Le Dauphin

One of the first places to offer small plates (please don't call them tapas) to his diners who didn't make it into his main restaurant, the cult Le Chateaubriand, just next door, Le Dauphin has become its own cult destination. That's mostly to do with Chef Inaki Aizpitarte who has for several years now been the golden bad-boy chef of Paris. And one who delights in breaking all the rules - very successfully, I might add. Though first added as an after-thought, this small-plates restaurant, often standing-room only, caught on so well with Parisian diners that many have made this the main choice for the whole meal, nevermind the appetite teasers. Located in the too-cool-for-school 11th arrondissement, means you'll be well placed to hit the Bastille, République and Oberkampf bars and night spots once you're appetite has been sated.