10 Best Local Dishes from Paris

Steak frites is perhaps the most emblematic bistro dish in the French gastronomic pantheon. A simple and succulent recipe, it consists of a beefsteak, often strip steak, rump steak or entrecote (ribeye steak), pan-fried, and accompanied by French fried potatoes. The dish, much loved for its hearty goodness, is now found on tables throughout the world.

Paris’ favourite version may be found at Relais d’Entrecote, a small, family-run steakhouse chain with 3 different addresses in town. In each, the formula is the same. There’s only 1 choice on the menu, consisting of a walnut dressing salad, followed by a strip of sirloin steak, their special sauce and fries – with no exceptions made. Make sure you save space for their profiterole cream buns topped with hot chocolate.

Although history tells us that onion soup has existed – in one form or another – since Roman times, it was the French who improved and claimed this popular dish. Legend has it that King Louis XV ennobled the dish while cooking one day in his hunting lodge. Finding the pantry empty, he cooked up a soup, adding butter and Champagne, thus creating one of the most iconic French dishes.

Paris’ culinary temple of onion soup is undoubtedly Pied de Cochon. This time-worn brasserie is located in the formerly working-class neighbourhood of Les Halles. Made with steaming veal stock, chunky onions and topped with melted Gruyere cheese and pieces of baguette, this is one of the ultimate French comfort foods.

Charcuterie, or sliced cold cuts, are the number one snack at wine bars across Paris. From sliced dry sausage, and farmhouse pâté, to enticing cheese trays just oozing pungent goodness, chances are you’ll find something tasty at every countertop.

This venerable wine bar, hidden on a side street off of the tony rue Saint Honoré shopping street, hasn’t changed a bit in decades. Locals from all walks of life gather at the timeworn bar as much for the reasonably priced wine and charcuterie platters as the friendly banter.

There are few dishes as ubiquitous in Paris as the ham sandwich. Present throughout the world in innumerable different versions, it rarely reaches perfection – despite the fact that it’s one of France’s most loved sandwiches.

Petit Vendôme is a great place to grab a ham sandwich in Paris. This is one of the few truly authentic bistros in the swanky district of Vendome. The crusty baguette is slathered with hand-churned butter and stuffed with farm-raised ham. It’s best eaten at the zinc countertop with a pitcher of their delicious house wine.

A classic French pastry, this wheel-shaped, praline cream-filled delicacy can be found in bakeries and pastry shops throughout France. Originally created in honour of the Paris-Brest bicycle race, it quickly became a fast favourite for sweet-toothed enthusiasts around the world.

Dating from 1730, Stohrer is Paris’ oldest pastry shop and makes what many consider the ultimate Paris-Brest. Only top-notch ingredients are used and everything is baked fresh in-house and daily. Those in the know say it’s the homemade hazelnut cream used here that makes it better than all the rest.

The croissant is, without doubt, France’s most famous breakfast food, and can be found at every bakery in the city. Legend has it that Marie Antoinette, who was Austrian, introduced a popular Viennese pastry to King Louis XVI’s court called the kipferl, which was then adapted to French tastes and became the croissant.

One of Paris’ best versions of the moon-shaped puff pastry is at a handsome little bakery called Du Pain et des Idées, which dates from 1875. It’s located steps from the trendy Canal Saint-Martin shipping canal. Their award-winning croissants are made with the finest organic flour and served hot from the oven.

A well-turned-out steak tartare is hard to beat, and one of the best things you can eat in any French bistro. Although the origins of the dish have been argued over for years, a textbook tartare always has more or less the same ingredients: fresh raw beef, and a variety of seasonings such as capers, onions, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, and sometimes chopped pickles, sherry and mustard.

Considered by many as Paris’ best tartare, the version at Severo is prepared by chef William, a former butcher, who chops up premium French beef and seasons it minimally with just capers and a few shallots, allowing the tender beef to express itself. Coupled with duck fat-fried frites, this is a memorable meaty meal that you won’t want to share.

The éclair is a long choux pastry filled with flavoured cream and topped with chocolate icing. Originally invented sometime in the early 19^th century,  the popular oblong sweet has evolved over the years and now includes dozens of different flavours, often influenced by the seasons and the creativity of the chef.

Éclair de Génie is considered the most creative éclair maker in Paris and is often cited as the best version in town. Opened by one of the world’s most renowned pastry chefs, Christophe Adam, versions include an updated version of the classic chocolate to flavours like yuzu lemon, caramelized popcorn and raspberry.

Macarons are one of France’s most delicious exports, and Ladurée, one of Paris’ first tearooms and most popular pastry makers, made their fortune with this elegant little cookie. Made with 2 macaron halves and filled a ganache cream filling in a myriad of different flavours, it’s a chic, take-home gift and elegant snack.

Make a pilgrimage to their first shop on rue Royale, first opened in the 1860s, and pick up one of their iconic mint green boxes. Choose from a mix of classic flavours such as caramel, pistachio and raspberry, or funky seasonal one-offs such as foie gras and white Alba truffle.

Invented in a Paris brasserie in the early 1900s, the croque monsieur is a hot, cheesy sandwich and a French cafe favourite. Typically made with pain de mie (sliced white) bread with Paris ham inside, melted gruyere cheese on top and a dab of bechamel sauce, it can be prepared either fried in a pan or baked.

One of the most decadent croques in town can be found at Sébastien Gaudard. This elegant, tiny tearoom is close to the Tuileries Gardens owned by pastry chef Sebastien Gaudard. Using ingredients inspired by his pastry recipes to make the sandwich lighter tasting, it’s served plated with a small green salad and cut into three dainty finger-sized portions.