Best restaurants in Paris 2026: 14 tables worth booking

The best restaurants in Paris in 2026 come down to 14 tables, from three-star dining rooms to a bistro that only takes bookings by phone, checked against the Michelin Guide France 2026 and the restaurants' own menus. If you book only one, make it Virtus in the 12th: it won its second star this year and dinner still costs €135 to €155.

Paris has nine three-star and 20 two-star restaurants in the 2026 Michelin Guide, published in March, and the year's headline was a loss: L'Ambroisie, the city's oldest three-star, dropped to two. The list below keeps the top of the guide in view but weighs price and ease of booking as heavily as stars. Prices are per person before drinks, as listed on 24 September 2026.

What separates the best restaurants in Paris from the merely expensive is a clear idea on the plate, whether it is a garden vegetable or a steak au poivre. For the cheaper side of the city, from baguettes to falafel, start with our guide to what to eat in Paris.

In Paris this year, the best table is rarely the most expensive one.

Virtus, 12th arrondissement

Frédéric Lorimier spent nearly a decade at La Vague d'Or in Saint-Tropez before opening Virtus near the Aligre market in 2021 with Camille Gouyer, who runs the dining room. In the 2026 guide the restaurant won its second star and Gouyer took Michelin's service award.

Dinner is six courses at €135 or seven at €155; lunch costs €70 for four courses and €90 for five. No other two-star kitchen on this list comes close on price.

Plénitude, 1st arrondissement

Arnaud Donckele's restaurant inside Cheval Blanc Paris, above the Pont Neuf, holds three stars and builds its cooking around sauces. The six-act Symphonie menu is listed at €480 and the four-course Fuguons Ensemble at €445, with a wine pairing at €195.

It is the most expensive meal on this list and books out months ahead, so plan it before the flight.

Arpège, 7th arrondissement

At 84 rue de Varenne, Alain Passard kept his three stars in 2026 with cooking led by the vegetables of his three kitchen gardens in western France.

The Déjeuner des jardiniers at €145 is the gentlest way into a three-star kitchen in Paris. The vegetable tasting menu costs €320 and the land-and-sea dinner menu €390.

Kei, 1st arrondissement

Kei Kobayashi's 25-cover room at 5 rue Coq-Héron, behind the Louvre, holds three stars for French cooking read through a Japanese eye. Menus run from €195 for the Discovery lunch, served on Fridays and Saturdays, to €580 for the Grand Horizon, with a €290 tasting menu in between.

Reservations open two months ahead, on the first Tuesday of each month at 9.30.

Hakuba, 1st arrondissement

The Japanese counter at Cheval Blanc Paris won its second star this year. Sushi master Takuya Watanabe works with Arnaud Donckele on the sauces and with pastry chef Maxime Frédéric on dessert. Omakase menus, at lunch and dinner, cost between €180 and €420.

Alliance, 5th arrondissement

Between the quai de la Tournelle and boulevard Saint-Germain, chef Toshitaka Omiya, trained with Alain Passard and David Toutain, and director Shawn Joyeux run a room of eight tables. Alliance won its second star in March.

The surprise menus cost €130, €175 and €245 for four, five or seven courses, built on named producers such as Racan pigeon.

Table – Bruno Verjus, 12th arrondissement

This entry comes with a deadline. Bruno Verjus will close Table on 22 December, while the restaurant at 3 rue de Prague still holds two stars and eighth place on The World's 50 Best Restaurants. The single Couleur du Jour menu costs €480 before drinks.

L'Ambroisie, 4th arrondissement

On the place des Vosges, L'Ambroisie held three stars from 1988 until March 2026. Bernard Pacaud left the kitchen at the end of July 2025 after selling to Walter Butler, and Shintaro Awa now cooks. Michelin removed the third star; Paris by Mouth still rates the cooking good and the bill ruinous.

The menu is à la carte and among the costliest in the city. Go for the classics and the room, not for value.

Anne-Sophie Pic Paris, 1st arrondissement

The newest room on this list opened on 18 September inside the Fondation Cartier on rue de Rivoli, replacing La Dame de Pic. Lunch is a three-, four- or five-course menu rewritten every month; dinner is one longer menu.

There are only two sittings, lunch from 12.00 to 13.30 and dinner from 19.00 to 21.00, booked through the foundation. Our report on Anne-Sophie Pic's Paris opening has the details.

Septime, 11th arrondissement

Bertrand Grébaut and Théophile Pourriat opened Septime at 80 rue de Charonne in 2011, and it earned a Michelin star in 2013. Grébaut died on 4 July 2026, aged 44, after a long illness; Pourriat has said the group's restaurants will remain open.

The menu changes weekly and costs €85 at lunch and €135 at dinner, with pairings at €75. Bookings open 21 days ahead at 10.00 Paris time and go within minutes.

Clamato, 11th arrondissement

Next door to Septime, Clamato is the group's seafood bar: oysters, raw fish, ceviche and whole grilled fish to share, with natural wine. It is the easiest way into the ideas of the Septime kitchen at a fraction of the price. It has long favoured walk-ins, so arrive at opening.

MoSuke, 14th arrondissement

Mory Sacko's one-star restaurant at 11 rue Raymond-Losserand cooks African dishes with Japanese and French technique. Lunch costs €145 and the longer dinner menu €255, both also served in a vegetarian version.

Bistrot Paul Bert, 11th arrondissement

At 18 rue Paul Bert for more than 30 years, this is a bistro the Michelin Guide lists among its iconic addresses, in its moderate price band. Order the steak au poivre and finish with the Paris-Brest. It opens Tuesday to Saturday and takes bookings by phone only.

Joséphine Chez Dumonet, 6th arrondissement

A timber-and-mirror bistro at 117 rue du Cherche-Midi that has changed little in decades. The duck confit costs €29 and comes with potatoes fried in duck fat, and the classics arrive in generous portions.

Best restaurants in Paris: frequently asked questions

How many three-star restaurants does Paris have in 2026? Nine, according to the 2026 Michelin Guide France, plus 20 with two stars. L'Ambroisie was the only Paris three-star to lose a star this year.

Which is the cheapest three-star lunch in Paris? On this list, Arpège's Déjeuner des jardiniers at €145. Kei's €195 Discovery menu is the next step, on Fridays and Saturdays only.

Which starred restaurant offers the best value? Virtus: two stars and a four-course lunch at €70. Septime's €85 lunch is the one-star alternative.

How far ahead should I book? Kei releases tables two months ahead and Septime 21 days ahead, while Plénitude and Table fill months out. Clamato is the table to try without a booking.

How we chose

We started from the 2026 Michelin Guide France and added bistros and a seafood bar where they beat starred rooms on value. Every restaurant was checked against its own website or reviews published this year. Prices are per person before drinks, as listed on 24 September 2026, and change often.