In all of France there are 638 restaurants boasting at least one Michelin star for the year 2021 (up ten from 2020). Paris is home to many of them — ten Paris restaurants have earned three stars, twelve have two stars. The biggest category, though, is Michelin one-star restaurants, and Paris has a grand total of 94 of them. Let's start at the top, with a list of restaurants holding trois macarons, and then take a look at those with two-stars and, finally, the big list of Michelin one-star restaurants in Paris.
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Often the best way to enjoy a meal at a Michelin-starred restaurant is to order the tasting menu. These entry-level menus give you a taste of the best of Paris cooking at a fraction of the cost. That's especially true at the 3-Michelin-star restaurants.
At Pierre Gagnaire
Once you're seated several small dishes are whisked onto your table, each more delightful then the last. Even frequent diners will be amazed since the menus change as frequently as the seasons.
Life couldn't be better than when you are seated beneath chestnut trees on the terrace of the Napoleon III Pavillon while enjoying this Le Pré Catelan's mouthwatering tidbits.
If you're looking for a place to relax and be pampered after a wandering the rooms and garden of Musée Rodin, this is the restaurant for you. Provided you have a reservation, of course.
This restaurant is a combination of true luxury and ultimate simplicity in both decoration and menu.
Located in the elegant 17th-century Places des Vosges, this restaurant is Paris' longest-running three-star establishment.
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Le Cinq, at the Four Seasons Hotel George V
Michelin has awarded Le Cinq its highest restaurant accolade, but The Guardian newspaper panned the place. Who to believe? The only sure way is to try it out.
Surely this restaurant will catch your eye, as it has Michelin's. Chef Yannick is still a rising star.
Dine at the Hotel Le Bristol's three-star luxury dining restaurant or lunch at its one-star bistro. Either way you're going to be awed by its delicacies.
This restaurant and its chef take a more natural approach to food,using sustainability-caught fish and organic produce to round out its menu.
When chef Kei Kobayashi discovered French cuisine on Japanese television, he made it his mission to move to France and train with the best. Finally, in 2020, he won a coveted spot as the first Japanese chef to win three stars in France.
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Marsan par Hélène Darroze
Hélène Darroze's restaurant in the 6th Arrondissement, renovated and renamed in 2019, was awarded a second star in the 2021 Michelin Guide. Chef Darroze, through, is no stranger to cooking, or to Michelin acclaim. Her family has run a restaurant in the French town of Villeneuve-de-Marsan for years, and Hélène is the fourth generation to have cooked there. (Hence, the new name for her Paris restaurant.) She won her first Michelin star in Paris back in 2007.
Located in a 19th-century mansion steps from Champs Elysées, Le Clarence is owned by a French luxury company under the direction of Prince Robert de Luxembourg, who also controls three Bordeaux chateaux — Haut-Brion, La Mission Haut-Brion, and Quintus. At Le Clarence Prince Robert brings a little piece of Bordeaux to Paris. Chef Christophe Pelé (formerly of his own La Bigarrade) orchestrates the kitchen. He describes his culinary philosophy as generous, fresh, instinctive and spontaneous.
David Toutain, photos by Mark Craft
At age 20 David Toutain started at Arpège just as Alain Passard was reinventing his restaurant with an all-vegetable menu. In less than a year Toutain was promoted to sous chef. He then sharpened his skills at Pierre Gagnaire and with Bernard Pacaud at Ambroisie. He became a culinary force to be reckoned after he earned a second star in less than six years, a rare accomplishment in Michelin circles.
As stunning as was David Toutain's achievement in winning two Michelin stars, was Le Gabriel's solid entrance onto the Paris luxury restaurant scene. Less than a year after opening, Michelin awarded Le Gabriel two stars. The elegant Napoleon III interior was designed by Jacques Garcia. Chef Jérôme Banctel leads the kitchen.
He may have a baby face, but Jean-François Piège is no slouch in the Michelin star department. He won two Michelin stars at Hotel Thoumieux before he branched out on his own with casual, neighborhood bistro Clover. Now Piège has hopes pinned to his Grand Restaurant. He won a second star in 2016, less than a year after opening, and maintains it in 2021
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Maison Rostang
2020 wasn't a particularly good year for Chef Michel Rostang. 150 bottles of Bordeaux and Burgundy wine were stolen from the cellar of his restaurant, Maison Rostang. The estimated value of the wine was about €600,000. 2021 may be a bit brighter for Chef Michel — at least it began with him holding onto his two Michelin stars
Le Meurice, the restaurant of the hotel of the same name, has everything you could possibly want in a fine dining experience — location, brilliant service, and Michelin 2-star chef Jocelyn Herland. A Paris landmark, Le Meurice opened its doors in 1835 and has seen a bevy of important chefs work the kitchens, including Yannick Aléno, now at 3-star Aléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen. Chef Herland has been with the Alain Ducasse Group since 2003.
In the kitchens of the Ritz hotel, photo by Mark Craft
The iconic Ritz Hotel, opened in 1898 by Cesar Ritz and chef Auguste Escoffier, has seen only ten chefs at the helm throughout the its 120-year history. The latest is Nicolas Sale, who has been leading La Table de L'Espadon since the hotel reopened in 2016 after a four-year renovation. A year later, Sale made restaurant history by winning two Michelin stars for L'Espadon plus another star for its sister restaurant, Les Jardins de L'Espadon (although he lost the Jardins star in the 2021 edition of the guide).
There are (still) only a few women chefs showing up in the Michelin Guide,Stéphanie Le Quellec is one of them. Running the kitchen of La Scène, Le Quellec is one of the most talented chefs in France. In 2019 the chef was awarded two stars at her new restaurant, relocated after she moved out of Hotel Prince de Galles. At that time, and in the space of only twelve months, this chef went from one star to two stars to zero stars to two stars.
Thierry Marx trained at Ledoyen, at Taillevent, with Joël Robuchon, and was awarded his first Michelin star in 1988. For a decade he held two stars at Châteaux Cordeillan Bages in Bordeaux before joining the Mandarin Oriental in Paris in 2010. Less than two years into that gig he earned two stars. In other restaurant news, in 2020 Marx brought new energy to the Eiffel Tower with Tour Eiffel Brasserie way up on the first level of the monument.
The legendary restaurant reclaimed a second star on 2020 under the leadership of chef David Bizet. Alongside sommelier Antoine Petrus, the duo infused fresh energy into the historic dining room. In case you're wondering, Le Taillevent is named for a famous chef from the 14th century, who, they say, wrote the first cookbook, for Charles V of France.
Chef Yannick Alleno did it again! This was his 3rd restaurant in Paris to be awarded Michelin stars. Here, chef Yasunari Okazaki is turning out technically perfect sushi, nigirizushi, and chirashizushi. According to restaurant critic Patricia Wells l'Abysse is serving the best sushi outside of Japan. High praise, indeed.
When you're in Paris and France you'll want to have the guide that chooses and lists the best restaurants in the country. This guide has descriptions and photos not only of the 3-, 2-, and 1-star establishments but of all the restaurants the Michelin inspectors have deemed worthy of a visit. We wouldn't be without the latest edition.
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La Grande Cascade, photo by Mark Craft
Chef Robuchon created two locations of L'Atelier in Paris — one next to the Arc de Triomphe at l'Étoile and one in Saint-Germain. Both locations have held two stars, but in 2021 both were demoted to one star. Robuchon himself died in 2018.
Now, let's look at the list of the other 92 one-star restaurants found in the 2021 edition of the Michelin Guide, starting with the six newest restaurants to receive that honor
Restaurant Trente-Trois
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Le Jules Verne, on the Eiffel Tower, photo by Mark Craft
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Restaurant Jacques Faussat
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A Day in the Champagne Region, with Hotel Pick-up & Lunch |
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La Grande Cascade, photo by Mark Craft
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Loire Valley Chateaux, Day Trip from Paris |
Best of Versailles. Skip the Line, with Hotel Pick-up & Lunch |
Chef Jean-Louis Nomicos from Nomicos, photo by Mark Craft
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Skip-the-line Guided Tour of the Louvre |
Skip-the-line Guided Tour |
Chef Jacky Ribault at Qui Plume La Lune, photo by Mark Craft
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