an evening set menu. Lunch menu has prix fixe and à la carte options.
A wonderful bouchon in Lyon that we found by browsing through a cookbook by Daniel Boulud. He says that he’d emulate La Café des Fédérations if he could open up a bistro one day. We think that’s pretty high praise and we were lucky to get a seat here! Be prepared for a satisfying, rich, and filling meal.
I personally really liked the oeuf meurette (poached egg in red wine sauce), gâteau de foie de volaille (chicken liver cake), civet de joue de porc (pork cheek), and quenelle (pike dumplings with lobster sauce). Quenelle is a very traditional lyonnais dish and I highly recommend it if you’re a fan of seafood.
Les Infidèles
Website: https://lesinfideles-restaurant.com/
Style: Casual atmosphere with fine dishes.
Price range: About €30 for a set menu and about €20 to €30 for à la carte options.
Les Infidèles is right in the heart of downtown touristy Lyon, but remember what I said earlier about keeping an open mind about where to eat? Well, this is where it pays off. The food is a fusion blend of French and world flavours; super innovative and tasty. It was a nice blend of casual dining with finely prepared food. We ordered an innovative take on a french toast dish, duck breast with macaroni and cheese served on the side, and an orange dessert that was a homage to citrus. This is a delicious and affordable joint.
Shouka Café
Website: https://shouka-chamonix.fr/
A cute coffee shop and boutique selling lovely flat whites and lots of coffee products. It’s only a 10 minute walk from the hotel we were staying at (Hôtel de l’Abbaye on Ainay street). And it just serves really good coffee.
Le Val d’Isère
Address: 23 Rue des Farges, 69005 Lyon, France
A tiny sandwich shop on the side of the hill on the rue des Farges that served the best baguette sandwiches. A sweet gentleman made me a salmon baguette with fresh egg mayonnaise. It was incredibly delicious. This is definitely the perfect little lunch spot if you’ve just finished touring the Gallo Roman Theatre uphill.
Truth be told, my list of recommendations for this ultimate foodie guide could go on endlessly. But these are the best ones we got to try this year and I’m hoping to keep to this list. Bon appétit!
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