Paris takes its role seriously as one of the finest culinary capitals of the world, with the rise of the newest generation of top chefs. These young and talenteds noted below have been having a thoroughly good time shaking things up and rejuvenating French cuisine. Included here along with the brazen hot young chefs are also a few fabulous dining spots, remarkable for their beauty and prestige as well as their incomparable cuisine.
Chef Christophe Boucher gets lit up over a bunch of fresh-picked mustard greens. — Photo courtesy of Paige Donner
Akrame
Akrame Benallal's namesake restaurant, Restaurant Akrame, is a destination dining spot in the French capital. The 32-year-old chef was recently awarded his second Michelin star, having earned his first in 2012 - just one year after he opened his rue Lauriston restaurant.
If ElBulli and Pierre Gagnaire are where your culinary tastes lie, you'll find this acolyte's cooking thoroughly to your liking.
Laurent
An oasis of French countryside on the Champs-Élysées, landmark restaurant Laurent offers un-ostentatious dining in secluded chicness. Rich in history, the building was once a hunting lodge and then a dance hall during the French Revolution. In 1842, it was restored by King Louis Philippe's architect, Hitorff, who also did the Champs-Élysées.
Philippe Bourgignon, man at the helm, is a member of the Académie du Vin and Chef Alain Pégouret creates some 30 new dishes each year for his menu. Crispy langoustine and basil is particularly nice to enjoy out on the tree-shaded terrace from May through October.
Dessance
Dessert for breakfast, lunch and dinner? This is Paris, and even though you may feel like you're puttin' on the ritz, in fact you're puttin' on Dessance. Guilt-free.
This all-dessert menu is made without cream or butter and very little sugar. Imagination-rich Chef Christophe Boucher creates his tasty artistic dishes around fruits, roots and vegetables. Example: the icy granita he recently whipped up from a fresh, just-picked bunch of mustard greens.
Dessert at Dessance - it's all that's on the menu for lunch and dinner. — Photo courtesy of Paige Donner
Le Quinzième
The It boy of French TV celebrity chefs is Cyril Lignac, and it's impossible not to be swept up by his genuine enthusiasm for food, carefully curated fresh ingredients and the magic he makes with them.
Near no landmarks nor easy public transportation, Le Quinzième, a block off the Seine, is Lignac's 1-Michelin-starred establishment. Here, the open kitchen and amber-caramel tones surround you with warmth.
Les 110 de Taillevent
Les 110 de Taillevent does a brisk lunch and dinner business for those who enjoy wine and food pairings but don't necessarily want to lug their Encyclopedia of Wine around with them.
Each of the 110 wines-by-the-glass paired with each of the 30 dishes on the sommelier menu come in four price tiers, ranging from affordable (€6-9) to mythic (€25+).
The restaurant re-opened in 2012, and Chef Emile Cotte is now in charge of the kitchen, accompanied by Chef Alain Solivérès of Taillevent.
Frédéric Simonin
Since only the French seem to know about the Guide Champerard, the name Frédéric Simonin is likely a new one for you. All the better.
This 1-Michelin-starred, Joël Robuchon-trained, 30-something chef humbly turns out exquisite meals in his all black-and-white restaurant in the shadows of the Arc de Triomphe. As amuse-bouche, try the mousse of foie-gras served over a port wine reduction and topped with a parmesan emulsion. Superstar dining at one-star prices.
Other Notable Names
At La Dame de Pic, Paris' 3-Michelin-starred female chef, Anne-Sophie Pic, created her menu around perfume and scents.
Started by another young-and-talented, Restaurant David Toutain is the Paris dining reservation of the moment.
Restaurant de la Maison de l'Amérique Latine offers the prettiest garden-facing dining room near the Musée d'Orsay and presents a new chef, Thierry Vaissiere.
