As sports lovers descend on the French capital for the Paris 2024 Olympics, many of them will be looking to notch up a proper Gallic dining experience during their stay. But with rocketing prices for everything from hotel rooms to metro tickets, are there any decent places left to eat in Paris without breaking the bank?
Gourmet website Chef’s Pencil has identified a selection of twelve Michelin-starred restaurants where tables are still available during the Olympic period and where prices remain within reason, or at least below the average €210 for a Michelin-quality meal. These include:
1. Benoit: €32-€42
Hailed as “the most affordable Michelin restaurant in Paris with the lunch menu priced between €32 (two courses) and €42 for a full three-course meal,” and belonging to multi-starred chef Alain Ducasse, Benoit is old (over 100 years), brilliantly central, and near my favourite tower in Paris, the Tour Saint-Jacques which dates back 500 years but looks like it has a modern Anthony Gormley statue on the top.
2. Quinsou: €40-€58
Across the Seine in the Latin Quarter, opposite renowned chef school École Grégoire-Ferrandi, Quinsou offers contemporary, seasonal, locally-sourced food and a choice of a two-course, €40 lunch menu, or three-courses for €58.
3. Auguste: €47
A bit further west towards the Rodin Museum, you’ll find a €47 lunch menu at Auguste, run by chef Gaël Orieux, a Ducasse protegé who offers food that is “refined and adventurous” in an elegant and historic neighbourhood.
4. Fleur de Pavé: starting at €75
At the heart of the capital on the Right Bank this time, and close to one of the city’s best hidden gems, the Jardin du Palais Royal – an extraordinary green space with sculptures and roses inside a giant courtyard – Fleur du Pavé blends international fusion cuisine with fine ingredients for a €75 four-course dinner menu that will tease your senses. At weekends, the price goes up to €130, so beware.
5. Tomy & Co: €80
There’s a special Olympics menu on at Tomy & Co, owned by Chef Tomy Gousset, who realises that while the grown-ups might enjoy fried gnocchi with truffles, kids might need their own introduction to Michelin cuisine. Three courses will set you back €80 and the kids’ menu can be had for €28.
6. Jacques Faussat: €80-€110
Another chef offering a modern take on classic French style and ingredients is Jacques Faussat, where behind an unassuming black facade at street level, there is a relentless focus on the seasonal and the delicious. Three-courses are again €80 euros or why not go one step further and opt for the four-course tasting menu priced at €110.
And don’t forget, there are plenty of non-Michelin-starred but excellent dining experiences in Paris too. The Bouillon Chartier chain of old-style canteen brasseries dates back to the 19th century and will charm you with their low prices, glorious interiors and gruff French waiters dressed in full-length aprons.
