I fully agree with Andy on these restaurants. A few others with Japanese chefs that I like:
Automne (but I haven’t been since November 2021; I believe @sfcarole has had a more recent experience that wasn’t great)
Eunoé (more informal than the others listed here)
Montée
Ôrtensia
Au Petit Tonneau is good, solid traditional food. Also in that area, Sancerre (right bank).
If you get over to the 16th, consider Attabler for good, traditional food.
CAJ is still very good, but it slipped after COVID. Of course, it slipped from being one of the best in the city (my top 5) to just very good…
Last I went was last summer.
Appreciate the extra suggestions, we desperately need them. We seem to have picked the worst possible time to visit Paris from a fooding perspective. Thus far…
These are just the first half dozen that come to mind but I know there are at least 4 more that I found while perusing this forum that enticed us that I’ve forgotten about.
Unfortunately I think the Akabeko price point is just out of reach for us at the moment (renovating one’s kitchen really drains the coffers) for dinner.
We’ve secured a reservation at Gemellus for our last night on Friday, so hopefully we’ll end with the proverbial bang. We decided to keep L’Ami Jean (although Au Petit Tonneau is tempting us as a potential swap), and Le Bon Saint Pourçain, and so now just have one more dinner choice to pick for our first night.
For our remaining dinner slot we are looking at Juveniles, Capitaine, Benjamin Schmitt, and Les Canailles although the latter may be too far of a hike for the better half. Want to have 1 dinner at least in the 1-4 / 9 arrondissements so we can stroll through the area and see the sites at night.
So far we have 2/4 lunch decisions made: Baillotte, and Le Vero Dodat. Will probably keep lunch more open and just eat wherever we end up being around lunch time.
Huge thank you for all the recommendations, this community is amazing. We’re already looking at booking a follow-up trip just so we can eat at all the restaurants we’re going to miss out on with the closures!
Sorry, just seeing this. Le Florimond is a lovely bistro. I have not been in a while, but the food was always excellent. I have definitely eaten their duck confit, as well as many things off of their chalkboard menu. Their stuffed cabbage is a specialty. Save room for dessert! They have a delicious (and huge) millefeuille. Other tempting desserts as well. If you go, please report back!
@Amor_Fati - don’t feel bad about Parcelles! We have been trying to book every day for the last month (we arrive in Paris next week for a month) to no avail. I am not even sure when they open reservations for the next day.
One of the places I do not see mentioned is Godaille in the 11th. We went based on a favorable review from PBM when we were there in Feb this year and loved it! In selecting the wine, I was talking with the wine steward and thinking about a wine I did not see on the list and he mentioned he a bottle left and would be happy to provide it to us! Mostly French diners, but one other couple speaking English.
Likewise, we spent a VERY enjoyable and memorable afternoon having the Sunday Chicken Dinner at Pouliche in the 10th in December last year. PBM reviewed their vegetarian offering (every Wed) and was decidedly lukewarm, but we decided to take a chance and we are glad we did! We were the only English speakers in the place, surrounded by families and were in Heaven.
Our niece will be joining us in May when we are there, and we have booked a return visit.
Have fun!
We just had the “lazy Sunday” Chicken meal at Pouliche today. No choice menu. Agreeable service, excellent food. Most tables filled.
@PeterCL - excellent news, thank you for the update, we are so looking forward to our return.
This question may necessitate a different thread entirely but, curious what people’s thoughts are on this…
Paris restaurants open on Saturday: Could you say they’re more focused on tourist clientele? Seems like there is a cohort of restaurants that are closed on Saturday+Sunday, and then also a cohort closed Sunday+Monday.
Bon Saint Pourçain is wonderful. Lovely people, small and quaint space, with simple yet delicious ingredient forward cooking. Good choice.
For more classic French food, have you considered a brasserie like La Coupole? It’s a classic if you’ve never been. Or for some others I haven’t seen mentioned here yet:
Regarding days of the week, I wouldn’t read into that. Many restaurants are closed Mondays, or Sunday/Monday, simply because those are slower days and that’s when they can best afford to close and recharge. I’m not familiar with places closing on the weekends though.
@simplydg - thanks for the post. When were you last at Cafe des Musées?
We had a wonderful meal there in October 2022, and returned in December 2024, only to be very disappointed. The wine service, and service in general was lacking and the Bouef Bourguignon tasted like it was made with ketchup.
So I am wondering if we had a one off bad experience?
I also had a terrible experience the last time I went to Café des Musées.
Thanks for confirming @ninkat we were wondering if we were the only ones.
If you can get a reservation at Le Bon St. Pourcain definitely go. Just returned and it was one of our last meals and truly a gem. Hestia left me cold. The food was fine but nothing exceptional or interesting in the preparation. Also very “tourist” heavy.
I dined at Automne fall of 2022, you can read my take here and sfcarole’s take here. IMO very good value, and open Sundays, but the food was not at the level of the others.
We really like Eunoé, and will return this spring, but lower priced and as onz notes, not the same kind of experience as most of the rest of these.
