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Times
24-06-2025
- Times
11 of the best restaurants in Paris
When Unesco added French cuisine to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2010, it was specifically the 'gastronomic meal' they were honouring. And for many visitors to Paris, a typical Gallic round of creamy sauces, smelly cheeses and fine wine is as high on their to-do list as scoping out the Sacré Coeur or the Louvre. But there's more to this proud nation's gastronomy than clichés of bistros, brasseries and haute cuisine. In recent times, Paris restaurants have shed rigid hierarchies to embrace a more dynamic and diverse worldview. I've been exploring the scene here for years, and the rise of neo-bistros has highlighted seasonally driven menus and vegetable-led cooking, while a new generation of chefs bring multicultural influences to bear on traditional tastes. But wherever and whatever you choose to eat, a meal out in Paris remains a daily ritual steeped in pleasure, provenance and a deep reverence for good food. Bon appétit! This article contains affiliate links, which may earn us revenue £££ | BOOK AHEAD | Best for a blow-the-budget gourmet extravaganza Any of Paris's ten three-Michelin-starred restaurants will deliver a fine-dining experience that might very well be the meal of a lifetime (possibly with a once-in-a-lifetime price tag to match). But Plénitude one-ups the others with its magical location on the first floor of the ultra-luxe Cheval Blanc hotel and its dreamy views along the Seine and across the Pont Neuf. Dishes take inspiration from chef Arnaud Donckele's native Normandy, and his adopted homes of the Mediterranean (where he has the three-Michelin-starred La Vague d'Or in St Tropez) and Paris, with an emphasis on expertly balanced saucing. Expect the likes of chicken with caviar and courgette artfully arranged in a velvety champagne velouté. It's open for dinner only from Tuesday to Saturday, and you should leave time afterwards for a drink in the hotel's seventh-floor bar Le Tout-Paris with its view of the illuminated Eiffel Tower. A plush room for the night comes recommended for those looking to keep the celebrations going. ££ | BOOK AHEAD | Best for a fabulous French meal straight off the train Quality places to eat around the Gare du Nord are as rare as an empty seat in the Eurostar waiting area, but to start (or end) your trip with an abundance of ooh la la, this tiny dining room — a five-minute walk from the station — is absolutely comme il faut. The day's menu is chalked up on a blackboard paraded around the closely set tables — though with only a few options per course, this is not the place for fussy eaters. Offal lovers and anyone who likes punchy flavours, however, will rejoice in the likes of a doorstep of duck pie laced with silky chicken liver. Les Arlots is a bistro à vins; chef Thomas Brachet takes care of the cooking, while his co-owner Tristan Renoux looks after the wine (and wine bar Billili next door), which involves a chat about preferences rather than a list. • Read our full guide to Paris £££ | BOOK AHEAD | Best for fine dining without the formality Eat in any French restaurant where fine dining is delivered without the fuss of starched tablecloths, supercilious service and sky-high prices, and you're eating in a restaurant influenced by Septime. Chef Bertrand Grébaut turbocharged the bistronomy movement when he launched this place in 2011 and Septime remains as relevant today as when it opened, with a frequently tweaked tasting menu served in an industrial-feeling interior of blackened steel and untreated wood. Influences are as likely to be Asian or North African as European, and the pairing of natural wines is the best way to get the most from the menu's assertively fresh flavours. Bookings open three weeks ahead; if you can't get a table, pay the corkage fee for a bottle at the wine shop Septime La Cave across the road and share some small plates, or try the no-reservations Clamato, a seafood sibling next door. ££ | BOOK AHEAD | Best for a French bistro fantasy with old-school charm Picture the perfect French restaurant and it will probably look like Chez Georges: net curtains in the windows, mosaiced tiles on the floor, nicotine-yellow walls hung with huge mirrors for people-watching, leather banquettes buffed to a high shine from thousands of bottoms and backs, and paper-clothed tables packed so closely they must be removed when anyone wishes to go to the loo. One might assume it was a pastiche were it not for the fact that Chez Georges has looked like this since 1964, and the intervening years have allowed the kitchen to perfect a never-changing menu of classic bourgeois comfort. If in doubt, order something creamy: celeriac rémoulade followed by veal sweetbreads with morel sauce, then chestnut purée topped with double cream, perhaps. There are some big-ticket Burgundies and Bordeaux on the wine list proper, but the best-value bins are scrawled in the margins of the handwritten menu. No website; phone +33 1 42 60 07 11 ££ | BOOK AHEAD | Best for fine French ingredients and authentic Moroccan cooking This family-friendly Moroccan restaurant, all mosaic-topped tables and brass moucharabieh lanterns, stands out from the north African competition for two compelling reasons: the quality of its ingredients and the natural wines that partner the cooking. Le Tagine's commitment to all things orange and unfiltered is matched only by the high calibre of its beautifully presented cuisine, shown to most delicious effect in the 20 or so couscous and tagine dishes. Try a chicken with olive and preserved lemon tagine, or the couscous méchoui in which star billing goes to leg of milk-fed lamb from the Pyrenees. Breads and pastries made in house show the same dedication to labour-intensive sourcing and authenticity. ££ | Best for a seafood-centric late lunch The Marché Couvert des Enfants Rouges is the oldest covered market in Paris, having occupied this spot in the Marais since the early 17th century. Les Enfants du Marché arrived some 400 years later and still feels like it brings something new to Paris with its no-bookings chef's counter right on the market floor (wrap up warm in cooler months). Expect to queue for one of the dozen or so stools, then prepare to be dazzled by fish-focused small plates that excel in bold pairings: crudo of line-caught grouper with candied citron zest and horseradish is a typically vivid assembly. The wait to be seated is less painful as the afternoon goes on; should you find yourself still here at the early-evening closing time, pick up a bottle to take away from the restaurant's La Cave wine shop round the corner. • Best hotels in Paris• Best affordable hotels in Paris £££ | BOOK AHEAD | Best for a unique fusion of cuisines from a star chef Montparnasse was once famous for its café culture of caffeine-and-croissant-fuelled artists and intellectuals; now it's the cooking of the chef Mory Sacko that gets foodies coming to the residential 14th arrondissement — assuming they've had the foresight (and perseverance) to reserve a table the moment bookings are released about three months in advance. MoSuke was the first west African restaurant in France to win a Michelin star, but Japan is just as much of an influence on the French-born Sacko as his Malian and Senegalese heritage, alluded to in a restaurant name inspired by the only African samurai. If that all sounds too much to take in, it makes perfect sense on the palate in thrillingly distinctive dishes such as the signature Tanzanian and Madagascan chocolate tart with wasabi ice cream that concludes a menu available in four, six or nine courses. ££ | BOOK AHEAD | Best for a contemporary take on bistro classics Sarah Michielsen, the soignée owner of Parcelles, respects tradition without being slavishly in thrall to the past. When she bought the former Le Taxi Jaune — a famous 1930s bistro near the Pompidou Centre — she left the look of the place largely unchanged: white tablecloths, copper-topped bar, tiled floors and windows which open to the Marais street when it's warm enough. But with Parcelles, she introduced a menu of classic comfort cooking updated for modern tastes and served by staff who seem to have been to charm school. Butter-drenched scallops come draped with guanciale, there are great veggie dishes such as potato gnocchi with sage butter and fried sage, and almost everything is made in house — so much so that there's now an épicerie opposite selling pickles and pâtés. The sort of casually sophisticated place you could just as easily turn up to in jeans and trainers as a suit and tie. £££ | BOOK AHEAD | Best for plant-focused, sustainable tasting menus Manon Fleury is something special: a chef who has put her money where her mouth is and opened a restaurant that embodies her belief in natural sustainability, human dignity and animal welfare. Of course, it helps that her zero-waste cooking, prepared and served by a mostly female staff, is so enthralling, with fruit and veg at the forefront of a menu of micro-seasonal ingredients sourced from small-scale French producers, and meat and fish only used sparingly to point up the subtle flavours and aromas of the plant-based cuisine. Think pairings such as a Swiss chard mille-feuille with yellow pollock, or a dessert of lemon with Jerusalem artichoke. The skylit-illuminated room, with its polished concrete floors and oak dining chairs, is as invitingly textured as the cooking. £ | Best for deep-filled pitta sandwiches that won't break the bank You can eat in at the family-friendly L'As du Fallafel, but given that a falafel sandwich is the Middle East's answer to street food and the street here is so atmospheric — the traffic-free and cobbled Rue des Rosiers in the historic Jewish quarter of the Pletzl, where kosher bakeries now sit next to chic boutiques — do as the locals do and eat while window-shopping. A combination of quality cooking and celebrity endorsements (Natalie Portman says this is her favourite meal in Paris) means you should expect to queue, but what is handed through the hatch is worth the wait: a pillow of pitta stuffed with crisp falafel, crunchy salad, squishy aubergine and spicy harissa sauce for 10 euros (£8.50). Note that it's closed Friday evenings until Sunday mornings, in which case you could try King Falafel Palace a few doors down. £ | Best for kid-friendly crêpes and parent-friendly alternatives If you haven't had a proper crêpe since your French exchange (the ones made on a hotplate in the park don't count), then this ever-expanding stable of Gallic pancake houses across the city is a reminder of just how delicious they can be. Breizh is the Breton word for Brittany, where the founder and Breton native Bertrand Larcher grows his organic buckwheat (naturally gluten-free) for savoury galettes such as the ham, egg and Comté cheese 'complète'. Kids will love the chocolate and cream-filled sweet crêpes, though the version slicked with nothing more than salted Bordier butter and brown sugar is a rather more adult-orientated pleasure, as is a glass of crisp Breton cider if a Breizh Cola isn't going to hit the spot. The original, tiny Breizh Café in the Marais remains the most atmospheric, but with a dozen chicly simple branches in the centre of Paris, you're never too far from a sugar spike when sightseeing fatigue sets in. • Best Airbnbs in Paris• Best hotels in Paris for families Have we missed your favourite Parisian restaurant? Share it in the comments
Vogue
03-06-2025
- Health
- Vogue
Cheval Blanc Spa by Guerlain
Welcome to the second iteration of Vogue's global spa guide, an index of the 100 best spas in the world, built from the expertise of our global editors and trusted contributors. There is a lot to choose from in the world of wellness, and no matter how far you're planning to travel—from a subway ride to a trans-Atlantic flight—we want to make sure it's worth the journey. Whatever your path, let us be your guide. Why go here? It would be difficult to find a spa enthusiast who needs convincing to visit a Cheval Blanc. With six properties around the world, the French luxury hotel group is known in part for its spas developed in collaboration with iconic beauty maisons like Guerlain and Dior (translation: world-class treatments are always on the menu). But this outpost in dreamy St. Barth is especially alluring this year, thanks to a recent, five-month renovation completed in November 2024 in partnership with Guerlain and renowned Parisian architect Isabelle Stanislas. While the spa has always felt like a secluded tropical sanctuary, it's now even more of an ode to the natural beauty of St. Barth, with a soothing new design that incorporates natural materials like raffia and bleached larch, and—perhaps most notably—all sorts of new nature-inspired therapies. 'Certain treatments have been specifically created and designed for Cheval Blanc St. Barth, drawing inspiration from the island's surrounding nature,' says general manager Christelle Hilpron. Photo: Courtesy of Cheval Blanc Spa by Guerlain What's the vibe? Cheval Blanc St. Barth is a beachfront property, but the spa's tropical garden location gives it a lush, tranquil feel. The walk there alone was enough to kickstart my relaxation, not least because I met some turtles on the palm-lined walkway that leads to the entrance—a metaphorical reminder to slow down if ever there was one. The first thing you'll likely notice when you walk into the spa itself is the lovely scent, though it's difficult to pinpoint one fragrance in particular. Guerlain is celebrated for their fragrances (founder Pierre-François-Pascal Guerlain was the official perfumer to Napoleon III), and as part of the spa's recent five-month renovation, they expanded perfume offerings. But in-your-face retail it is not. Though the boutique is a big part of the spa, it still looks and feels minimal and tasteful, with a gallery-like layout. The rest of the spa—which, in an effort to focus mostly on the treatments, does not include typical wellness amenities like saunas and steam rooms—is just as understated. The new boudoir and five treatment rooms, including one new one for couples, are designed with calming neutral palettes (think soft white and sand), but the gold-topped glass bottles on display add a subtle element of glamour. Photo: Courtesy of Cheval Blanc Spa by Guerlain The history? The hotel was originally built in 1991 as the Hotel St-Barth Isle de France. Then, in 2014, LVMH acquired the property and relaunched it as Cheval Blanc St. Barth, introducing the exclusive Guerlain spa as part of the transformation. Photo: Courtesy of Cheval Blanc Spa by Guerlain What should you try? Don't miss the Caribbean Idyll massage, a new treatment that spotlights Guerlain's flowery Idylle fragrance, a blend of white lilacs, jasmine, and peonies. At one point midway through my massage, my therapist asked me to sit up and inhale a sample of the scent. I was a bit annoyed at first (must I get up?), but the brief interlude somehow pushed me further into relaxation mode. Are you sensing a theme here?
Vogue
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Vogue
Who's Who on Lauren Sánchez's Bachelorette Trip to Paris
On Thursday evening, Lauren Sánchez posted a black-and-white photo carousel of her and 11 other women, posing on the rooftop of the Cheval Blanc hotel in Paris. 'Forever starts with friendship, surrounded by the women who've lifted me up, illuminated my path in dark times, and shaped my heart along the way,' she captioned the snap. 'Forever,' no doubt, alludes to her upcoming wedding to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Since they got engaged in 2023, details about their upcoming nuptials have been sparse. But that hasn't stopped the world's tabloids from trying to find out. So, as we wait for the most highly anticipated wedding of the year, here's a rundown on the notable women who attended Lauren Sánchez's bachelorette party. They run the gamut from world famous Hollywood stars to non-profit founders. All bridesmaids, perhaps? Kris Jenner The matriarch and manager of the Kardashian family (which includes Kim Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, and Kylie Jenner). The two have enjoyed a close friendship over the past few years: 'You are an amazing mom, fiancé, sister, daughter, and girlfriend, and I am so blessed to have you and Jeff in our lives,' wrote Jenner. 'We have made the most delicious memories together and I can't wait to make more!' she wrote on an Instagram tribute to Sanchez on her birthday in March 2024. Kim Kardashian The reality TV star and Skims mogul. 'Lauren and I are always sending DMs building each other up,' Kardashian previously told Vogue of their friendship. 'Every time there's a look that we like, she'll say, 'WOW,' or, 'OMG you look amazing.' She's such a girl's girl.' Kardashian wore Prada for the occasion. Katy Perry The chart-topping singer and Sánchez have enjoyed a close bond for several years—so much so that Sánchez asked her to be a member of Blue Origin's first female space flight. Currently, Perry is on tour—but it looks like she took some time off to attend Sánchez's pre-nuptial events. Photo: Elena S Blair / Courtesy of Lauren Sánchez Eva Longoria The Desperate Housewives actor did not make the big group shot Sánchez posted—but click through the carousel and there's a shot of smiling at the dinner table. Elsa Marie Collins It wasn't just Hollywood stars at Sánchez's bachelorette. Also in attendance? Elsa Marie Collins co-founder of This Is About Humanity, a nonprofit that helps families separated at the U.S. border. Natasha Poonawalla A wealthy Indian businesswoman and philanthropist, who is the executive director of India's largest vaccine distributor. She recently attended the 2025 Met Gala in a custom look by Manish Malhotra. October Gonzalez Actor and wife of football player Tony Gonzalez, who is the father of Sánchez's son, Nikko. Lydia Kives An attorney and wife of Michael Kives, a former CAA agent who is known in Los Angeles as a super-connector. Veronica Grazer Start up founder and wife of Brian Grazer, the Academy Award-winning producer of films like A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13. Charissa Thompson Sports journalist and television host for Fox Sports. Sanchez herself also worked in TV journalism as a special correspondent for Extra and as an anchor on the Los Angeles's Fox 11 News at Ten.
Globe and Mail
08-03-2025
- Globe and Mail
A Canadian in Paris is championing women in the storied business of Champagne
Open this photo in gallery: Canadian wine educator Cynthia Coutu's wine epiphany happened on a fly-fishing trip a couple decades ago in Northern Quebec. At the time, she was working on a master's degree in art history at the Sorbonne in Paris, and once a week she would buy a bottle from a shop in her neighbourhood. When she mentioned she wanted to take a special bottle or two back to Canada, the caviste, the wine shop owner, had some suggestions. They went into his cellar and began searching his cellar for something that would fit her budget, which wasn't massive – 400 francs, roughly $135 – but was more than she'd ever spent on a bottle. 'He suggested a Cheval Blanc from 1982 and a Haut-Brion, also from 1982, I think,' Coutu says. In the end, she took both. Of course, she had to give him a full report on her experience when she returned to Paris. 'We had a five-hour drive to the north of Quebec, another hour on a dirt road and three different portages to get to the cabin, but the bottles arrived safely and I left them to sit,' she says. 'A few days later, we were happily fishing and caught lots of trout. We got back to the cabin, fried the trout in some nice Canadian bacon and decided now's the time to open those bottles.' As she began sipping one of the legendary red Bordeaux, the night sky exploded with the northern lights. 'We were just silent, sitting there, watching this incredible light show and drinking this awesome wine,' she says. 'That's when I knew what the fuss about wine was all about.' Coutu is now the award-winning founder and owner ('chief bubbly officer,' she likes to say) of Delectabulles, a Paris-based wine tourism business that introduces wine lovers from around the world to the women of Champagne. She leads tastings in Paris, as well as one-day and multi-day tours to the famous French region, all with a distinctly female vibe. 'The focus on wine and the women in Champagne is necessary and long overdue,' says Coutu's friend Janet Dorozynski, a Canadian wine writer, judge and internationally renowned industry analyst. 'Her approach highlights the role of women in the industry. It is about visibility and representation, which is important.' Coutu came up with the idea to host women-only tastings after a female winemaker told her that men at tastings often 'mansplain' how she'd made her own wine to her – the winemaker – while women often don't ask questions they would in all-female groups. Open this photo in gallery: 'Women want to better understand what style of Champagne they prefer and why, which style to pair with what kind of food, and how to get the best bang for their buck,' Coutu says. 'They want to learn so they can empower themselves.' This year, on the International Women's Day weekend, Coutu will lead a wine tasting and dinner at Bubble Bliss, a Champagne bar in the chic sixth arrondissement of Paris. Owned by a woman, it opened in late 2024 and has quickly become one of Coutu's favourite stops for a glass and conversation with clients and friends. Conversation that, inevitably, rolls around to what's in their glasses. According to Coutu, 70 per cent of Champagne is bought by women. But only 20 per cent of the big Champagne houses, also called Grandes Marques, have a female CEO and only 17 per cent have a female cellar master. 'On the other end of the spectrum, 40 per cent of the small independent grower Champagne estates are owned by women. The bigger the house, the less parity,' Coutu explains. Climbing the wine industry ranks isn't without challenges, something she knows first-hand. 'I struggled as a Canadian woman in the wine world, and in France, it was a double-whammy – not just being a woman, but being a foreign woman, too,' Coutu says. A few years ago, she was the only woman on a panel of six judges tasting wine at the Concours Général Agricole, France's oldest food and wine competition. A male judge pointed out that as a Canadian, she must have grown up on maple syrup, then questioned how she'd have the skills to judge Champagnes. He wasn't kidding. Later, at the same competition, she found herself defending a wine she believed deserved a medal. The president of the jury told her, after putting his hand on her shoulder, he'd let her have the medal, but only because of her beautiful blue eyes. 'That's a reason why I started seeking out other women in wine.' Coutu's journey toward becoming chief bubbly officer, wasn't intentional. Born near Montreal to a Cape Bretoner and a Mountie, she lived in Nova Scotia and Ottawa as a child. After earning a fine arts degree from the University of Ottawa, she moved to Paris. Realizing she didn't want to work in art for the rest of her life, she got a job at the Canadian embassy in Paris. She eventually moved to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. When she was 50, her position was eliminated after a reorganization. A return to Canada was in the cards. Or was it? 'I like wine and cheese too much. I had to figure out a way to stay in Paris,' she says with a laugh. Over the years, she had learned a lot about wine: formal classes with Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET), her wine shop friend, winemakers' tastings and dinners. 'I decided to specialize in sparkling wines as an intellectual challenge, and Champagne is the most complex of all the sparkling wines,' she says. 'What I really like is the diversity: It's a blend of great varieties, plots, villages, years.' Yet, for Coutu, the best part of wine isn't about technical details such as soil types and grape clones. 'It's who you are drinking with, where you are and what you're eating,' Coutu says. 'It's about creating these magical, precious moments.' And while there were many businesses that offered tastings and tours to French wine regions, no one focused on the history of women in wine – Champagne in particular. 'The more I started learning about Champagne, the more I realized the important role that women have played in the region and its wines,' Coutu says. 'From Joan of Arc – who led the charge to liberate the region of Champagne from the English during the Hundred Years' War and burned at the stake for dressing like a man – to the women of Champagne today, the one constant is how fearless they are and how resilient.' It will come as no surprise to hear Coutu is now working on a book. Bubbly Badasses is the working title and there are plenty of women to feature. Vitalie Taittinger heads up Taittinger and Alexandra Pereyre de Nonancourt and her sister Stéphanie Meneux de Nonancourt are the co-CEOs of Laurent-Perrier. Duval-Leroy, Gosset, Henriot, Krug and Perrier-Jouët all have female cellar masters (or cheffes de cave in French). And Tarlant, a small estate that goes back 10 generations, has a brother-sister team at the helm; Melanie Tarlant is the sister. Of note, Tarlant and Taittinger are part of La Transmission – Femmes en Champagne, an association created to support women in Champagne. Preceding their collective success is Madame Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot, better known as the Widow Clicquot of the legendary Veuve Clicquot Champagne house. When widowed at the age of 27, she took over her husband's business in 1805, creating rosé Champagne and one of the first vintage Champagnes. Her many accomplishments are still part of the business today. 'There are so many stories,' Coutu says. 'When I die, it'll be on my tombstone: Still learning about Champagne.'
