Paris Restaurants & Eats

As Brian and I prepared for our trip to Paris, we both researched food extensivelyyy. Yelp and TripAdvisor were my closest friends for a little while. I mean, let’s face it: how many chances were we going to have to go to Paris? (a rhetorical question - do not answer). We wanted to eat the very best Paris had to offer. But with only four days in the city, there's no doubt we missed out some things. What we did eat was amazing, and here's a little peek.

And, with Paris just about 4,000 miles away from Richmond; and thus the food is totally, unquestionably out of my reach. I feel like having a temper tantrum when I think about this. It's a difficult reality to swallow.

Pierre Herme

What's a Paris trip without macarons? We stopped by Pierre Herme within a couple hours of getting off the plane - clearly we hit the ground running. These delicate, sweet, meringue-like cookie sandwiches were at the tip top of my food list, and we heard Pierre Herme was the best. Spoiler alert: they are! Rose petal and salted caramel were the most tasty.

Chez Prosper

We stayed somewhat near this great neighborhood restaurant close by the Nation stop on the Metro. It was packed on a Sunday and we quickly found out why. It's definitely a festive, lively place to enjoy a Parisian meal with what seemed to be a lot of locals on the night we went. Not to mention, the food was superb (Nutella tiramisu!) and so classically French (steak and frites!) at a reasonable price. The patrons and the staff were very friendly even to us Americans. USA!

Tiramisu, in a jar. My new normal for desserts.

Chez Gladines

The portions are large and the prices are low at this popular Paris restaurant. We arrived at 10:30 pm and it was packed! There are a couple locations, and the one we went to had the feel of a diner with tables in close quarters and lots of loud conversations. It almost felt like home, except the conversations weren't happening in English! The duck with roquefort cheese sauce and the potatoes with melted cantal cheese and salty ham slices were meals so good they're burned into my memory. Brian ordered a cassoulet and the meat was so tender it fell right off the bone. The salad looked perfect, came in a huge mixing bowl and was enough for two. Absolutely to die for!

Gladines was so popular, we had that bottle of wine sitting on our table for a good 10 or 15 minutes before the restaurant had any available glasses to give us. We came close to straight drinking from the bottle...not that I've ever done that before.

Le Deux Magots

This is a famous, old café in the charming Saint-Germain-des-Prés area, frequented back in the day by famous artists. It still serves an important landmark of Parisian culture. We had a late lunch here one day after eating our first lunch at Sugarplum. We squeezed around a table on the crowded patio area, which is great for people watching, grabbing a bite (try the open-face croque monsieur), or imbibing in a glass of bubbly.

Willi's Wine Bar

I kept referring to this place (on accident) as "Wet Willie's" - the frozen drinks/daiquiri bar located all over the South. However, these two places could not be any more different. Willi's in Paris is a fun, happy, bright wine bar/restaurant near the Louvre. It's not especially cheap, but the location is central and the atmosphere is enjoyable. The wines were excellent and the food was delicious. Be sure to pick up some poster artwork as a souvenir - they have a different poster each year and they're darn cute.

This was some kind of heaven - caramelized onion crumble tart thingy that I need to figure out how to recreate immediately.

Septime

Named one of the world's top 50 restaurants for 2013, this restaurant was our splurge dinner for this trip. Septime is rustic yet modern, with uncompromising table service. The inventive menu is chef's choice, so you have no idea what's going to come out on your plate. But, the waiters could not have been more helpful in explaining each of the five (or was it six?) courses. Some of the food served were things we had never eaten or hadn't ever planned on eating, so we were out of our comfort zone, but in a really awesome way. If you're a food lover yearning for a unique dining experience in a rustic-urban surroundings, give Septime a try. Reservations are essential.

J-e-t-l-a-g-g-e-d.

A really adorable French dude I met.

Derriere

Sometimes there's more to a restaurant than the food. Derriere is a hidden restaurant in the heart of the Marais, complete with eclectic decor of bold colors and flea market finds, mismatched seating, a ping pong table, and a bamboo-lined courtyard that adjoins the neighboring bar. The food was delicious, but ambience stole the show!