List of favourite Paris restaurants

Each year in June I drive to Paris from London on a golf trip with 3 friends. We stay 3 nights and play 3 different courses on each trip. We've been doing this for 6 years. Interspersed with the golf trips are other trips, with my wife, on business etc.

The reason we keep going back to Paris is that, apart from some fine golf courses, we love trying new restaurants. As the organiser of the trip, and the chief foodie, it rests with me to find the restaurants.

Our rule of thumb is that we'll do two nights in smaller, bistro-style places and on the last night we'll splurge a bit maybe by going to a Michelin-starred place.

Overall we prefer the bistro-style restaurants to the well-known temples of gastronomy. We prefer the cosy atmosphere, the rustic setting, the classic french dishes and quite often the camaraderie with your fellow diners, often including the sharing of food. For me this is the real joy of eating in Paris.

Prior to our golf I spend many weeks of research each year reading all the various guides looking for the places that will delight us and rarely have I failed to come up trumps.

I always pre-book my restaurants at least a couple of weeks before I travel. Once I've chosen the 3 restaurants for the trip I then want to be certain I can get in so I don't leave it to chance.

So on the back of these visits I offer my list of favourite Paris Restaurants. These are not ranked per se. Which one to choose will usually depend on what type of food or experience you want.

1. Chez Georges (1 Rue du Mail, 75002, Paris). For me this is Paris in a nutshell and it's a place that I always bring people to. It is everything that I love about Parisian bistros. They serve classic French comfort food in a cosy, buzzy atmosphere with tightly packed tables. The starter portions are HUGE. One starter can easily serve two or more people. The sole filet with pouilly sauce is addictive. The service has always been good. I can't fault this place.
2. Stella Maris ( 8, Rue Arsène Houssaye, 75008 Paris). This place is everything that Chez Georges is not. It's a modern sterile room with no atmosphere. The type of place I would normally avoid. Apart from the fact that it's got a Michelin star, what drew me to book there was the combination of a Japanese chef serving up classic French food. It sounded interesting. And boy was it interesting. The four of us shared the Tasting Menu and to this day we still reckon that it was one of the meals of our lives. The Mi-Cuit Salmon (cooked sous vide) was one of the all time great dishes that I've ever had. I've been back there a second time (for lunch) and wasn't knocked out as much by the food but I didn't have the Tasting Menu that time but overall Stella Maris deserves its place on this list.
3. Le Pré Verre (8 Rue Thénard, 75005, Paris) is a firm favourite for its innovative take on French food with Asian spices. The chef, Philippe Delacourcelle, spent some time working in the Far East and he has managed to blend oriental flavours with classic French food to deliver some of the most interesting cooking available in Paris. The cod with cassia bark and the suckling pig were two of the stand-out dishes we had.
4. Chez l'Ami Jean (27 rue Malar, 75007, Paris) is a small Basque bistro down a quiet side-street not far from the Eiffel Tower. It's everything I like about Parisian bistros i.e. tightly packed tables with a real buzzy atmosphere. The food is based on Basque cuisine with a modern inventive touch. Four of us lapped up everything put in front of us and even managed to share some food with our Maltese neighbours. The only down side is that they are very keen to turn the tables around so towards the end you can feel pressured to leave especially if there are people waiting. I'm happy to accept that they need you off the table after two hours if they tell you that when you book but we got chased off after 90 mins because we had finished dessert and were sitting chatting.
5. Mon Vieil Ami 69 Rue Saint-Louis en l'Ile, 75004, Paris is the Paris outpost of a 3-star chef from Strasbourg. It's on the small island in the river and has a very contemporary black interior. They serve some wonderful bistro food with a big focus on using lots of fresh vegetables. The flavours were delicious and after 3 courses I left there replete but not bloated.
6. La Rotisserie d'en Face (2 Rue Christine, 7500,Paris) is another bistro owned by a Michelin starred chef, Jacques Cagna. It's in the heart of the Latin quarter and is the only restauarant on this list that I turned up at without a reservation (it was after 10pm however). There is only one dish you need to order here and that's their famous spit-roasted free-range chicken, with traditional mashed potato. Don't even consider ordering anything else. I promise you that you will think you've died and gone to heaven when you taste the chicken. Three of us that night had the chicken and still today we talk about it as the best chicken we've ever had in our lives. I try to explain to people about the chicken and they look at me as if to say "Yeah but it's just roast chicken". Well let me tell you that it's not just any roast chicken. I don't know what they do with it but you have never tasted chicken like this.
7. Chez Denise - La Tour de Montlhéry (5 Rue Prouvaires, 75001, Paris) is another classic, unpretentious little bistro with tightly packed tables and red-check tablecloths. They serve rustic bistro fare such as steak frites, pot au feu, andouille sausage etc all in huge portions. The atmosphere is lively and aided by the cheeky waiters who know how to poke fun without offending. The house Brouilly is delicious and is served in carafes which they keep topping up as you need. One of the best nights we had in Paris was here, sharing food with the tables next to us. NB: Our taxi driver didn't know where this street was. He had to look it up on the map. Oh for a decent London cabbie in Paris!
8. Chez Dumonet - Josephine (117 Rue du Cherche-Midi, 75006, Paris) is yet another classic French bistro that looks like it's been there for hundreds of years. I love starting with the help yourself bowl of marinated herrings with warm potato salad. Easily enough to serve more than two people. Then choose from a range of bistro classics such as boeuf bourguignon or confit de canard. One thing is for sure and that is that you won't leave here hungry. Tip: Try and get a table in the front room rather than in the back.
9. Ze Kitchen Gallerie (4, rue des Grands-Augustins, 75006)  is as good a place as any in Paris to get your fix of fusion food. Food here is a mixture of asian flavours with western dishes (e.g. brandade with thai herbs). I really enjoyed the food here but my wife was less impressed. She's a more fussy eater than me and there were too few options on the menu for her. If you're a big foodie like me then you'll enjoy it here.
10. Kim Anh (51, Avenue Emile Zola, 75015)is a fine dining Vietnamese restaurant in the 15e. Yes you can get cheaper Vietnamese food but this is a place for a bit of a splurge and, unlike many Vietnamese restaurants, you can reserve in advance. It's not cheap but the food is high quality and full of fabulous flavours. All four of us were unanimous that the spring rolls were the best we'd ever tasted. The beef salad was also superb. Be warned though that one of the specialities could be seen as a rip-off. The tôm càng rim (gambas simmered in caramel sauce) was absolutely delicious but 37€ for two (yes 2) medium-sized prawns is just silly.

Restaurant: Wolfgang Puck Cafe, Orlando

First visit Nov 08
When in Orlando one of the must-visit places is Downtown Disney. It's an artificial village built around a lake and it really comes alive at night.

From the west end at Cirque du Soleil, passing through Pleasure Island in the middle, to the opposite end at the Rainforest Cafe it's about a 3k walk.

The streets are lined with bars, cafes, restaurants and shops. Music from the bars & cafes can be heard as you walk along.

Opposite the Virgin store is Wolfgang Puck's Cafe.

Wolfgang Puck is not well known in the UK but he is famous in the USA for his TV appearances and his restaurants such as Spago in Los Angeles.

I was aware of his reputation for running high-end restaurants so I went to his cafe expecting it to be somewhat exclusive. In fact, when you enter you are immediately struck by the buzz of the place. You also quickly notice that many families with children are dining there. It's got more of a feeling of TGI Friday than a top-end restaurant.

However any comparison with TGIF quickly disappears when you see the menu and the prices. As I was on my own I was given a seat at one of the counters where all the starters were cooked. As a lone diner this is an ideal place to sit as it gives you a chance to watch what's going on and occasionally chat to the chef.

I started with Crab Cakes which were served on a bed of aioli with marinated tomatoes and micro greens (whatever they are). They were nicely cooked with a crispy coating. The aioli was the piece of magic that lifted them out of the ordinary and made them special.

I originally couldn't decide on my main course so the waiter recommended the Pumpkin Ravioli with brown butter sauce, fried sage, port wine glaze, toasted pine nuts and aged Parmesan. He said that this was his favourite dish.

This was probably the best piece of advice that I followed in 2008. The dish was historic. It was perfect in every way. Perfect pasta with a sweetish pumpkin filling with the flavour of the butter sauce and and sage and the crunch of the toasted nuts topped by a sensational port wine glaze.

This must go down as the best dish I've had all year and it is easily one of the best pasta dishes I've ever eaten. Even typing this is making me drool!

I finished off with a key lime pie which, although delicious, was a bit too stodgy for me. I would have preferred something a bit lighter.

Service was excellent throughout. I also chatted to the chef looking after the starters and when I remarked how nice the prawns looked he offered me some. Nice touch.

One of the senior floor walkers came over a couple of times to see how I was doing. I made sure to tell her that the Ravioli was historic.

I eventually left and walked out into the warm evening air and pottered around all the shops. I kept thinking about the ravioli dish and making a mental note to head there first the next time I'm in Orlando.

Second visit Nov08
The next day I was flying home to the UK at 6pm so I most of the day to pass before I headed for the airport. I therefore decided to spend a few hours at Disney Hollywood Studios.

I wasn't that impressed with the studios (not a patch on Universal Studios) and after about 3 hours I had seen most of what I wanted to see. So I decided to head back to Downtown Disney and go for lunch at Wolfgang Puck's again. I was obsessed with the ravioli and I couldn't stop thinking how good it was.

I got there and they seated me at the Sushi counter. I had gone in intending to have the ravioli again but when I saw some people eating tempura prawns, sushi and sashimi I thought I've got to try that.

That was a mistake. Now don't get me wrong, I love sushi and particularly sashimi and this was very good. But it wasn't historic. It wasn't noticeably different from lots of other good sushi bars.

I was sitting there finishing my drink when I saw the floor walker I spoke to the previous night heading my way. She came over and we chatted again and I mentioned that I was heading back to the UK and that I looking forward to coming back again just to try the ravioli.

We finished chatting and I was minding my own business when she reappeared with a take-away container of the Pumpkin Ravioli. She offered it to me for free saying that she didn't want me to leave the US without trying it once again. I was staggered at the gesture. What a nice lady and what a lovely piece of customer service.

I was about to head for the airport so I had the logistical problem of what to do with it. I took the easy answer and ate it there and then. It was every bit as good as the previous evening although this time I was less hungry. However I ate it all and I left the restaurant a sated man.

My only regret was that I never got the chance to say goodbye to the lovely lady who looked after me. Next time maybe!

Third visit Nov09
I was back in Orlando a year after my first visit to Wolfgang Puck's Cafe and I just had to get some more of that Pumpkin Ravioli.

I opted to sit again at the counter where all the starters were cooked. I was on my own again (business trip) so its a great place to sit as you can engage with the chefs. The other great thing is that the chef gave me a couple of freebies to try while I was waiting on my order. What a nice touch.

The Pumpkin Ravioli was every bit as delicious as the year before. Man I wish I knew how to cook this at home. It's the Port Wine sauce that goes with it that is the real secret.

Another great meal.

Fourth visit Nov09
I went to see La Nouba at Cirque du Soleil. It was my first ever Cirque show and I was totally gobsmacked. Amazing show and a must-see if you go to Orlando.

I came out of the show into the pouring rain so I ditched my original eating plan and legged it over to Wolfgang Puck's for another visit.

Again I opted to sit at the counter where all the starters were cooked. And again I got chatting to the chef and again I got a couple of freebies. I love this place!

This time I decided to try something else and went for the Asian-style ribs. These were beyond delicious. The meat just fell away from the bone and the flavour was to die for. In my humble opinion these are the best ribs on the planet and the benchmark by which all others will be judged by me.

Four meals. Four triumphs. This place is the nuts. If only Wolfgang would open up in London!

Restaurant: Chez Hugon, Lyon, France

Every so often in life you have these moments when the planets come together and you have a really enjoyable experience. Dinner at Chez Hugon was one of those times.

Lyon is according to some commentators the foodie capital of France.

It is the home of one of the greatest of all French chefs, Paul Bocuse. He of the Michelin 3-star restaurant at Collonges.

However, to those in the know, the real places to eat in Lyon are the bouchons.

Bouchons are small restaurants, typically family owned, that serve down-to-earth traditional food, much of it featuring offal and other extremities of animals.

Don,t let this put you off though as there will be other traditional dishes on the menu also.

The real authentic bouchons are nearly all small cosy places that exude atmosphere. They are also usually very good value and are generally packed with locals.

Eating at a bouchon was top of my agenda for my trip to Lyon. I was so keen not to miss out that I decided not to book a bouchon for our first evening in case our late Thursday afternoon flight from London was delayed.

I therfore booked our bouchon for Friday evening. As you'll read later this turned out to be a great decision.

Chez Hugon is a classic bouchon. Set down a side street it is small (approx 30 covers) with tables set closely together. The kitchen area is part of the same room, separated only by a partition.

We were greeted by the lady of the house who seated us at a table between two French families. As it transpired we we were the only foreigners in the restaurant for the whole night.

Very soon we were engaged in conversations with the people around us. They saw us looking at their food as it arrived and they helped us make our choices by explaining what their dishes were.

A nice atmosphere was developing as we all chatted away to each other. We tried our best at speaking French and they all happily spoke in English to us.

Bouchons typically have small menus and some choices may not be available if they have run out or they were unablc to get the ingedients at the Market that day. When it came time to order we indeed found that one or two of the choices were not available.

In the end the four of us had two starters to share followed by

2xPoulet au vinaigre (chicken in vinegar)
Quenelles de brochet (pike quenelles)
Langue de Veau (veal tongue)

The highlight was undoubtedly the chicken. It came with a delicious sauce with only the merest hint of vinegar to it.

My quenelles were also delicious if a slightly unusual texture. They came with a deliciously creamy sauce which I think may have been a crayfish sauce.

During the meal our French neighbours were offering us their dishes to try and we reciprocated. We got to taste a number of other dishes all of which I would be happy to eat.

We ordered the house red wine by the "pot", a thick-bottomed pitcher. Very drinkable. It always seems appropriate in places like this to drink what the locals are drinking.

We rounded of our meal by sharing two desserts between the four of us - a tarte tatin and a creme brulee.

During our dessert an old man and woman, who had come in earlier, appeared by the door, guitars in hand. The next thing we know the whole restaurant is singing along to French songs and a party atmosphere has developed.

We didn't know any of the songs but that didn't detract one bit from our enjoyment of the music.

Then the chef came out from the kitchen and did his party piece. It was obviously a rude song judging by the expressions on his face and the peals of laughter from the diners. He had a fine voice and went on to sing a couple of other songs.

The guitarists picked up that we were not French and asked to play a song for us. My wife misunderstood what they were saying and started to hum a French tune she knew. The guitarists quickly picked up the tune and started playing it. Then the whole restaurant joined in.

Great fun. And my wife got a nice round of applause. I think the French were surprised that she knew one of their songs.

After a few more songs the evening drew to a close. And what a cracking evening it turned out to be. Definitely one of the best evenings out in a restaurant for a long time.

This is peasant-style food with no pretensions or concessions to tourists. Go there for a truly authentic Lyonnaise experience.

The bill for 4 came to €147 euros which I rate as excellent value for a brilliant evening.

If you want to try the bouchon experience then I thoroughly recommend Chez Hugon I believe the musicians are only there on Fridays so try and go then.

My only fear in writing this is that if enough people read this review then I might not be able get a table the next time I go to Lyon!

Restaurant: Chez L'Ami Jean, Paris

On a recent trip to Paris I had the pleasure of eating at three restaurants.

On our last night we ate at Chez L'Ami Jean which is situated on a quiet street in the 7th arrondisement.

This is a modern bistro headed up by a chef from the Basque region who bases many of his dishes on food from that region.

The place is small and the decor has lots of wooden panelling. You literally sit elbow-to-elbow with your fellow diners. However, rather than this being a negative it creates a very buzzy atmosphere and you quickly find yourself in conversation with people at nearby tables.

The place was packed - not a surprise given that it was a Saturday night. It seemed like the clientele was split evenly between locals and tourists.

This is clever and inventive food that is full of flavour. In fact the menu descriptions do not do justice to the tastes that you experience. Unlike Chez Georges which serves well-known classic dishes, you will struggle to find a single dish here that you recognise.

The service here is frenetic but friendly. The waiter was even able to joke with us in English. In response to a comment from us that everything on the menu looked good he remarked that "all the food and wine is excellent. It's only the service that's crap!".

As a starter two of us ordered the Croustillant dish. This was like a large piece of filo pastry wrapped around a very tasty filling of carrots, egg and other ingredients which I'm not sure about. Very unusual and very delicious.

I can't even remember what the main dish was as I ordered something that I didn't recognise. I like trying different things so I thought I'd chance my arm. It had the word "Volaille" in it so I was assuming it would be based on chicken.

It was some concoction of chicken with a sauce and spices. Again very unusual and very delicious. One of the other mains was a rabbit dish which I tried. Again nothing but praise for this also.

There were four of us at our table and each one of us raved about our chosen dishes. In fact, at the end of our trip, we all voted Chez L'Ami Jean as the best of the three restaurants we had eaten in. Fine praise indeed given that we all loved Chez Georges also.

And to make matters even better it also was the cheapest of the three restaurants by quite a distance. With three courses, a couple of bottles of wine and some water the bill for four came to just over €200 euros. In my book that represents excellent value.

The only slight negative on the evening is that we got hurried away from the table at 10:30pm as there were people queueing to get in. We had booked the 9:00pm sitting fully expecting the table to be ours until closing time but it seems that this restaurant has a third sitting for late diners.

This is unique cooking and you come away feeling that you've just discovered a little hidden gem.

Just one tip - reserve your table well in advance. This place is popular both with Parisians as well as tourists.

Restaurant: Hiramatsu, Paris

One of my all time best meals in Paris (in fact, anywhere) was at Stella Maris a French restaurant run by a Japanese chef.

It was therefore with much anticipation that I had booked Hiramatsu. Like Stella Maris it is run by a Japanese chef and serves classic french cuisine. It also holds a Michelin star.

I had anticipated that of the three restaurants that our golfing group were going to visit, Hiramatsu would be the best. The other two were Chez Georges (qv) and Chez L'Ami Jean (qv).

All four of us elected to go with the Tasting Menu (Delice Gastronomique) as the tasting menu at Stella Maris the previous year had been stunning.

As you'd expect from a Michelin-starred restaurant the meal was kicked off with an Amuse Bouche.

The menu comprises various courses designed to show off the talents of the chef. These included a crab and prawn dish, a foie gras dish, a fish dish, a lamb dish, a cheese plate and a dessert.

It was all faultless in execution but somehow lacked excitement. This is a typical Michelin one-star restaurant in that it serves classic food faultlessly but it lacks that edge that will get your taste buds excited.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was also very stiff and formal. The service was friendly but slow at times. One of my pet hates is when a restaurant takes the wine that I have bought away from the table. On more than one occasion I had to indicate for a top-up. Very poor.

The most distinctive part of the evening was the bill - €650 euros for 4 of us with two bottles of wine. By far the most expensive meal we had over three nights. And by far the least memorable meal also!

Nearly 14 months after eating at Stella Maris we still talk about it and some of the dishes we ate. A couple of days after eating at Hiramatsu we could hardly remember the dishes. It really left no memorable impression with us.

By unanimous decision we would all return to both Chez Georges and Chez L'Ami Jean many times but one visit to Hiramatsu is plenty for us.

Restaurant: Chez Georges, Paris

On a recent trip to Paris I had the pleasure of eating at three restaurants.

The first night we ate at Chez Georges in the 2nd arrondisement. Beware that there are other restaurants called Chez Georges - this is the one on Rue du Mail.

This is one of those restaurants in a quiet street that you could easily walk by and not realise that behind some very ordinary looking doors lurks a hive of activity.

Chez Georges is a classic turn-of-the-century bistro that exudes warmth and coziness. Tables are close together but this just adds to the bonhomie of the place. Service was friendly and efficient even though the restaurant was full.

The menu is full of traditional bistro classics such as chicken-liver terrine, curly endive salad with bacon and a poached egg, steak with béarnaise etc.

For starters I had "harengs avec pommes à l’huile" (herrings dressed with potatoes in oil). Other starters at our table included herrings with a vinaigrette, mushrooms a la grecque and escargots. These were accompanied by some delicious breads including slices of Poilane bread.

The starter portions are huge. We could easily have ordered two starters for four of us and we would still have had plenty to eat. A definite tip here is to share starters.

With the exception of the mushrooms, which were tasty without being exceptional, we all rated our starters as exceptional.

For the main course two of us (myself included) ordered the "Sole Georges". This is a sole filet with a sauce made from Pouilly wine and crème fraîche. Absolutely delicious.

To accompany the sole we ordered some frites. The frites were quite possibly the best frites I've ever eaten. They were thin and crispy with no oiliness whatsoever.

Other mains included Rognons de Veau (veal kidneys) and grilled turbut with bearnaise sauce both rated as excellent.

All of the above was washed down with a number of bottles of wine including the house red, a Cote de Brouilly, and a bottle of Sancerre.

This is comfort food at its best. It's the sort of food that you could eat every night unlike some of the Michelin-starred food served in other restaurants.

It's not cheap here. Four of us paid €330 euros before we added service. However euro-for-euro I would prefer to eat here than in some of the Michelin-starred places.

This is a place that I will visit again and again.