Le Bistrot Flaubert in Paris's 17e is the Michel Rostang bistro annex now run by Nicolas Baumann and the Groupe Éclore team. The cooking discipline holds; the room runs at half mothership prices.
Signature dishes: Veal liver, Floating island
Must order: Whatever offal main is up, the chocolate dessert, a glass of saint-joseph.
Tip: Lunch is the steal: a two-course set for under €35, including a glass of wine and coffee.
Address: 10 Rue Gustave Flaubert, 75017 Paris
Tomy Gousset's Tomy & Co in Paris's 7e earned a Michelin star in 2018 and still runs the seasonal kitchen everyone in the embassy quarter books for a long lunch.
Signature: Sweetbreads, Pithivier of game
Order: Sweetbreads in winter, pithivier of game in autumn, the soufflé to finish.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. The five-course tasting at €98 is the deal of the room on weeknights.
Le Mermoz in Paris's 8e is the neighbourhood bistro chef Thomas Graham took over after Manon Fleury: a single chalkboard, fish-forward small plates at lunch and a longer carte at dinner.
Signature: Beef tartare, Brown-butter cake
Order: Whatever raw-fish starter is up, the beef tartare, the brown-butter cake.
Tip: Lunch only Mon-Wed, dinner Thu-Fri, no service Sat-Sun. Book a week ahead for dinner.
Le Bistrot Paris in the 7e runs a classic carte where the lunch menu rotates daily and dinner stays close to the Lyonnais playbook. A regulars' room.
Signature: Steak tartare, Profiteroles
Order: Steak tartare with a poached egg, profiteroles with hot chocolate sauce.
Tip: The lunch menu at €24 is the city's most under-rated set, including coffee and a small carafe.
Bertrand Grébaut's Septime in Paris remains the room every neo-bistro in the city compares itself to. Reservations open 21 days ahead and burn within an hour.
Signature: Cured mackerel, Smoked egg yolk
Order: The cured mackerel starter and whatever fish is on the second course.
Tip: Easier on a Tuesday lunch than Friday dinner. Same kitchen, same wine, half the wait list.
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: Beef bavette, Pavlova
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.
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.
