Hello!
New to Hungry Onion and my family (2 adults+ 1 teenager) are headed to Paris 8/13-20. We are looking for excellent, NON-touristy restaurants that we should visit while in the city. 1 or 2 special dinners with the rest being not too pricey. We very much appreciate local, fresh food without the touristy vibe. After reading over several posts here, it appears there are amazing suggestions but none are open in August! Hoping you all can help us out with great places that ARE open in August so I can get some reservations booked.
Guessing you may have found this list already, but if not, I have found their list of when things are open and closed valuable the years I have taken my break in August: https://parisbymouth.substack.com/p/paris-open-august
Iâll keep looking, but open on that list is Pantagruel (a tasting nenu with lots of parts, but interesting combinations of flavors/foods in a creative chefâs hand). Also, looks like Breizh, most locations, will be openânice crĂšperie. Also, I havenât eaten at Flocon, but itâs on my list, and gets quite a bit of love here on H.O.
I also looked up Dilia (wasnât on the list), also a tasting menu, but more down home (Franco-Italian cooking). Iâve also only been there once, but I am very much looking forward to going back.
Iâll keep an eye out and if I see other spots open, Iâll report back! You will definitely be able to eat well in Paris, even in August!
Also, Cafe les Deux Gares (Le Foodingâs best bistro of 2021) looks open for the kind of thing you might be looking for?
Also looks like Le Chateaubriand is open during your dates. I havenât eaten there in a very, very long time, and itâs another tasting/no choice menu, but it was very exciting when I first went for sure!
Le Florimond used to be open in August, but youâll have to call. Another place I used to go quite often, very much liked, havenât been in years, but if it appeals, I think worth a try. N.B. I recall no a/c, also an issue in August in Paris these days, so you might double-check if you call.
If you arrive on the 13th, it looks like Soces is open that night (closed the rest of your week. I havenât eaten there either, but itâs swimming near the top of my list to try. Looks great to me! (Maybe others will weigh in.)
Hi! I can NOT thank you enough for all of this amazing info! I had not seen the link you sent on restaurants open in August-that is a HUGE help! Appreciate all of the great advice and food info-I was able to book Soces for our first night and we are very excited-it looks amazing. I also booked: Flocon and Cafe Les Deux Gares. As much as I would love to take the journey and try out Le Doyenne, itâs a bit much with all our activities throughout the week.
Please keep me posted if you think of anything else we should try-I greatly appreciate all of your amazing advice and information!
So, glad to be of help! And please do report back. I used to travel only in August to Europe, and the food board members of Chowhound (now defunct) were incredibly helpful to me in planning those travels. Best advice I got was not to sweat it as not everyone in any place in Europe can possibly afford to take the whole month of August off even as they might like to. And believe it or not, the August 15 week is even more difficult in Italy, I found!
Bon chance, and if I think of anywhere else that might be open, Iâll post!
Also, if you are reserving at a restaurant that is listed on lafourcette.fr, you can see if a restaurant is open on a particular date because you wonât be able to reserve if it is closed.
Two problems with August. Finding a restaurant that is open and then finding which of the restaurants open is suitable for summer dining. Most restos in Paris do not have air-conditioning and all too many turn into sweatboxes during heatwaves. Weather is one of the reasons I hold off making reservations until the last moment in the summer.
August favourite 2. Maison Maison on the lower quai of the quai du Louvre in the 1st. A open-air riverside resto with small plates/ French tapas/ shareable plates, continuous hours and so fine for snacks as well as lunch and dinner at normal meal times (12 to 2pm and 7 to 10pm). Stairs down from the quai du Louvre. Open all of August.
The Avant Comptoir restaurants are open August, no reservations for small plates and wine. Bustling and fun, and delicious snacks. Some (all?) of the sandwich shops recommended here should be open in August and would make nice picnic food. Ditto the amazing cheese shops/bakeries to be found in Paris.
I also recommend the rooftop/terrace bar at Le Tout Paris in the Cheval Blanc hotel. Granted, touristy, but a pre- or post-dinner aperitif, glass of wine in this setting is an amazing experience. A walk along the lower level by the Seine (exit at the Pont Neuf) to get to the hotel is lovely on a summer evening, in my opinion.
A note about potential heat waves, a/c etc. True a Paris heat wave can be pretty miserable, but I always found it better to have the reservations in place for the places I really wanted to eat at (v. places that have a terrace and fine or good enough food), and I never cancelled because of weather when I only had a week in Paris! Do bring some light clothes (sundresses and equivalent) in case, but check weather before you go, as mostly I can attest to it being unpredictable these days. I was in Paris mid-June and it was insanely hot (in the 80s during the day). Cooled off at night, though, and that is when I would tend to eat my bigger meals in August because of potential heat. My apartment in Paris has no air conditioning, and a fan has made it bearable to sleep, even during heat waves (so far)!
Hoping you all can help us out with great places that ARE open in August so I can get some reservations booked.