Paris Dining - Our 3 Top Picks!

1728
Cuisine Modern French, Japanese
Hours Mon-Fri 12:30-3pm; Mon-Sat 8:30-11pm
Address 8 rue d'Anjou, 8e
Location 8th Arrondissement (Champs-Elysées/Madeleine)
Transportation Métro: Concorde
Reservations Reservations recommended for main meals
Phone 01-40-17-04-77
Prices Main courses 30€-40€ ($39-$52)
Credit Cards AE, MC, V
Season Closed 3 weeks in Aug

An 18th-century town house, just off Faubourg-St-Honoré where the Marquis de Lafayette lived, has been turned into this chic rendezvous. The decor is sumptuous, just like it was in the 1700s, with paintings on the wall -- each for sale -- and low marble dining tables and chairs. Call the place what you like -- upmarket tea salon or cafe. Its chef, Yannick Quéré, hails from Potel & Chabot. Many visit in the afternoon just for tea and pastries.

Alcazar Restaurant
Cuisine MODERN FRENCH
Hours Daily noon-3pm and 7pm-midnight
Address 62 rue Mazarine, 6e
Location 6th Arrondissement (St-Germain/Luxembourg)
Transportation Métro: Odéon
Reservations Reservations recommended
Phone 01-53-10-19-99
Prices Main courses 20€-32€ ($26-$42); fixed-price lunch 18€-28€ ($23-$36); fixed-price dinner 39€ ($51)
Credit Cards AE, DC, MC, V

Paris's highest-profile brasserie de luxe is this high-tech place funded by British restaurateur Sir Terence Conran. It features a red-and-white futuristic decor in a street-level dining room and a busy upstairs bar (La Mezzanine de l'Alcazar). The menu includes rack of veal sautéed with wild mushrooms, roasted rack of lamb with thyme, Charolais duckling with honey and spices, monkfish with saffron in puff pastry, and shellfish and oysters from the waters of Brittany. The wines are as stylish and diverse as you'd expect, and the trendy crowd tends to wear a lot of black.

Au Trou Gascon
Cuisine GASCONY
Hours Mon-Fri noon-2pm and 7:30-10pm
Address 40 rue Taine, 12e
Location 11th & 12th Arrondissements (Opéra Bastille/Bois De Vincennes)
Transportation Métro: Daumesnil
Reservations Reservations recommended a day in advance
Phone 01-43-44-34-26
Prices Main courses 28€-38€ ($36-$49); prix fixe lunch 40€ ($52)
Credit Cards AE, DC, MC, V
Season Closed Aug

One of Paris's most acclaimed chefs, Alain Dutournier, lures fashionable palates to an unchic area. He launched his career in southwest France's Gascony region. His parents mortgaged their inn to allow Dutournier to open an early-1900s bistro in a little-known part of the 12th. Word spread of a savant in the kitchen who practiced authentic cuisine moderne. His wife, Nicole, is the welcoming hostess, and the wine steward has distinguished himself for his exciting cave containing several little-known wines along with a fabulous collection of Armagnacs. You can start with duck foie gras cooked in a terrine or Gascony-cured ham. The best main courses include fresh tuna with braised cabbage; a superb cassoulet; and chicken from the Chalosse region of Landes, which Dutournier roasts and serves in its own drippings.