All my favorite spots on Google Maps
Below you will find all of my top Paris recommendations organized by category and saved on Google Maps for ease of reference! These include a mix of places I have tried and love and others that I haven’t tried yet but have heard good things about. I’m always updating my Google Maps with my latest discoveries, so stay tuned for more!
French restaurants
Even though my husband and I rarely eat French cuisine, this is surprisingly my longest list by far. In this category I have French restaurants that are a bit more “contemporary”, I also have a separate list devoted to “traditional French” restaurants like bouillon and brasseries.
Italian restaurants
Like most people, I looove Italian food. Italy was the first country I visited outside of the US and I was blown away by how pure and flavorful the food was. Luckily, Paris is home to some amazing Italian restaurants, so I can always relive my study abroad days in Rome whenever I want!
Japanese restaurants
When my husband and I go out to eat, we usually get Japanese. It’s hard to beat a good udon when it’s cold and rainy outside (which is too often the case in Paris). Japanese cuisine (including French-Japanese fusion) is extremely popular in Paris at the moment, so there’s a wide array of options to choose from. The area around the Pyramides metro stop is a particular favorite of ours.
Mexican restaurants
Although I was born in Chicago, I lived in California for most of my life, so I was always surrounded by great Mexican food. But it wasn’t until I moved to Paris that I started to crave it. There are very few Mexican restaurants in Paris but our holy grail find is El Guacamole by Canal Saint-Martin. We even modeled some of the food and cocktails that we served at our wedding off of their menu, that’s how much we love it! But there are a few other Mexican restaurants I would recommend as well.
Even though my husband and I are not big drinkers, we have a passion for trying new cocktail bars. We especially gravitate towards places that serve very eccentric cocktails that combine lots of unusual ingredients (unique decor and snacks is also an important factor for me). It’s a bit of an expensive hobby, but someone’s gotta do it!
I love bite-size snacks, so of course I love tapas. There are actually quite a few Spanish tapas places in Paris, as well as some that are more French-inspired.
Parisians are obsessed with brunch just as much as Americans are, which is good news for me because I am constantly craving a big American-style breakfast, ideally with lots of bacon!
Patisseries, glace, chocolat…Paris is basically heaven on earth for a dessert lover (like me!) These are my favorite spots for a little sweet treat.
I am not a coffee drinker, but there is something really nice about sitting in cute cafe or on a terrace in Paris (in my case with a chai latte, and ideally some sort of pastry).
Michelin starred restaurants
Eating at a Michelin starred restaurant is definitely a luxury, but personally I would rather spend money on food over almost anything else (this scene from Ratatouille is basically me at one of these restaurants). Luckily my husband has a similar life philosophy so we both have been able to experience some truly incredible one and two-star restaurants in Paris to celebrate birthdays and other big milestones!
Boba (or bubble tea) has taken Paris by storm in recent years - you can find boba shops in most parts of the city now. There are also a few great places to buy Japanese-style French pastries, as well as daifuku and taiyaki (you can also take a daifuku making class at Tomo, which I highly recommend).
“Traditional” French restaurants
These are the places to go to try escargot, steak frites, soupe à l'oignon, or basically any of the traditional French dishes you learned about in high school French class. While these restaurants can be touristy, they are often in beautiful art deco or art nouveau surroundings, and anyway, sometimes it’s nice to do something a little touristy!
American restaurants
American food is actually pretty popular in Paris - McDonald’s is always packed, and now chains like Five Guys and Krispy Kreme are suddenly everywhere. However, apart from fast food, there are a few good American restaurants that focus on “soul food” (especially fried chicken) that I quite like!
Korean restaurants
Korean food is also a big favorite of my husband’s and mine, we particularly like Soon Grill for a special occasion.
Chinese restaurants
I get my love of Chinese food from my Mom, so in her honor I definitely had to include my favorite Chinese restaurants. My husband and I especially like to get hot pot with our friends (sometimes even in the summer!)
For the best views of Paris, I would definitely recommend the observation deck at the Tour Montparnasse or the steps of the Sacré-Cœur. But, if you want to have some food or drinks with your view, the TOO Hotel restaurant has become a new favorite of ours!
Much like my husband, his hometown of Montpellier quickly stole my heart. Montpellier is a medieval, yet fast-growing city along the Mediterranean that has a beautiful historic centre, sunny weather and easy access to fresh seafood. When we got married there (at the Château de Flaugergues), I created a Google Map for all of our guests with my top recommendations, and quite a few people told us that Montpellier was the highlight of their trip to France!