The most iconic and delicious foods of Paris
France is a world class food destination for a reason. Paris brings the best of the best together in one place.
I have always been a foodie, on both the cooking AND happily eating sides. In fact, before I went to nursing school, I minored in culinary arts.
Paris is a foodie’s paradise and the ingredients are so simple and fresh that everything is delicious. Just make sure you try some of these iconic foods.
Bakery Foods
Bakeries are an integral part of Parisian life.
The stereotypical French person we think of, a baguette with grapes and cheese in one hand and wine in the other, couldn’t be truer.
Stepping into a Parisian bakery (boulangeries) or pastry shop (patisserie) is like stepping into a fairy tale. The air smells yeasty and sweet, colorful pastries are carefully lined up in rows and bread of all shapes decorate the walls. Magic.
Go ahead and totally bread fan-girl out.
But remember that there are 3 etiquette rules when it comes to ordering from a bakery.
- Always great the person at the door or counter with a ““bonjour madam” or “bonjour monsieur” before you order. It’s an important custom in any Parisian shop.
- Know what you want before it’s your turn to order. It’s ok to ask a few short questions, or just point if you don’t know what it is called. But don’t hold up the line too much.
- End with an “au revoir” as you collect your items and leave.
Everyone does this and it is considered rude to not greet and say goodbye.
It’s also to eat your pastries right on the street! Everyone does it. You might even get a “bon appetite” from a passerby.
To find a good bakery: look for places that are off the main tourist streets and busy with locals in the morning or evening.
Bread (preferable with cheese)
Parisians pick up a loaf on their way to work, on their way home from work, whenever!
There are many different types of bread, different shapes, sizes, flavors and textures. The most iconic Paris food has to be the baguette.
Oh my goodness the baguettes! They might be what I miss the most about France.
Fresh baguette with a crunchy shell and butter or cheese spread on it. So simple and so amazing.
Bakeries are extremely easy to window shop in Pairs. The displays show you what is fresh and available and you just pop in (usually into a very small shop) and order what you want.
Look for bakeries that say boulangeries on the outside. By French law, this means that they bake the bread on site.
A good loaf has a crust that crackles when you rip the loaf and big, uneven air bubbles inside. Get them fresh each time. Usually they are fresh in the morning, lunchtime and the evening to be picked up for dinner.
Croissants
Flakey, buttery, crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. Not your typical grocery store croissant.
I ate several every day. There is plain, chocolate (called pain au chocolat, the second picture below), almond, and ham and cheese most places. Anything made of this yeasty, flakey layered dough is called viennoiserie (things of Vienna).
The bakeries have two fresh croissant times of the day, in the morning and around 3 as an after-school snack for the kids. There is no point in eating leftover pastries, just get fresh they are much better!
The best croissants are marked by the straight shape (opposed to the classic curve we typically think of). These are called croissant au beurre (the straight one you see below), meaning made with butter, versus the croissant ordinaire (the curved one) which is made with margarine. *gasp* Get the croissant au beurre, it is worth it.
Pastries
Éclairs
Think a longer cream puff. Éclairs made of a chewy bready shell that is filled with a creamy filling and icing on top.
The iconic éclair is vanilla pastry cream inside and chocolate on top. But you can find them in almost any color and flavor now.
My favorite is the blueberry éclair from a boutique chain called La Maison du Chocolat. There are several locations in Paris, including the Louvre Carrousel (the shops near the lower entrance to the Louvre).
Macarons
Crispy wafer cookies delicately sandwiched together with a creamy filling. They are made from almond flour, and so are also usually gluten free.
The classic macaron flavors are chocolate, vanilla, pistachio, and coffee. But now they come in any color and flavor you can think of: raspberry, lemon, rose, green tea, salted caramel, strawberry, honey, coconut, hazelnut, red velvet, and a million more!
The two most famous places for macarons in Paris are Ladurée and Pierre Hermés. This guys are the world gold medalists in the Olympics of pastries. They are both MOF (Meilleurs Ouvriers de France), meaning they are literally the best in the world for their work. (I love that epic food battles exist in France by the way.)
Ladurée is longer established and has more classic flavors. Pierre Hermés is famous for innovative flavor combinations. They both have multiple locations in the city, including the Champs-Élysées so try them both!
Quiche
Most people are familiar with a quiche. We think of it as a breakfast food that is a cross-over between a pie and an omelet.
But a good French quiche is so much more than that.
It is a creamy and impossibly smooth eggy custard in a crumbly buttery crust, bonus points if it has vegies or meat inside. Quiche Lorraine is the classic with just cheese.
It can be eaten hot or cold and is delicious either way.
My favorite was in the Louvre at Le Café Mollien in the Denon wing. Not too far from the Mona Lisa and the Winged Victory of Samothrace, it is a little basic looking lunch counter with sandwiches, salads and pastries.
It is much better than you might expect, (especially considering most US museum food) and has the creamiest quiche of my life.
Street Food
Moving out of the bakeries and onto the streets, Parisian street food is some of the best.
It is still simple and fresh, apparently two hallmarks of good French food, but also easy to grab on the go and very cheap. Just don’t forget your “bonjour” and “au revoir”!
Look for places just off the main tourist streets to find better quality ingredients and lower prices.
Crepes
Street Sandwiches
Chocolates
I feel like I would be doing the Parisian food scene an injustice to not give chocolate its due diligence.
Good French chocolate is not meant to be eaten by the bar, like you would a Hershey’s bar. It’s meant to be savored by the bite.
The chocolatiers are pastry chefs, artists and botanists all rolled into one! High end chocolatiers even directly work with cocoa growers around the world to ensure best quality ingredients.
The Saint-Germain neighborhood is one the best for food in general, but it is especially amazing for chocolates.
My two favorite chocolatiers, both are also MOF grade chefs:
Chocolate meets mad scientist. As you walk in you will be greeted by giant chocolate sculptures (polar bears and a monkey when we were there) and surrounded by his iconic turquoise.
His chocolate dipped nougat is award winning, but I feel like the thing he does truly amazing is his citrus flavored chocolates. Like Pierre Hermés, he is all about unique flavor combinations. He even has a farm that he grows many of his own ingredients.
My favorite are his basil and lime chocolate or his colorful chocolate “hemispheres” filled with flavored caramel.
images from TripAdvisor
This Belgian born chocolatier brings out amazingly pure and simple flavors. The focus is 100% on the chocolate and the tiny sizes make you savor the bite.
Pierre even sources a certain species of cocoa for some of his chocolates, so rare that it accounts for less than 3% of all the world’s chocolate. My husband raves about it.
My husband’s favorite was the 3% chocolate, mine was the violet. He is also world famous for macarons.
images from TripAdvisor
Caramel at Henri Le Roux
He also is an amazing chocolatier, but his caramel is the best in the world. Melt in your mouth, perfectly sweet and delicate texture caramel.
He is the inventor of the salted caramel. Seriously, this man started the international phenomenon.
Half the shop is chocolate, the other caramel. There are amazing flavors like the classic salted caramel but also black sesame, berry, yuzu, macha, chocolate, hazelnut and many more.
image from TripAdvisor
Café and Restaurant Foods
One of my friends describes her perfect day as sitting outside a French café, eating and watching people pass by (without her kids for the afternoon of course).
There are many amazing restaurants in Paris and you will have an amazing experience, Michelin Stars or not.
Meals are at specific times. Very few people go to a restaurant for breakfast. Most Parisians have a coffee and pastry for breakfast. Lunch is the biggest meal and from 12-2:30. Dinner is later than Americans are used to from 7:30-11pm! Our first night we showed up to eat at 6 and they had to scramble to serve us.
If a place is open for meals out of these times, it is probably because they are catering to tourists. Again, avoid places to eat in the main tourist areas. Just a few blocks down the street and you will pay less with better ingredients.
Important things to know about a Parisian restaurant:
- The menu is not the paper that has all the food you can order on it. That is called the carte (hence al la carte is ordering things from the carte). The menu is a pre-selected dinner (with appetizers, entrée, dessert, etc.) at a discounted price. Try ordering the menu, the chef designed it to go together and it’s a great way to try new things in a safe way.
- The French do not hurry their meals. Meals are supposed to be a relaxing experience to be enjoyed. They progress slowly as people chat and enjoy their meal.
- The waiter does not hover or come to “check in”. They keep an eye out for your signal and then come over.
- You need to ask for your check when you are done. It would be considered rude for the waiter to bring it automatically.
- If your meal is simple you do not need to tip. It is included in your bill and not customary like in the US. If your waiter did an exceptional job or you had a large party, a 5-10% is appreciated but not expected.
These incredible iconic dishes that are not just fun to try but memorably delicious.
Boeuf Bourguignon
This is me shoveling down my boeuf bouruignon in the Saint-Germain neighborhood after a long day of walking around.
Not your mama’s beef stew. Unless your mom was Julia Child.
It is rich and flavorful beef stewed in red wine with vegetables and served with bread.
It might have been my favorite meal of the whole trip, and my 6-month-old ate more than I thought his belly could hold.
Steak Tartar
Raw ground steak, usually seasoned with onions and horseradish.
Before you run away screaming, you might want to give this a second chance.
It is completely safe to eat (otherwise the restaurant wouldn’t get many return guests) and is surprisingly delicious.
With the seasonings it is surprisingly fresh and light tasting. This was my husband’s favorite dish of our trip and he still talks about how much he liked it.
I loved the flavors but the texture started to bother me after a few bites. If you want to try it but are unsure, I recommend sharing it with someone.
Duck Confit
Duck slowly cooked in its own fat, resulting in the most tender fall-off-the-bone meat you will ever taste.
The flavor is deep and rich, making it one of the staples of French cuisine. It is usually served with crispy roasted potatoes, also cooked with the duck fat.
This is a great thing to try for you not-so-adventurous eaters because nearly everyone loves it.
Things that are interesting to try for the experience
Froie gras
Fried liver from a fattened goose or duck with a rich delicate taste and spreads like butter on bread.
It doesn’t not taste like other livers you have tried and hated in the past. But it is a dish best eaten in moderation because it is so rich. I think it is delicious but can only eat a few bites before I’m done. My baby on the other hand, polished off all our plates.
It is considered a delicacy and is very rare to see in the United States, except in some high-end steak houses.
Escargot and Frog Legs
Yep, snails and frogs. Doesn’t it sound like fancy French food?
They are both similar to each other with a mild flavor. Frog legs are like a chicken-fish crossover, a slightly chewy texture and remind me of a chicken wing. Escargot tastes similarly to a clam and is more chewy (similar to chewy bacon).
Both mostly taste like whatever sauce they are in.
I’m told that they are also less of a local food now, and are mostly served for the benefit of tourists.
My word of advice? If you see food through a window or on the street in Paris that looks good, stop and try it.
Channel your inner Parisian and eat lots of bread and pastries right on the street.
And be a little adventurous in trying iconic French dishes, you just might fall in love (with the food that is…)
What are your favorite things to eat in Paris? What are you excited (or scared) to try?
