There are few cities more synonymous with food than Paris. The City of Light is one of the centers of global gastronomy and the setting for beloved food-themed films like “Ratatouille” and “Julie & Julia”
When traveling abroad, especially to Paris, food is typically top-of-mind for tourists. The joy of discovering a new restaurant is so central to traveling, that a place in the Michelin Guide, the most coveted designation an eatery can receive, is traditionally determined based on how worthwhile it is to go out of your way for a meal there.
The French tire company grants one star to a restaurant if it is high quality enough to be worth a stop on a trip, two stars if it is worth traveling out of your way to visit the establishment, and three stars if the food is so exceptional that diners should plan a special vacation just to visit the restaurant in question.
With 639 Michelin star restaurants across the country, France’s culinary scene is easily the most lauded in the world. Only Japan, with 547 restaurants, can compete. Food trend publication Chef’s Pencil recently rounded up some of France’s embarrassment of riches, ranking the most expensive Michelin star restaurants in Paris.
Continue reading to learn more about the 10 most expensive Michelin star restaurants in France’s capital city.
Number of Michelin stars: 3
Costliest tasting menu: €440 ($458.78)
Michelin Guide description: “Chef Arnaud Faye has brilliantly taken over the helm of [Epicure] with a light, delicate repertory that errs towards minimalist. Purity depicts each crisp legible flavour, further enhanced by generous helpings. The ingredients are of course irreproachable and the technique flawless, while the sauces feature a subtle blend of suave yet gutsy, without forgetting the art-directed plating or even the bread, which is made on the premises from heirloom varieties of wheat.”
Number of Michelin stars: 1
Costliest tasting menu: €440 ($458.78)
Michelin Guide description: “Established in 1582, this elegant restaurant on the banks of the Seine gained a new floor in the early 20th century, and with it one of the best views of Paris’s emblematic river and Notre Dame! Tour d’Argent has continued to move with the times: on the ground floor is the Bar des Maillets d’Argent – which harks back to 1930s Britain – with its snack menu and daily specials. The restaurant menu, revamped by chef and Meilleur Ouvrier de France Yannick Franques, draws on the neo-Classical heritage of several decades of French haute cuisine.”
Number of Michelin stars: 3
Costliest tasting menu: €460 ($479.63)
Michelin Guide description: “[Chef Arnaud Donckele’s] new spin on classical cuisine takes you on a voyage between Normandy, his place of birth, and the Mediterranean, his home of adoption and the Paris region. It is impossible not to be bowled over by his work, from its delicacy and generosity to the exceptional quality of the ingredients.”
Number of Michelin stars: 2
Costliest tasting menu: €466 ($485.88)
Michelin Guide description: “Welcome to Jean-François Piège’s “laboratory of great cuisine”, a tiny dining area beneath a sculptural ceiling made up of panes of glass that catch and reflect the light. The chef gives full expression to the scope and breadth of his experience and know-how, executing timeless signature cuisine that finds its source in the annals of French gastronomy.”
Number of Michelin stars: 3
Costliest tasting menu: €490 ($510.91)
Michelin Guide description: “Despite [Chef Alain Passard’s] success, the chef who fetes fruit and flowers never feels more at home than when in one of his three kitchen gardens in the west of France, where his twin vocations of cook and gardener meet. He heads there for inspiration, exploring the culinary possibilities of vegetables in a bid to elevate this ordinary ingredient so often relegated to the status of a side dish.”
Number of Michelin stars: 2
Costliest tasting menu: €575 ($599.54)
Michelin Guide description: “The restaurant feels like it is in flight over the capital, while the terrace offers a fantastic view of the Eiffel Tower and the Sacré Cœur. A perfect setting in which to sample the fine cuisine of chef David Bizet, which hits the nail on the head in all respects: cooking, jus and sauces, visuals. As for the desserts, pastry chef Anne Coruble treats our taste buds to the fruits of her talents. A great success.”
Number of Michelin stars: 3
Costliest tasting menu: €580 ($604.75)
Michelin Guide description: “Kei for Kei Kobayashi, a chef born in Nagano, Japan, who trained with the likes of Gilles Goujon and Alain Ducasse. His father was a cook in a traditional kaiseki restaurant (where high-flying meals are served in small courses – akin to Western haute cuisine), but it was while watching a documentary on French cuisine that he found his vocation. Today, his work verges on perfection: a virtuoso blend of flavours and exquisite plating, he allows high-quality ingredients to shout their name simply and stunningly.”
Number of Michelin stars: 3
Costliest tasting menu: €595 ($620.39)
Michelin Guide description: “It is here, in one of the most prestigious luxury hotels of Paris, that chef Christian Le Squer works his magic year after year, earning our greatest respect. His timeless cuisine, ever at the service of outstanding produce, unveils his virtuoso technique and phenomenal delicacy, illustrated by a foaming vin jaune-flavoured butter sauce served with lobster or the delicate cream of cauliflower that flanks sea urchin roe.”
Number of Michelin stars: 2
Costliest tasting menu: €600 ($625.60)
Michelin Guide description: “Everything is made to order, with garnishes and sauces designed with just one thing in mind: to elevate produce without distorting it. Let yourself be transported by the wide-ranging set menu (poetically named “Colour of the Day”) and devised daily according to available ingredients.”
Number of Michelin stars: 2
Costliest tasting menu: €680 ($709.02)
Michelin Guide description: “In the exceptional setting of the Hôtel de la Monnaie, Guy Savoy is continuing the story he began a few decades ago – back when, as a young boy, he would peek into the pans in the kitchen of his family’s restaurant, La Buvette de l’Esplanade, in Bourgoin-Jallieu. Here, he has taken things to another level, with six dining rooms adorned with contemporary paintings and sculptures (many lent by François Pinault) and with old-fashioned windows overlooking the Seine.”
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