Who in their right mind wants to spend time in a museum when there’s a mouthful of amazing French food to find in the streets of Paris? Cancel your plans with Mona Lisa and make reservations for iconic Parisian plates. These are the foods you can’t miss in Paris and where we suggest you sniff them out along the Paris Metro.
Image Credit: Getty Images, Carlo A. Image Location: Paris, France
Baguette
Where: Boulangerie Utopie
Closest station: Oberkampf (M5, M9)
Rarely will you have to “settle” for any old baguette in Paris, but if your standards are high, Utopie delivers. Xavier Netry, the 11th arr. baker behind Utopie, just won 2024’s best baguette in Paris award (Grand Prix de la Baguette de Tradition Française de la Ville De Paris).
Croque Monsieur
Where: Café Antonia
Closest station: Saint-Philippe-du-Roule (M9)
The croque monsieur is a French ham and cheese sandwich; its missus is the croque madame, a ham and cheese sandwich dolled up with a fried egg and Mornay sauce. Either make a lovely lunch, though we’ll always splurge on the mister at Café Antonia. Located within the five-star hotel Le Bristol Paris, this ham and comté cheese is made with black truffle butter.
Brie and Camembert
Where: Fromagerie Quatrehomme
Closest station: Vaneau (M10)
We don’t play around when it comes to French cheese and neither should you. Brie and Camembert are as “local” as you can get in Paris, so expect to find them both on a restaurant menu’s cheese board. Our advice? Skip the bistrot and go straight to a cheese shop like Fromagerie Quatrehomme where a fourth-generation cheesemaking family specializes in decadent wheels like Brie Pistachio, Camembert Mendiant, and Camembert with Calvados.
Image Credit: Getty Images, Carlo A. Image Location: Paris, France
Crêpes
Where: Crêperie de Cluny
Closest station: Cluny La Sorbonne (M10)
Crêperie de Cluny has, fittingly, some of the best crepes in Paris. Crêpes can be sweet or savory, and there’s no doubt you’ve had them both at home; but instead of being an a la carte item on the breakfast or brunch menu, the French tend to eat them for lunch or dinner. You can try them any time of the day or night while sitting at The Crêperie’s street side tables.
Opera Cake
Where: Café de la Paix
Closest station: Chaussée d'Antin — La Fayette (M7, M9)
The Italians have tiramisu, the French have the opera cake. This almond sponge cake soaks in coffee syrup, cuddles buttercream, grabs ahold of ganache, and wears a crown of dark chocolate icing. This ain’t your typical tea cake; the French opera cake is a work of art, and Café de la Paix is the best place to try one either before or after a trip to the Palais Garnier.
Macarons
Where: Pierre Hermé
Closest station: Gare de l’Est (M4, M5, M7)
You’ll see Pierre Hermé locations scattered throughout Paris from Gare du Nord and Gare de l’Est to near the Arc de Triomphe and Musée de l’Orangerie. A chain? Yes, but the 20+ locations in the City of Light just give you that many opportunities to try the often-rated best macarons in Paris.
Image Credit: Getty Images, Enrique Díaz / 7cero.
Hot Chocolate
Where: La Galerie
Closest station: George V (M1)
The signature hot chocolate at La Galerie in the George V Four Seasons Hotel is as rich as this ritzy hotel. Whipped cream, crispy chocolate, and fluffy marshmallows perfectly demonstrate why the best hot chocolate in Paris is best during George V’s afternoon tea time.
🚆Trainline Tip: Not one to go crazy over cocoa? That’s cool. Sip a Chocolat Special Flore at Café de Flore, a longtime hub for famed thinkers and drinkers, and focus on their menu of club sandwiches instead.
Croissants
Where: Maison Doucet (temporarily closed)
Closest station: Faidherbe - Chaligny (M8)
Finding the best croissants in Paris is tough — not because they’re elusive, but because they’re omnipresent. You’ll try a new one every morning; so make your first morning munch at Maison Doucet, home of 2024’s official “best butter croissant in Paris”.
Steak Frites
Where: Le Relais de Venise L'Entrecôte
Closest station: Neuilly Porte Maillot (M1)
The best steak frites in Paris? Le Relais de Venise L’Entrecôte has ‘em… and nothing else. This simple dish of steak and French fries (plus a salad) is the sole entrée option. Le Relais de L’Entrecote Paris has over 50 years of experience serving their world-famous grilled beef steak so there’s no chance of disappointment found on their miniature menu.
Image Credit: Getty Images, Natasha Breen.
Escargot
Where: L'Escargot
Closest station: Étienne Marcel (M4)
Trying escargot in Paris sounds cliché — then again, avoiding Parisian garlic buttered snails seems kind of childish, does it not? Opened in 1832, L’Escargot Montorgueil has had plenty of time to perfect the homemade butter for their Burgundy snails. Such is the type of French gastronomy one should embrace in the Les Halles district.
Let’s stop talking and start eating.
Download the Trainline app and get your mouth to Montparnasse, Montmartre, or another of Paris’s best neighborhoods where you’ll find the can’t-miss French food that’s won the world over.
Header Image Credit: Getty Images, LauriPatterson.
