Everything I Ate in Paris: A Food Lover’s Guide

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Paris is always a good idea. One thing I’ve learned on this trip is that food in Paris isn’t nasty like some people say. It’s hearty. It’s made with love. It’s filling. And it can be super diverse.

As you’ll see below, I ate everything from French to Vietnamese to damn near American — and I enjoyed mostly every bite.

Me enjoying a nice Aperol Spritz in Paris, France at a cafe.

Are you ready to enjoy my food journey? But first, I want to let you know about my experience on Air France. If you’re interested in that, open that article here so you can read it next.

Now let’s get into the Paris food scene.

Cheeseburger at La Terrasse St Jacques

The Cheeseburger at La Terrasse St Jacques

📍 LOCATION: La Terrasse St Jacques

Okay — so my American ass ordered a cheeseburger. Yes, tf I did. And? I loved it.

It was perfectly seasoned (just salt and pepper — that’s all that’s needed on a burger) with the perfect brioche bun. I normally don’t eat hamburgers, to be honest, but I do occasionally enjoy a smash burger in PV at my spot. This one was really good and delicious.

We randomly stumbled into this café because we were starving after checking in and walking over to Notre Dame. We ate and we drank. I had an Aperol Spritz along with the burger, and both were delish. The Aperol Spritz wasn’t AMAZZZING — I think I’m past that phase — but nonetheless, it was consumed.

Food: 8.5/10
Vibe: 8/10
Would I Go Again?: Yes

Happy Hour Drinks at Papilla

The wine was flowing here!

📍 LOCATION: Papilla

They had a great happy hour special. Enough said.

Vibe: 8/10
Would I Go Again?: Yes

River Cruise Dinner with Bateaux Parisiens

It doesn’t get better than this, does it?

📍 LOCATION: on the Seine River

Definitely book a river cruise of some sort. We loved it, and for the value, you truly get your money’s worth. We ended up booking the four-course dinner cruise.

Boudin sausage appetizer

• The first course was a boudin sausage, and it was insane. Very flavorful and honestly took me back to Louisiana a bit.

• My cousin got the frog legs for her appetizer. They were interesting — tasted like chicken. I had never had that before.

• For the main course… baby, the French love a meat-and-potatoes situation. We both got different meats and different potato dishes. Hers was a steak with scalloped potatoes. Mine was veal — which I had never had before — so I figured, let’s try it. I actually liked it. My cousin didn’t love her potatoes but loved mine, so we did a little switch-a-roo. Overall, I’d say the mains were about a 7/10.

• Then we ran upstairs to take photos and see the sights from above the boat. It was COLD AF. Like… sooooo cold.

• The next course was cheese, of course, and the cheese was divine. I loved the softer cheeses like brie. The goat cheese was very smelly but also good. I don’t remember the third cheese, but it was more medium-soft/hard and also divine. My cousin didn’t like the cheese at all — but she’s from Texas, so…

• For dessert, we made sure to order different things so we could try each other’s. I got the chocolate caramel tart. It was good but very rich — the chocolate was overpowering, but still decent. My cousin got the passionfruit tart and it was delicious.

• We also ordered a bottle of wine with the meal, which I consumed entirely because my cousin doesn’t drink wine. Let’s just say we were TOASTED after dinner.

I had a delicious veal dish with mashed potatoes.

Browse my favorite river cruises here. If you book through that link, I will receive a comission, and I will grately appreciate your support!

Chocolate Caramel Tart

Food: 7.5/10
Vibe: 9/10
Would I Go Again?: Yes

Breakfast at the Marriott

Beautiful lobby at the Paris Mariott Rive Gauche — before dinner pic!

📍 Paris Marriott Rive Gauche

A moment of silence for our breakfast at the Marriott.

We were so busy scarfing everything down every morning that we didn’t take a single photo. But it was amazing — and included in our stay, which is rare. It was really nice to have a full breakfast option every morning that was free. They even did made to order omelettes — highly recommend ordering those as the eggs that were on the buffet weren’t up to snuff!

They also had live music every morning. Like… what?! Hat tip to the Marriott.

Food: 9/10
Vibe: 9/10
Would I Go Again?: Absolutely

Café de Flore

Me at Café de Flore enjoying a dirty martini (rare sighting in Paris, lol)

📍 Saint-Germain-des-Prés

This place felt like stepping back in time. My cousin was shopping her ass off, and I just wanted to sit down and have a martini (or five).

We pulled up, and I ordered a few martinis. They were decent, but why did they skimp me?! Fill that martini to the top — that was unacceptable, lol. But at least they had dirty martinis.

Caesar Salad at Café de Flore

For food, we ordered a salad and a club sandwich to share. The portions were incredible and more than enough for both of us. The potato chips that came with it were also very tasty.

Club Sandwich at Café de Flore

There was a bit of a queue outside in the cold, but it moved pretty fast.

Food: 8/10
Vibe: 8.5/10
Would I Go Again?: Yes

Café Pli

Coffee at Café Pli

📍 LOCATION: Café Pli

Here we just had a coffee and a latte — both traditional and pretty delicious.

The real experience was the activity. We wrote letters to our future selves, picked a year, and the letters will be mailed to us then. If you’re looking for something unique and off the beaten path, this is a great option.

This coffee shop is currently going viral on my TikTok — check it out here → [LINK TIKTOK].

Food: 8.5/10
Vibe: 9.5/10
Would I Go Again?: Yes

Le Cristal

The Croque Monsieur with side salad at Le Cristal

📍 Near Arc de Triomphe

This next place was interesting. We were at the Arc de Triomphe, and honestly, people gave me lists of recommendations, but it was overwhelming. So we did our own thing — and we didn’t miss.

This cute man swindled us into this spot, and we didn’t walk away disappointed. I ordered a Croque Monsieur and loved it. I had never had one before, so I was intrigued. The cheese was hard yet gooey — very satisfying.

We both got cocktails too. I had an espresso martini. My cousin had either a Sidecar or cognac — I can’t remember. No complaints.

Food: 9/10
Vibe: 9/10
Would I Go Again?: Yes

Dinner After the Eiffel Tower

Delicious pasta dish at Firmine

📍 LOCATION: Firmine

This spot was interesting. I thought my food was really good, but my cousin’s steak was tough and hard to cut. She hated it. The table was also slippery, which didn’t help.

My pasta, however, was exceptional, and I devoured it. For appetizers, we got calamari and mozzarella sticks. Both were delicious, but they could’ve been fresher — they felt pre-made. That said, the mozzarella sticks were bomb af. I hadn’t had those in forever.

Mozz sticks!!!

This place was nice because they had heaters outside, which helped after freezing our asses off at the Eiffel Tower. Baby, we were COLD AF.

Food: 8/10
Vibe: 8/10
Would I Go Again?: Maybe

La Ville de Provins

📍 LOCATION: Near the train station Gard De L’est

If it’s one thing about the French, they love a potato in any form.

This spot was random af. We had missed our train and grabbed breakfast after rerouting to Sacré-Cœur. I had an omelette and fries — both were good. The cappuccinos, however, were not good. They use a machine to make them, and they weren’t fresh.

I hate that. Like… no. Don’t be lazy.

Food: 6.5/10
Vibe: 6/10
Would I Go Again?: No

Sausage at Sacré-Cœur

📍 LOCATION: Virgule

Holy fuck.

Chowing down on that sausage!

This might have been the best thing I ate the entire trip. A sausage on a baguette. Simple. Perfect. I typically don’t eat sausage in Mexico, so this was a welcomed treat.

Baby… I tore that thing UP. I nearly cried.

Food: 10/10
Vibe: 9/10
Would I Go Again?: YES

SirDavis Bar Moment

📍 LOCATION: La Vrai Paris

I couldn’t believe it when I saw SirDavis on the wall. Beyoncé had just become a billionaire, and there she was.

We ordered a round of SirDavis shots. They were pricey — about $60 USD — but whatever. We were on vacation. The ambience here was great, too.

Vibe: 10/10
Would I Go Again?: Yes

Food Near Moulin Rouge

📍 LOCATION: Rouge Bis

I ordered a salmon dish because I was like, let me eat some vegetables. It was salmon with veggies and slightly Asian-inspired — and I loved it.

The server also had the biggest ass I’ve ever seen, so great eye candy too. LOL. I know, I’m a mess.

I do think the dish could’ve been more filling with rice, which is why I’m rating it the way I am.

Food: 9/10
Vibe: 10/10
Would I Go Again?: Yes

Suan Thai

Pad Thai at Suan Thai

📍 Le Marais

Then it was time for daddy to go out a bit. I stopped at this random Thai spot in the Marais and ordered Pad Thai.

Basic, flavorful, delicious. I was starvinggggg and ate every bite.

Food: 9.5/10
Vibe: 8.5/10
Would I Go Again?: Yes

Candelaria

📍 Marais

HOLY SHIT.

We stumbled into this spot after trying to buy perfumes elsewhere, and it turned out to be incredible. From the birria (yes, birria in Paris) to the cocktails in the speakeasy side — everything was delightful.

The margaritas sucked, but they were frozen, so I think that’s why. Everything else, including the service, was impeccable.

Birria in Paris, France — say it aint so — but it was good!

Food: 9.7/10
Vibe: 9.5/10
Would I Go Again?: 100%

Bao Bar

📍 LOCATION: In Marais area

Bao Bar may have been my favorite restaurant meal in Paris

I needed soup expeditiously. I was not prepared for how cold Paris was after living in Puerto Vallarta for a year.

This bao was so damn good! WOW.

The fried chicken bao was out of this world. The soup was warm, filling, and comforting — somewhere between pho and ramen. The broth was insanely flavorful and warmed my soul.

Food: 9.5/10
Vibe: 9/10
Would I Go Again?: Yes

Croissants & Chocolate Croissants

📍 Various Bakeries

I had several throughout the city. Loved every single one.
No notes.

Food: 10/10
Would I Go Again?: Always

Apple Tart (Grocery Store Surprise)

📍 LOCATION: [ADD GROCERY STORE NAME]

The first day we arrived, I grabbed two random pastries from the grocery store without thinking much of it — and they turned out to be the best apple tarts I’ve ever had.

I ate them in bed. Crumbs everywhere. Zero regrets.

Food: 10/10
Would I Go Again?: Yes

Thoughts on Coffee in Paris

They need to ban those little coffee machines. We are in Paris. It feels lazy and borderline insulting. Fresh-made coffee was always good. The machine coffee? Trash.

Cocktail Culture in Paris

I mentioned this earlier, but I was shocked that most places didn’t make dirty martinis. Then I did some research and realized I was being extremely American.

Cafés = wine, beer, basic drinks
Cocktail bars = crafted cocktails

Once you know that, everything makes sense.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the food really surprised me this time. On my previous trips, I think I was eating at the wrong places. The first time, I was broke and mostly eating street food. The second time, I was traveling with family and rarely picked the restaurants.

This time? We picked randomly AF and scored almost every time.

We did have terrible service at some restaurant near the Eiffel Tower, so I won’t review it. The server was grumpy AF, but thankfully every experience after that was great.

Yes, the French can be direct. Sometimes rude. Sometimes it’s just the culture. Sometimes it’s something else. Don’t let it ruin your trip.

Important etiquette reminders:

• Always say Bonjour or Bonsoir

• Always say Merci

• Plan your meals geographically — Paris is huge

I’d recommend researching ahead of time and mapping out food spots on your phone. You’ll walk a lot, and having meals planned makes everything easier.

Otherwise… have a blast and enjoy Paris. Read more Paris content below ↓

Frequently Asked Questions About Food in Paris

What food is Paris known for?

Paris is known for classic French dishes like croissants, baguettes, steak frites, escargot, cheese, pastries, and rich sauces — but the food scene goes way beyond that. Paris also has incredible Vietnamese, North African, Italian, and even American-style comfort food if you know where to look.

Is food in Paris really bad like people say?

No — that narrative is tired and honestly inaccurate. Paris food isn’t bland or “bad,” it’s hearty, rich, and filling. A lot of disappointment comes from mismatched expectations. If you expect everything to taste light and trendy, you’ll miss the point. Paris food is about comfort, tradition, and depth of flavor.

Is food in Paris expensive?

It can be, but it doesn’t have to be. Bakeries, cafés, street food, and casual bistros offer great meals at reasonable prices. Sit-down restaurants in tourist areas will cost more, especially for dinner, but you can eat very well in Paris without breaking the bank if you mix it up.

What should you eat on your first trip to Paris?

On your first trip, you should try:

• A croissant or pain au chocolat from a local bakery

• Steak frites or a classic French entrée

• A pastry or dessert from a pâtisserie

• At least one non-French meal (Paris does global food very well)

Paris is a food city — don’t limit yourself to just “French” food.

Can you find good American food in Paris?

Yes, absolutely. From cheeseburgers to brunch to comfort food, Paris has solid American-inspired spots. And sometimes, after days of French food, your soul just wants a cheeseburger — and Paris understands that.

Are Paris restaurants tourist traps?

Some are — especially near major landmarks — but not all. A good rule of thumb: if the menu is massive, translated into six languages, and has someone aggressively trying to seat you, keep walking. Smaller menus, locals dining inside, and a relaxed vibe usually signal a better experience.

Is Paris good for foodies?

100%. Paris is one of the best food cities in the world, whether you’re into traditional cuisine, casual eats, bakeries, or international flavors. You don’t have to be a Michelin-star chaser to eat well here — curiosity goes a long way.

What surprised you most about eating in Paris?

How diverse the food was and how filling everything felt. Paris food is comforting, satisfying, and meant to be enjoyed slowly — not rushed or over-explained. Also? The portions can be deceptively hearty.

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