Gregory Marchand's Frenchie sits on Paris's Rue du Nil, the alley he and his suppliers turned into a four-shop street: bistro, bar, wine cellar, sandwich window.
Signature dishes: Beef bavette, Pavlova
Must order: Whatever the bavette is dressed with that week, and the pavlova for dessert.
Tip: If the bistro is booked, the Frenchie Bar à Vins across the alley takes walk-ups and runs the same kitchen.
Address: 5-6 Rue du Nil, 75002 Paris
Tatiana and Katia Levha's Le Servan in Paris reads the seasonal-French rulebook through a Filipino lens. The dining room is loud, the menu changes weekly.
Signature: Pork rillettes, Tomato salad with anchovy
Order: Whatever short-rib or pork shoulder dish is on, with a glass of côtes-du-rhône.
Tip: Lunch is a third of the price and almost as good as dinner. Booking opens 30 days out.
Yves Camdeborde's Le Comptoir du Relais in Paris helped invent the term bistronomie in the 1990s and still serves the dining-room version every weeknight.
Signature: Pâté en croûte, Têtes de veau
Order: The pâté en croûte for two and whatever offal main is on the chalkboard.
Tip: Lunch and weekend service runs walk-in; dinner Mon-Fri needs a booking six weeks out.
Raquel Carena cooks Argentine-French intuition food at Le Baratin, the Belleville room every Parisian chef calls their favourite when no one is listening.
Signature: Veal sweetbreads, Pigeon
Order: The sweetbreads if they are on, and a glass from Philippe Pinoteau's natural list.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday, often Saturday too. Phone bookings only, no website.
Septime's seafood little sister, Clamato in Paris runs no-reservation oysters, ceviche and grilled fish from 19:00. Walk-in only; queue forms by 18:45.
Signature: Oysters, Hake ceviche
Order: Half a dozen Gillardeau oysters, the hake of the day, and a plate of lardo on toast.
Tip: Arrive at 18:45 for the first seating or after 21:30 for the second. No bookings ever.
Bistrot Paul Bert is Paris's textbook bistro: zinc bar, chalkboard menu, steak frites cooked rare with hand-cut fries, île flottante for two on a single platter.
Signature: Steak frites, Île flottante
Order: Steak frites cooked saignant, île flottante for two, a pichet of house red.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. Book two weeks ahead for a weeknight or take the 19:30 first seating.
Two centuries of dining-room history at Le Grand Véfour, the Palais-Royal mirror-and-velvet salon where Paris cooked dinner for Napoleon, Colette and Cocteau.
Signature: Ravioles de foie gras, Soufflé
Order: The ravioles de foie gras at the chef's prix-fixe lunch.
Tip: Tuesday-Friday lunch is a third the price of dinner and books two weeks out, not four months.
