These restaurants have the Paris Update seal of approval [faut u’on trouve un symbole] as a place we would gladly return to, even though they may not be perfect in every respect.
Price key for a three-course dinner, not including wine:
€ under €20
€€ €20-€40
€€€ €40-€60
€€€€ above €60.
Note that many of these restaurants have lower-priced set menus at lunchtime; see review for details.
Fulgurances, Chef 4
Rotating Chefs Keep the Fire Burning
Contemporary French €€€
Chez la Vieille Daniel Rose
Joyeux, Joli et Généreux
Bistro €€
Champeaux
Vive Champeaux, À Bas la Canopée!
Contemporary French €€€
Régalade Saint Honoré
Good Eats Upstairs, Downstairs
Bistro €€
AG Les Halles
Renewed Hope for a Fast-Food Ghetto
Contemporary French €€€
Ellsworth
All’s Well at Ellsworth
Bistro €€
Zébulon
Scoring High at Palais Royal
Contemporary French €€
Pirouette
Turnabout Is Fair Play
Bistro €€, €€€
Spring & Café des Musées
Old Favorites Revisited: Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down
Bistro €€€€
The Fish Club
Something Fishy Going On
Seafood €€
(V)ivre
Down Below but High on Life
Bistro €€€
La Bourse et la Vie
A New Flower in the Budding Rose Empire
Bistro €€€
La Marée Jeanne
Something Fishy Going On in Paris
Seafood
Edgar
Learning to Share And Loving It
Bistro €
Circonstances
A Great Meal under the Right Circumstances
Contemporary French €€
L’Apibo
Cool Customers, Refreshing Meal
Contemporary French €€
Noglu
No Gluten, Just Glee for Gluttons
Bistro €€
Pascade
Cut the Carbs or Pass the Pascade
Contemporary French €€
Mori Venice Bar
Elegant Comfort Food in a Soothing Atmosphere
Non-French €€€€
Pierrot & American Bistrot
Beef Two Ways: French and American
Bistro €€€
L’Office
All in a Working Day
Bistro €€
Café Philippe
A Pleasant Place In the Hood
Bistro €€
Istr
Fast or Slow Fish? No Contest!
Seafood €€, €€€
Elmer
A Meal as Colorful as a Patchwork Elephant
Contemporary French €€€
Le Mazenay
Good Food, Great Service: Pity About the Decor
Bistro €€€
Les Chouettes
Casual Class, Creative Cooking
Contemporary French €€€
L’Olivier & Cuissons
Islands of Goodness On the Boulevard
Bistro €€
Beaucoup
Lots of ‘Like,’ but Not Enough Love
Contemporary French €€€
Les Enfants Rouges
Mushroom Season in a Cozy Marais Bistro
Bistro €€
Bistrot Populaire
Back to the Future with Better Bistro Food
Bistro €€
Alliance
A Happy Marriage of Two Top Talents
Contemporary French €€€€
Beaurepaire Revisited
Basquing on the Terrace Of a Summer Evening
Bistro €€
Au Bon Coin
Fed Up with Frills and Tired of Trends?
Bistro €€
Les Délices d’Aphrodite
Greek That Everyone Can Understand – and Enjoy
Non-French €€€
Aux Verres de Contact
Human Contact The Missing Element
Contemporary French €€
Sakebar
Japan Meets France Over a Glass of Sake
Contemporary French €€
Le Bistro des Gastronomes & Les Trois Seaux
A Tale of Two Bistros
Bistro €€
Quinsou
A Rare Bird Spreads Its Wings
Contemporary French €€
Cézembre
Fishing for (and Catching) Superlatives
Seafood €€
Restaurant Moustache
Off the Boulevard and on Track for a Good Time
Bistro €€
Le Timbre
Does Size Matter? Not in This Fine Bistro
Bistro €€€
Semilla
Unhappy Marriages, Stunning Finale
Contemporary French €€€
Kitchen Galerie Bis
The Pleasant Duty of Revisiting Restaurants Past
Contemporary French €€€
Les Bistronautes
Thin Atmosphere, Potential for Life
Bistro €€€
Le Bien Décidé
Star-Backed Bistro Puts on a Good Act
Bistro €€€
Loiseau Rive Gauche
Tante Marguerite Rebranded and Updated
Contemporary French €€
Bistrot Belhara
Belhara offers Basque food the way it should be done.
Bistro €€
MandooBar
Korean Food, Pure and Simple
Non French €€
Lazare
Star Chef’s Brasserie On the Right Track
Contemporary French €€€
Neva Cuisine
Just Desserts in Train-Track Desert
Contemporary French €€
Mini Palais
Don’t Judge a Menu at the En-Cas
Contemporary French €€, €€€
Orties
Sting-free Nettles
Bistro €€€
Tous
Good Cheer, Good Chow
Bistro €€
Belle Maison
More Fish than Fowl, Bistro Excels at Both
Bistro €€€
JBC
Hamming It Up on the Boulevards
Bistro €
Louis
A Fine Little Meal Is Waiting for You
Contemporary French €€€
Prémices
One Logical Conclusion: An Excellent Meal
Contemporary French €€€
L’Office
Eating at This Office Is Never Hard Work
Bistro €€
BAT
Batting 1000 on the Grands Boulevards
Contemporary French €€
Caillebotte
New Bistro Paints a Pretty Picture
Bistro €€
Ito
Japanese-Filipino Fusion Works Its Charm
Non-French €€
Albion
Post-Brexit Franco-British Amity
Bistro €€
Le Bel Ordinaire
Le Bel Ordinaire
Bistro €€
Les Résistants
Pièce de Résistance: The Restaurant Itself
Bistro €€
L’Étoile du Nord
The Star of the North: Train-Station Gastronomy
Bistro €€€
La Vague
Niceties of Nikkei Migrate to Paris
Bistro
Les Arlots
Lunchtime War Games in Rollicking Modern Bistro
Bistro €€
Mamagoto
Playtime Is Over, Let the Fun Begin!
Contemporary French €€
La Taverne de Zhao
Some Like It Hot, Some Like It Hotter
Non-French €, €€
Gros
Feasting Off the Fat of the Land
Contemporary French €€
La Cevicheria
The Infinite Adaptability of Raw Fish and Citrus
Non French €€
Iratze
A Bright New Basque Star
Bistro €€€
Osteria Ferrara
Sicilian Goodness on the Plate
Bistro €€
La Cantine de l’Embuscade
Anarchy Defeated, Ambushed by Offal
Bistro €€
Le Petit Keller
Share and Share Alike, For Better or Worse
Contemporary French €€, €€€
Deux Fois Plus de Piments
Some Like It Hot, Some Like It Hotter
Non-French €, €€
La Cave du Paul Bert
The Wine Bar Next Door
Bistro €€
Botanique
Upstairs, Downstairs: Gourmet Tasting and Tapas
Contemporary French €€€
Salt
A Magic Touch with Bread, Butter and Seafood
Seafood €€€
Tannat
Gourmet Strip In the 11th Arrondissement
Contemporary French €€
Les Déserteurs
No Squabbling With This Chef
Contemporary French €€€
Jouvence & Brigitte
Pre-Christmas Bistro-Hopping
Bistro €€
Le Clandé
Aiming for A Perfect Ten
Contemporary French €€€
Will
Where There’s a Will, There’s an Excellent Meal
Contemporary French €€€
Clandestino
What’s the Secret? Creative Food, Cozy Setting
Contemporary French €€€
Eat Intuition
Male Logic vs. Female Intuition
Bistro €€
Le Petit Champerret
Meaty Meal for Mighty Appetites
Bistro €€€
Gare au Gorille
Feeding Time at the Zoo
Bistro €€
Chez Léon
Good for Simenon, Good for Today’s Parisians
Bistro €€
Le Bouchon et l’Assiette
Don’t Put Off Until Tomorrow A Meal You Can Have Today
Contemporary French €€
Les Moussaillons
The Sea, the Sea and (Almost) Nothing But the Sea
Seafood €, €€
Coretta
Dining with the King Family
Bistro €€€
975
Bistronomy Reaches Outer Limits (of Paris)
Contemporary French €€
Les Poulettes de Batignolles
An Outpost of Catalan Charm in Paris
Bistro €€€
Dix-Huit
Picking the Winning Number
Contemporary French €€€
Le Cercle Rouge
Mother-Daughter Bistros: Follow the Red Line
Bistro €€
Nomos
The Benefits of Solo Dining
Contemporary French €€€
Etsi
Sunny Days on the Butte Montmartre
Bistro €€
Sunset
Unexpected Pleasures of Lunch in a Trendy Bar
Contemporary French €
Au Palais de l’Himalaya
Spicy Night on the Butte Montmartre
Bistro €€
Jeanne B
A Growing Family of Endearing Deli/Bistros
Bistro €
Antoine de Montmartre
Upgrading Montmartre’s Culinary Landscape
Contemporary French €€
Jour de Fête
Party Time in Montmartre
Bistro €€
La Table d’Eugène
Color, Quality and Value in An Outer Arrondissement
Bistro €€
Mensae
Bittersweet Feast on Bastille Day
Bistro €
La Rotonde
Post-Cinema Dinner in the Round
Contemporary French
Quedubon Revisited
iPhone App Saves the Evening
Bistro €€
L’Axel
Pampered in the “Provinces”
Contemporary French €€€€