Paris Dining and Shopping Guide: Spilled Milk #329

My list of 44 great places, from bistros and seafood brasseries to fromageries and pastry destinations. Plus: Two chefs serving radically different visions of the Paris food scene at its best.

Paris, France: The city where even the pigeons seem to eat better than most tourists and where the word “bistro” has more nuance than Season 1 of Stranger Things. It's a place that worships food with the same zealous fervor we Americans reserve for Wi-Fi, reality TV and iced coffee.

If you're after a list of places that actually live up to the ethos of Parisian culinary supremacy, I’ve got you. Below is a no-fluff list of 30 spots that are a great starting place, plus a clutch of elite extras: cheese, cookware, pâté, takeaway and in honor of Wednesday’s recipe, a bistro section. And some cool hotels for you to check out because eating is only half the game. The rest of the time should be spent stocking your suitcase like a Bear Grylls survival kit.

Join me in Vietnam! From February 27 to March 9, 2026, I’ll be your guide on this incredible journey with Modern Adventure. We’ll slurp street-side phở, steam through Ha Long Bay, cook with aunties in Hoi An and more! For all the details, click here.

And remember, this list just scratches the surface, so ask your server in a restaurant where they go for date night. You might want to try it, too, and for sure let me know if it’s as good as I think it will be! Paris rewards the curious and punishes the lazy. Skip the tired brasseries with tourist menus and chase the flavor like it owes you money. Whether it’s a foie-laced tarte fine or a hunk of Reblochon wrapped like a Cartier trinket, there’s glory in every arrondissement, if you know where to look. And now you do! Carry on below…

Next week we have Paris Part 2, just because there is so much to talk about!