Paris is a city of light, romance and fashion but the capital city of France also offers extraordinary gourmet experiences for gastronomes coming from all corners of the world. With more than 10 thousand over restaurants and easily hundreds over Michelin starred restaurant in the city, it is almost impossible to experience even a fraction of the diverse gastronomy offered by Paris, let alone compile or even curate the awesomeness of the food here. As for us, we had great 4 days in Paris and enjoyed so much the delicious food, snacks and wines in Paris and here is a compilation of what we had.
For travelers to Paris, you may flip over the different category in our experience guide to help you make a decision on what to eat in Paris, ranging from restaurants, snacks, gelato, falafel and pastries.
Restaurants in Paris
1) La Jacobine
The food we get here is definitely worthwhile the wait! Not only the food is delicious, the service is impeccable too! We really miss La Jacobine after returning to Malaysia.
Good thing is La Jacobine offers the food in set, which means you can have a selection of entrée and plat (main dish), plat and dessert, or combination of all 3 at a fixed price rate.
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| soupe à l'oignon gratinée (French Onion Soup) |
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| millefeuille de foie gras' et compotée de figues (Duck Foie Gras Mille-Feuille Fig Jam) |
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| coq au vin (Rooster Chicken cooked in red wine) |
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| Magret de Canard (Duck Breast) |
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| Cheese Cake |
One of the most impressive dish we had in La Jacobine that we ever dare to erase from our fainting memories was their French Onion Soup. It was rich, buttery, thick and has a depth of taste with a hint of sweetness that the taste still mesmerizing in our brain. Never miss the French Onion Soup here.
Another dish that had its taste lingering our taste buds now was their cheese cake! It was rich, soft , has a silky texture & slightly crunchy burnt base and caramelized top that perfected our dinner for the night.
On top of that, the classic French dish - Coq Au Vin also a worthy dish to try. Although the chicken may be slightly firm but the overall texture was pleasant.
If your time allows, schedule a lunch or dinner at La Jacobine whenever you visit Paris! Try to make reservation if possible too.
La Jacobine
59-61 Rue Saint-André des Arts, 75006 Paris, France
Tel: +33 1 46 34 15 95
Operation hours: 12 - 11 pm Daily (except opens 6.30pm on Monday)
59-61 Rue Saint-André des Arts, 75006 Paris, France
Tel: +33 1 46 34 15 95
Operation hours: 12 - 11 pm Daily (except opens 6.30pm on Monday)
2) L'office
L'office is a surprise find by us. We stumbled it upon googling for some restaurants for dinner in Paris. The chef in L' office totally refreshed our impression and taste buds by showcasing such refinement in their dishes. The risotto, poitrine de cochon (pork belly) and souffle sesame were some common dishes with uncommon yet exceptional taste.
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| Risotto |
First, the risotto exhibited unique rice texture with green sauce topped with half boiled egg. It was creamy yet smooth in taste. Definitely a form of risotto we never tried before, yet it was so impressive.
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| poitrine de cochon (pork belly with intentionally black char skin, accompanied by pork lard and broccoli puree) |
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| Angus Beef |
Needless to say, medium rare Angus beef was juicy and great to have, and the one dish that left us wondered was the Poitrine de cochon. At first glance, it looked odd with all the charred surface on the pork belly, as if the chef has done a terrible mistake by over grilling it. Nevertheless, such genius intentionally "mistake" definitely engrave a wonderful taste by introducing an unique crispy pork belly. When paired together with all the other components on the plate, the taste was wonderful and refreshing.
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| Souffle Sesame |
This was our first times seeing such way of serving souffle - surrounded by all sesame! Needless to say, the taste was great too!
L'office definitely a place under the radar that worth exploring. The price no doubt will be higher without the set menu but it was worth the quality. On top of that, the owner of the restaurant was really helpful in explaining all the dishes to us. in English of course.
L'office
Tel: +33 1 47 70 67 31
Operation hours: 12pm - 2pm; 7pm - 10.30pm (Closed on Saturday and Sunday)
3) Brasserie Flottes
Strategically located opposite the Tuileries Gardens, Flottes is an contemporary Art Nouveau style restaurant with a intimate environment to dine in. Our AirBnb host in Geneva recommended us to dine here.
No doubt the food was great but we had resentment for some time toward the substandard treatment received. A lady, whom we supposed to be owner was friendly but one of the senior crew was rude and treated us like a criminal for dining there - serving the dish by throwing it on our table with a "bang" sound for every dishes, unwilling to attend to us, then came to our table with a hostile face, throwing all the cutlery splattering across our table. We were sure we did not commit any funny stuff and I did try to communicate with my limited French such as "une table pour deux", "ce plat, s'il vous plait", "merci", "pouvez-vous parler anglais" and etc.
At the same time, he displayed extreme affection to a seemingly local couple seated next beside us - bringing the lady scarf due to chilling weather, checking with them occasionally, chatted with friends with smile and laughter.
Was there an underlying reason beneath the different treatment received on our end?
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| Prawn Brochette (€23.50) |
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| Duck Confit (€23.50 |
Our dinner mood was partially ruined by the senior crew, having thought we have done something terribly wrong that offended it. Nevertheless, some of the dishes were enjoyable.
The French Onion Soup was less inspiring in our opinion as the taste was lighter despite the cheese was excellent. Hot Goat Cheese was great, having unique cream cheese that blended perfectly with the greens accompanied by smoked duck.
Fresh prawn brochetta and its pairing with ginger and garlic was an excellent choice. The duck confit was never disappointing as recommended by our Airbnb host - crispy skin, nicely roasted with aromatic flavour.
Brasserie Flottes
2 Rue Cambon, 75001 Paris, France
2 Rue Cambon, 75001 Paris, France
Tel: +33 1 42 60 80 89
Operation hours: 7am - 12am Daily
Fast Food / Snacks in Paris
1) King Falafel Palace
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| Falafel (€ 6.50) |
We got aware of the existence of King Falafel Palace after watching an YouTube video by some famous YouTubers that introduces her tour in Paris. The video painted in such a way that King Falafel Palace serves one of the best Falafel Paris and we believed it, but it was partially true only.
The restaurant was practically empty during our visit (we thought it was justified due to the odd hour) but it may due to its mediocre Falafel. We did not find any extraordinary factor on its Falafel, and the crew of the restaurant appeared to unwelcome toward our visit and other patrons as well. We were told in order to dine in, we must order two drinks on top of 1 Falafel and 1 Shawarma (probably this is due the unwritten codes of dining in Paris) and the entire process in King Falafel Palace felt rather weird.
You may check out for some reviews of King Falafel Palace in TripAdvisor as it may speaks more volume that what we written here.
King Falafel Palace
26 Rue des Rosiers, 75004 Paris, France
26 Rue des Rosiers, 75004 Paris, France
Tel: +33 1 42 77 93 13
Operation hours: 11am - 12am Daily
Operation hours: 11am - 12am Daily
2. L'As Dus Falafel
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| Special Falafel (€ 6.50) |
Sharing the same street of Rue des Rosiers is L'As Dus Falafel, another restaurant serving Falafel that definitely worthy a visit. Despite with a long queue during our visit, our order was taken systematically when we were queuing and money was collected too. Then when we reached the counter, we just need to pass the order form to the crew in charge and the food was served swiftly.
The falafel here was good and delicious. It was served warm and exhibited a more crisp texture, and the sauce possesses a pleasant subtle flavour too.
We were glad that we returned to L'As Dus Falafel on the next day after a rather disappointing experience at another Falafel shop early.
L'As Dus Falafel
32-34 Rue des Rosiers, 75004 Paris, France
32-34 Rue des Rosiers, 75004 Paris, France
Tel: +33 1 48 87 63 60
Operation hours: 11am - 12am Daily (till 3.30pm on Friday, closed on Saturday)
3. Miznon
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| Grilled broccoli (€ 5.50) |
Miznon is an Israeli chain contemporary casual restaurant franchise by Chef Eyal Shani with several branches in big cities across the world such as Vienna, Melbourne, New York, and of course, Paris. They serve pita bread with inventive fillings such as moussaka, ratatouille and lobsters with crème fraîche.
Nevertheless, one of their item that caught our attention is their grilled broccoli. A green cruciferous vegetable that does not make sense as a sole dish yet surprisingly ended well in palate without any odd feeling of pale fiber taste. It is topped with some subtle sauce that makes the flavour robust.
We again faced the same problem for ordering a broccoli only. The crew raised his voice, casting his doubt and had a feeling want to punch our face for making that weird order. Guess we just have to order 2 meals next time since there were 2 of us.
Tel: +33 1 42 74 83 58
Operation hours: 12pm - 11pm (till 4pm on Friday, closed on Saturday)
Cafe in Paris
1) Angelina
Regardless how tight will be your schedule in Paris, you should make up your time to pay a visit to Angelina, a tearoom with a reputation of indulgence and sophistication. It is located within a stone's throw from the renowned Tuileries Garden and renowned for serving one of the best le chocolat chaud (African hot chocolate) and Mont-Blanc. Despite there are outlets of Angelina at different part of the world such as Doha, Singapore and etc, its first establishment in Paris in the year 1903 still worthy your visit. Needless to say, always expect a queue.
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| Hot Chocolate |
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| Mont Blanc |
In order to skip the never ending queue to get a table, we decided to take away and enjoy our hot chocolate and Mont Blanc pastry at the neighbouring Tuileries Garden instead. The famous "African" hot chocolate is composed of 3 kinds of African cocoa from Niger, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire, yielding a delectable taste that we will never forget in our life. Its exceptional rich taste and distinctive character is second to none and worth the premium price tag it bears (€8 if not mistaken). This hot chocolate is one of the item that we missed so much the moment penning the blog.
On the other hand, the Mont Blanc pastry is equally inspiring. It had an unique combination, featuring mango base with chocolate top. This iconic pastry is Angelina's famous trademark pastry since 1903.
We also sampled their Rose and Chocolate Macarons but these are not Angelina's forte for sure.
Macarons in Paris
1) Laduree
Being the inventor of macarons, Laduree in Paris definitely serves one of the best macarons in the capital of France. There are several branches of Laduree in Paris and Google will be able to yield an answer closest to your destinations. Make sure not to miss out Laduree during your visit to Paris.
The macarons here is delicious with a rich filling yet sweet to the comfort level. It was priced at a budget-friendly tag at €2.10 per piece.
2) Pierre Hermé
Another renowned pâtisserie that serves one of the best macarons is Pierre Herme. There are plenty of the outlets within France or at other countries across the continent. Although it is more pricey but the quality certainly justified its price tag.
Croissant in Paris
1) La Maison
Having heard Paris serves one of the best croissant in the world, we were determined to make visiting a bakery in Paris a ritual in our trip. Google best croissant in Paris and the name that popped up immediately is La Maison, a humble bakery that has been accoladed the first prize of Paris and Ile-De-France Region Butter Croissant in 2018, and it was strategically sharing the same road with our hotel!
Thus in the last morning in Paris, we walked to the bakery and there was no surprise with a long queue in front of the bakery. Nevertheless the queue moved rather fast as everyone was there to grab a few pieces of the croissants.
We forgot to mention how the aroma of the butter croissant could be scented distance away from the bakery.
So, we had a butter croissant and pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant). Both were amazing in taste - crisp skin that fall like leaves from the tree during autumn when we bite on it, airy filling and perfectly smell butter (in the case of original butter croissant). How I wish my home country can have such delicious croissant.
Well, the price is budget-friendly too. About €1+ per piece for original butter croissant.
La Maison Pichard
Tel: +33 1 43 06 97 37
Operation hours: 7am - 1.30pm; 4pm - 8pm (Closed on Monday & Tuesday; Saturday no stop in between)
Gelato in Paris
1) Amorino
The Italian origin Gelato also makes several appearance in the capital city of France, and has since attracted a humongous after them. The gelato is served in the much Instagrammable rose shape and made you feel weak into making the first bite onto the "flower".
Well, the gelato is good and delicious!
Well, that pretty much sums up our gastronome journey in Paris. Of course, when we runs low into budget on certain day, we ended up in Tesco and grabbed plenty of goodies there.
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| Goodies from Tesco |
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