David's Paris Restaurants and Things to Do 2024

Here's my list of very special places in Paris I love and recommend to all my friends.  Cultural stuff and a summary at the bottom of this list.

1. Frenchies Vin et Bar…Rue du Nil, 2eme.   We like the wine bar over the full restaurant across the street, but ate at both places and would go back whenever we can. This is our number 1 favorite go to restaurant...crowded and worth it.
2. Pink Mamma--Italian 9e--no reservations so you end up wandering around Pigalle before having amazing cheeses, pizza, etc.  
3. Cafe Ineko 13, rue des gravilliers,75003--ideal lunch spot
4. La Terrasse…Hotel Terrasse, 18eme Montmartre.  Best view of the City I know of and fantastic food
5. Liza, 14, Rue de la Banque--Lebanese...world class, for lunch, dinner, and particularly for brunch on weekends...you can't surpass the middle eastern flavors
6. Bespoke…3, Rue Oberkampf, 11eme.   Also great selection of tapas and fun bar scene.   This is the restaurant we were at the night of November 13th 2015—around the corner from the Bataclan.
7. Holybelly…19 Rue Lucien Sampaix, 10eme.   Our absolute favorite breakfast spot in Paris.   Good music, great French bread, great coffee.
8. L'as Du Fallafel…34, Rue des Rosiers 4eme.   I also like King Falafel two doors east, which is not as popular (so no lines) but equally as fun and good.  These are landmarks in the Marais.   Perfect lunch spot
9. 404…69 Rue des Gravilliers, 3eme.   Beautiful interior and couscous like new fallen snow.   This is as good as Moroccan food gets…great for lunch or dinner.
10. Pirouette…5 rue du Mondetour, 1er.   Great tastes and nice interior.
11. L'Altro…6eme.   This has been a favorite of mine since 2008—continues to put out top tier Italian in new and fun ways. 
12. Verjus...1er...joyous prix fix that keeps you focused on the food, which is local and rich and wonderful..nice bar downstairs if you arrive early.   Reservations mandatory.
13. Bistrot Paul Beard...18 Rue Paul Bert, 11eme   Favorite of the French standard
14. Hang-A-Li...7 Rue Louvis, 2eme.   Korean...start with the bibimbap and go from there!
15. Anahi 49 Rue Volta      Visit Website  3 eme. Expensive Argentinian take on empanadas, guacamole, and sea-bass tiradito to start, followed by waygu beef .
16. Jiaozi at Raviolis Chinois Nord-Est. 1st. 115 rue Saint-Denis Paris, Île-de-France   It’s a hole in the wall, with18 places and rudimentary service, with homemade jiaozi — small Beijing-style dumplings  
17. Yahmi--low-key Moroccan right in the neighborhood of the 1er.
18. Roba Seria--13 rue des Lavandieres-Sainte Opportune 1er--great music (we asked for and got Johnny Cash), Italian custom pizza, 18 seats, wonderful for lunch or dinner

Four Paris spots for drinks

1. Little Red Door  3rd arrondissement  Discreetly hidden at 60 rue Charlot, with no door sign..
2. 36 Corneil…36, Rue de Rochechouart, 9eme—hopping bar with great tapas (the cheese plate is enough for four) and often dancing later at night.   Great music  all the time.
3. Drink at Moncœur for one of the best views of the city  High on the hills of Belleville, this is the most beautiful terrace in Paris.
4. L'Arte Brut, Quincampoix, 4me

Paris Pet Store

• BHV La Niche 42 Rue de la Verrerie 75004--nothing comes close in Paris

Cultural

We have a preference for small tactical exhibits...rotating exhibits with frequent surprises.   So, we always check out the schedule at these Paris cultural institutions places and pick everything that looks interesting.

• Jardin Albert Kahn--St Cloud archives and 8 acre garden including Japanese garden
• Atelier des Luminaires--the best digital art I've ever seen, including the French "best of" awards--in the 11eme
• Hall of the Museum of Evolution-- deep inside the Jardin des Plantes 5e
• Rooftop of the Paris Philharmonic--just opened 221 avenue Jean Jaurès 19e
• Foundation Cartier
• Revisit Le Coulee Verte--walk the aqueduct
• La Butte Chaumont caves--surreal in every way...a mini-Grand Canyon of sorts
• Foundation Henri Bresson-Cartier
• Both the Jeu du Paume and the Orangerie (1er at the end of the Tuilleries)
• Foundation Louis Vuitton--the art is stuff you've seen before, but the building is extraordinary and it's always great to run or walk the Bois...

SUMMARY

You can’t go wrong, so here are a few personal favorites as destinations besides the obvious overrun attractions of the City—most of these will NOT be the highlights of any guidebook, but they should be—they’re all way more interesting than the marquee locations (still great, but too much):

FOOD (our tastes are democratic and we would never go to a place that got Michelin stars—well, we have, but they’re not on this list) 

Favorite breakfast spot: Holybelly 19 Rue Lucien Sampaix, 10eme

Favorite falafel joint: L’as Du Fallafel Rue des Rosiers 4eme (center of Marais and jammed…if the line’s too long, King Falafel two doors to the right is actually better)

Favorite French bistro: We don’t eat French food very much in Paris, but the classic one we like, that comes up on nearly all the non-fussy “best” lists, is Bistrot Paul Beard, out past Bastille on Rue Paul Bert in the 11eme.

Favorite neighborhood Italian (we eat a ton of Italian in Paris) either L’Altro in the 6eme, or Roba Seria in the 1eme. Pink Mamma near Moulin Rouge in the 9eme is also fantastic food, and quite the scene (show up early to get on the list) if you’re up in Pigalle.

Favorite Moroccan (France has an obvious advantage in this category over the US—they colonized the place).  Most people vote for 404 on Rue des Gravilliers in the 3eme. Only negative here is that it’s shoulder to shoulder (but beautiful inside) so perhaps less fun solo…but the cous cous is lighter than Crested Butte snow.  (If you’re interested in this category, I have two other family owned cous cous places, one in the 5eme and one in the 6eme…LMK).

Favorite go-to “cool” best food restaurant—our version of the best restaurant in Paris: An endlessly debated topic but for the best mix of local, “cool,” unbelievably flavorful, not overpriced:  Frenchies in the 2eme (Rue d’ Nil?).  No reservations and go to the “bar,” not the formal restaurant across the street.  No reservations but the wine list is, in fact, breathtaking and you can squeeze into the bar until they find you a place to sit.

Finally, not at the top of food list, but the place we were eating when the Bataclan murders happened…around the block from Bataclan—we were locked in there for four hours.  Nice bar and another place where, if you stop, you should think of our connection with the place:  Bespoke on Rue Oberkampf in the 9eme. Bataclan is back in business now, but I think it deserves to be honored for a few moments if you’re in the hood…stupid and atrocious violence.

FAVORITE DESTINATIONS FOR PARIS STUFF—assuming a desire for new neighborhoods, different views, interesting perspectives

Museum of Evolution—this is an amazing place in the Jardin des Plantes which is Paris’ Natural History spot. 

La Butte Chaumont—surreal park in every way..a mini-Grand canyon with a bridge built by Eiffel.  You won’t believe this place when you see it.  PS, we did a run there in November that was 4 loops of the periphery and inner loops…hilliest run in Paris so you could plan a run here. 

Favorite architectural destination in the city: Foundation Louis Vuitton in the Bois (16eme near Neuilly). Both of us love this building and it’s the best excuse to go out to the Park (again, you could plan a run here if you wanted to). Exhibits can be a bit lackluster but worth a short tour…the building itself dominates…

Favorite small museums assuming that the Louve etc are not all that thrilling any longer and just too big for enjoyment:  1. Atelier des Lumieres in the 11eme—these shows, which now travel the globe, began here. It is the most amazing digital art on the planet, I believe…they have rotating shows in this huge space—Klimmt, Van Gogh, the international digital art awards.  They cover every inch of every wall, the ceiling, and the floors with out of the world digital graphics…it must take hundreds of computers to do this.  Blows me away…2. Foundation Henri Bresson-Cartier (rotating photo exhibits in the 4eme) or 3. Foundation Cartier (In November they had at art installation on trees which was the greatest thing we saw—that’s probably closed but whatever they have will be interesting.  Also it’s on Rue Raspail in the 14eme, so close to both Jardin Luxumbourg, or the Montparnasse Cemetery… and all three worth a visit every Paris trip even if on all the tourist destination maps.

Another great walking destination Le Coulee Verte---the original elevated aqueduct trail with views into apartments and more—starts near Bastille so you COULD walk out and then continue to La Butte Chaumont above. You’ll see what I mean if you look at a map.