8 tips for finding a good restaurant in France
Looking for an authentic, delicious and high-quality restaurant experience while in France? Here are some of The Local's tips for picking the right place to eat.
Experiencing authentic French gastronomy is often a top goal for people spending time in France, both for those on holiday and for people who live here year-round.
While the country does, famously, have a lot of good restaurants it doesn't follow that all French eateries are top quality. Especially in tourist areas there are plenty of over-priced and disappointing dining experiences.
So it can be difficult to know where to start when picking a restaurant.
Local recommendations are always best, but if you don't know anyone in the area that you are visiting, here are our suggestions for ensuring you get a good experience.
Avoid busy, congested streets and tourist areas
If you're in a touristy area, try to avoid places close to the most obvious tourist attractions. For example if you're in Paris, restaurants close to the Eiffel Tower or the Champs-Élysées are often crowded and overpriced.
Instead, go off the beaten path. Take a stroll after sight-seeing and explore smaller, less crowded alleyways and streets before sitting down.
If you are in the French countryside, this rule applies as well. The restaurants you will see along main roads and highways are more likely to be chains.
Take the time to stop in a small town and walk around for a bit before settling on a restaurant. You might consider building your road trip around France's "Villages étapes", which are stopover villages recognised for offering a more traditional and authentic French experience than the fast-food chains found at service stations on the autoroute.
READ MORE: Driving in France: What are the French 'villages étapes'?
Go for a smaller menu
Home-style French restaurants typically do not offer a lengthy menu with all kinds of variety.
Some of the best dining experiences in France can be at restaurants that hand you just a small piece of paper with three or four main courses offered. Others will only note a couple of meal options on a black board. This should not cause fear - it often means that the ingredients for the meals on offer that day are fresh and seasonal.
If you are looking for the authentic experience, then download the Google Translate app and be prepared for a restaurant that does not offer a menu (carte) in English. Don't be afraid to test out the plat du jour.
Look for the older folks
Many advise scouting out the restaurant beforehand to see if it is full at meal times - remember that the usual dinner time in France is around 8pm, so if a restaurant is full at 5pm those diners are likely to be tourists.
The other thing to look for is older people - if you want a traditional French experience, look around and take note of older folks that likely live in the neighbourhood. If there are several, then you may have stumbled upon a popular establishment among locals.
Research the regional cuisine beforehand
Ordering boeuf bourguignon at a restaurant in Brittany is going to be a very different experience than doing so in Burgundy. In contrast, the same can be said for crêpes in Burgundy.
Spend a bit of time researching the French region you plan to visit ahead of time so you can better judge the authenticity of the menu. Prioritise regional dishes, wines and cheeses when possible
Service non-stop
The standard French restaurants offer two dedicated meal times - lunch (usually from 12-2) and dinner (typically from 7pm). Restaurants that serve all day advertise 'service non-stop'.
These can be handy options if you're looking to eat outside of the standard French meal times, but they're usually not the best restaurants food wise (although there are of course exceptions).
Keep in mind that restaurants with dedicated lunch and dinner services typically require reservations. You might be tempted to walk into smaller establishments without calling ahead, but these places fill up with locals who already reserved their table.
READ MORE: Reader question: Do I really need to reserve before going to a restaurant in France?
Check the ratings and blogs
It is always tempting to rely on Google ratings to choose a restaurant, and this may be a good way to go about travelling in larger cities and urban areas, but the rule does not always apply to small towns and villages.
Also, be sure to take some reviews with a grain of salt. If you notice that there are several saying the same thing about bad service, then there is probably some truth to that, but if the tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant you are tempted by only has three stars based on two reviews, consider taking a leap of faith.
In cities, like Paris, there are also bound to be plenty of English-language blogs, influencers and foodies offering their favourite restaurant lists. This can be a personalised way to find some options that you would like, but keep in mind that once a recommendation for a particular restaurant hits the English-language internet, you will probably find yourself dining with a lot of other Americans or Brits.
The food writer David Lebovitz keeps a running list of his favourite Paris bars and restaurants, so this can be a good place to start.
Check out the guides
For those seeking out a fine dining experience, you can consult either the Gault & Millau Guide or the Michelin Guide, which ranks restaurants on a scale of one to three stars. These restaurants are often booked very far in advance, so do not expect a table to be available last minute.
Consider testing out the Michelin Guide's new category - les étoile vertes - which recognises restaurants and bistros for offering environmentally aware menus, using locally sourced ingredients, and going a step further in ensuring that sustainable operations.
READ MORE: 5 eco-friendly French restaurants from the new Michelin guide
As for the Gault & Millau Guide, restaurants are ranked on a scale of 1 to 20, with 20 being the highest. Points are awarded based on food quality primarily, rather than the setting, service or ambiance.
If you want to test your French, then consider buying either the 'Petit Futé' or 'Routard' travel guides for the city or region you are visiting. Similar to the English-language Lonely Planet, both are updated frequently and include restaurant and bar recommendations.
If you're on a budget check out the lunch options - many high-priced or Michelin-starred restaurants offer a lunch service in which you get largely the same cooking but for a relatively reasonable price.
Read the labels
There are also quite a few labels that restaurants can sign up to that give an indicator of their quality.
There is the 'fait maison' (home made) label, which was created in 2014 and intends to combat so-called 'assembly-line cooking'. The restaurant is recognised for taking the time to produce home cooked meals, made in their own kitchen.
There is also the 'Maître restaurateur' label, which is awarded by the French government to restaurants that meet precise qualifications when it comes to using fresh produce, offering on-site cooking, and maintaining a certain quality of service and compliance with health and safety rules.
There's also L'Association pour la Sauvegarde de l'Œuf Mayonnaise (ASOM) - the association to safeguard the Eggs mayonnaise. A world away from the slimy sandwich filling of the anglophone world, eggs mayonnaise are a classic French light dish and any restaurant that cares enough about its eggs mayonnaise to be awarded the ASOM mark is likely to be both very traditional and very good.
Do you have any tips for picking a good restaurant in France? Share them in the comments section below
Comments (3)
See Also
Experiencing authentic French gastronomy is often a top goal for people spending time in France, both for those on holiday and for people who live here year-round.
While the country does, famously, have a lot of good restaurants it doesn't follow that all French eateries are top quality. Especially in tourist areas there are plenty of over-priced and disappointing dining experiences.
So it can be difficult to know where to start when picking a restaurant.
Local recommendations are always best, but if you don't know anyone in the area that you are visiting, here are our suggestions for ensuring you get a good experience.
Avoid busy, congested streets and tourist areas
If you're in a touristy area, try to avoid places close to the most obvious tourist attractions. For example if you're in Paris, restaurants close to the Eiffel Tower or the Champs-Élysées are often crowded and overpriced.
Instead, go off the beaten path. Take a stroll after sight-seeing and explore smaller, less crowded alleyways and streets before sitting down.
If you are in the French countryside, this rule applies as well. The restaurants you will see along main roads and highways are more likely to be chains.
Take the time to stop in a small town and walk around for a bit before settling on a restaurant. You might consider building your road trip around France's "Villages étapes", which are stopover villages recognised for offering a more traditional and authentic French experience than the fast-food chains found at service stations on the autoroute.
READ MORE: Driving in France: What are the French 'villages étapes'?
Go for a smaller menu
Home-style French restaurants typically do not offer a lengthy menu with all kinds of variety.
Some of the best dining experiences in France can be at restaurants that hand you just a small piece of paper with three or four main courses offered. Others will only note a couple of meal options on a black board. This should not cause fear - it often means that the ingredients for the meals on offer that day are fresh and seasonal.
If you are looking for the authentic experience, then download the Google Translate app and be prepared for a restaurant that does not offer a menu (carte) in English. Don't be afraid to test out the plat du jour.
Look for the older folks
Many advise scouting out the restaurant beforehand to see if it is full at meal times - remember that the usual dinner time in France is around 8pm, so if a restaurant is full at 5pm those diners are likely to be tourists.
The other thing to look for is older people - if you want a traditional French experience, look around and take note of older folks that likely live in the neighbourhood. If there are several, then you may have stumbled upon a popular establishment among locals.
Research the regional cuisine beforehand
Ordering boeuf bourguignon at a restaurant in Brittany is going to be a very different experience than doing so in Burgundy. In contrast, the same can be said for crêpes in Burgundy.
Spend a bit of time researching the French region you plan to visit ahead of time so you can better judge the authenticity of the menu. Prioritise regional dishes, wines and cheeses when possible
Service non-stop
The standard French restaurants offer two dedicated meal times - lunch (usually from 12-2) and dinner (typically from 7pm). Restaurants that serve all day advertise 'service non-stop'.
These can be handy options if you're looking to eat outside of the standard French meal times, but they're usually not the best restaurants food wise (although there are of course exceptions).
Keep in mind that restaurants with dedicated lunch and dinner services typically require reservations. You might be tempted to walk into smaller establishments without calling ahead, but these places fill up with locals who already reserved their table.
READ MORE: Reader question: Do I really need to reserve before going to a restaurant in France?
Check the ratings and blogs
It is always tempting to rely on Google ratings to choose a restaurant, and this may be a good way to go about travelling in larger cities and urban areas, but the rule does not always apply to small towns and villages.
Also, be sure to take some reviews with a grain of salt. If you notice that there are several saying the same thing about bad service, then there is probably some truth to that, but if the tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant you are tempted by only has three stars based on two reviews, consider taking a leap of faith.
In cities, like Paris, there are also bound to be plenty of English-language blogs, influencers and foodies offering their favourite restaurant lists. This can be a personalised way to find some options that you would like, but keep in mind that once a recommendation for a particular restaurant hits the English-language internet, you will probably find yourself dining with a lot of other Americans or Brits.
The food writer David Lebovitz keeps a running list of his favourite Paris bars and restaurants, so this can be a good place to start.
Check out the guides
For those seeking out a fine dining experience, you can consult either the Gault & Millau Guide or the Michelin Guide, which ranks restaurants on a scale of one to three stars. These restaurants are often booked very far in advance, so do not expect a table to be available last minute.
Consider testing out the Michelin Guide's new category - les étoile vertes - which recognises restaurants and bistros for offering environmentally aware menus, using locally sourced ingredients, and going a step further in ensuring that sustainable operations.
READ MORE: 5 eco-friendly French restaurants from the new Michelin guide
As for the Gault & Millau Guide, restaurants are ranked on a scale of 1 to 20, with 20 being the highest. Points are awarded based on food quality primarily, rather than the setting, service or ambiance.
If you want to test your French, then consider buying either the 'Petit Futé' or 'Routard' travel guides for the city or region you are visiting. Similar to the English-language Lonely Planet, both are updated frequently and include restaurant and bar recommendations.
If you're on a budget check out the lunch options - many high-priced or Michelin-starred restaurants offer a lunch service in which you get largely the same cooking but for a relatively reasonable price.
Read the labels
There are also quite a few labels that restaurants can sign up to that give an indicator of their quality.
There is the 'fait maison' (home made) label, which was created in 2014 and intends to combat so-called 'assembly-line cooking'. The restaurant is recognised for taking the time to produce home cooked meals, made in their own kitchen.
There is also the 'Maître restaurateur' label, which is awarded by the French government to restaurants that meet precise qualifications when it comes to using fresh produce, offering on-site cooking, and maintaining a certain quality of service and compliance with health and safety rules.
There's also L'Association pour la Sauvegarde de l'Œuf Mayonnaise (ASOM) - the association to safeguard the Eggs mayonnaise. A world away from the slimy sandwich filling of the anglophone world, eggs mayonnaise are a classic French light dish and any restaurant that cares enough about its eggs mayonnaise to be awarded the ASOM mark is likely to be both very traditional and very good.
Do you have any tips for picking a good restaurant in France? Share them in the comments section below
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.