January 2025 Restaurant Buzz: Where to Eat in Paris

Bonjour! Welcome to 2025! For some of you, New Year’s resolutions might kick off with Dry January. For others, the new year might signal the start of a new wine collection. (In which case, consider La Pangée’s expert picks.) Whether you’re pairing your food with wine or terrific mocktails, here’s a selection of recommended restaurants in Paris this month. 

Baronne 

Prepare to be amazed at Hôtel de Salomon Rothschild. Bravo to Laurent de Gourcuff of Paris Society for this new venture. Following a year marked by the reopening of legendary addresses (Laurent, Maxim’s, L’Abbaye des Vaux-de-Cernay), the savvy businessman continues with the creation of Baronne, the majestic restaurant at L’Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild, in association with Viparis. The opening of the restaurant has revitalized this historic “triangle d’or” building (dating from 1872) and fabulous gardens. The décor’s by hip interior designer Corinne Sachot, beautifully combining the old with the new.

Book outside in fine weather or sip an aperitif at the bar. Begin with, say, salmon carpaccio/ lime (€21/ €37 with caviar) or pan-seared foie gras, escorted by a delicate beef consommé and vegetables (€33). Dishes include Challans blue-legged farm chicken with morels and yellow wine, carved at your table (€95); thyme roast sea-bass (€150); Black Angus chuck flap , glazed with teriyaki (€40); surf ‘n’ turf with beef filet and lobster (€78); and hard-to-resist lobster linguine with creamy bisque (€54). For dessert? Share mini donuts to dip in vanilla, caramel, and chocolate sauces (€24), the caramelized apple tart (€16), or chocolate soufflé (€19).

DETAILS

11, rue Berryer, 8th 
Metro: Georges V 
Tel: +33 (0)1 42 25 73 35 
Lunch: Starter+Main or Main+Dessert: €50 
Starter + Main+Dessert: €60 

Dry January at Le Dali

It’s the annual ritual: Following all the December festivities, we take advantage of sober January to rest body and soul. At Restaurant Le Dali, Le Meurice cheffe Clémentine Bouchon has created a “comforting January menu”, in harmony with sommelier Benoît d’Onofrio’s boissons – welcome to Le Sobrelier.

Le Sobrelier was launched last year by sommelier Benoît d’Onofrio (aka “Le Sobrelier”), who concocts delicious non-alcoholic cocktails and juices. He’s the cocktail pioneer of drinks made from indigenous fermentation without ethanol and first to practice the profession of “Sobrelier” – a neologism he created to describe the “omniverre” sommelier. Discover this exciting innovation at Le Meurice, the magnificent palace hotel on rue de Rivoli. Note: Restaurant Le Meurice Alain Ducasse boasts two Michelin stars. Cheers!

DETAILS

From January 2nd-31st  
Lunch: Starter – Main: €85. Main – Dessert: €78. Starter – Main – Dessert: €115 
Dinner: Full menu at 115€ 
Drinks pairing for lunch and dinner: 2 glasses at €36 / 3 glasses €54 
Reservation by email: [email protected]  
228 rue de Rivoli, 1st
Metro: Tuileries 
Tel: +33 (0)1 44 58 10 10 

Le Pré Catelan – The Legend Continues  

Exciting news, the magnificent Napoleonic hunting lodge in the Bois de Boulogne (with three Michelin stars) is completely transformed. Chef Fréderic Anton (Meilleur Ouvrier de France), in the kitchens since 1997, continues to astonish his clientele. “I wanted to create a warm and friendly bistro, where we meet as a family around large tables, with an authentic and offbeat décor, which pays homage to the history of Pré Catelan. Antique dressers, recycled objects, and walls decorated with copper pans tell the culinary history of La Ferme du Pré,” explains chef Anton of the new look by Pierre Yves Rochon. “We’re delighted to unveil a completely renovated Pré Catelan, combining tradition and modernity.”

Major renovations by Maison Lenôtre have not only restored the main building, but also opened two new spaces previously inaccessible to the public: La Ferme du Pré (bistro), and Le Clos du Pré, a bucolic reception space. “These new concepts are part of our vision promoting the French art of living, while making this exceptional heritage accessible to all,” says Nathalie Bellon-Szabo, Global CEO of Sodexo Live! & President of Lenôtre.

DETAILS
La Ferme du Pré Bistro:
Open Wednesday to Sunday 12 noon- 2 pm and 7 pm-9:30 pm 
Le Pré Catelan Restaurant:
Wednesday to Saturday 12pm- 2pm and 7 pm – 8:15 pm  
Lounges are open every day
Le Pré Catelan, Bois de Boulogne, 16th
Tel: +33 (0)1 44 14 41 40  

Café de la Gare – Musée d’Orsay 

For chic snacks and delicious sandwiches, there’s a new café at our favorite museum, located under the ancient nave in the heart of the former Gare d’Orsay. The original station was created by architect Victor Laloux and inaugurated on July 14, 1900. But within 40 years it became obsolete, the platforms too narrow to accommodate modern electric trains! Between 1980 and 1986, Italian architect Gae Aulenti transformed the magnificent building into a treasure chest of French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces. One of the first examples of converting a train station into a museum.

DETAILS

Lunch formula €15.
1, rue de la Légion d’Honneur, 7th 
Metro: Solferino 
Tel: +33 (0)1 45 494703 
Open Tuesday-Sunday 9:30 am-5:30 pm, Thursday until 8:30 pm 
Entry to Museum: €16

Brasserie Marius 

“Creating Marius restaurant, I wanted a place that would be a complete break from the frenzy of the Gare de Lyon train station, when we’re usually too stressed and too rushed. On the contrary, I wanted Marius to be an invitation to slow down, take your time and enjoy your meal. We’ve put Mediterranean memories on the menu- full of sunshine, spices, and conviviality,” says chef Yoni Saada. Saada’s grandfather was the Tunisian founder of the oldest kosher butcher shop in Paris’s Marais district, and Saada grew up eating both Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jewish cooking. After graduating from Paris’s Ecole Ferrandi culinary school and working at Le Meurice, he opened Zaza.

Chez Marius dishes include the Tunisian style brick à l’œuf de la Goulette, crispy pastry filled with an organic egg, tuna, potatoes and parsley, with a side of harissa.  

DETAILS

Open daily 5:30 am-9:30 pm.
Average spend €20-€30
Gare de Lyon place Louis Armand, 12th 
Metro: Gare de Lyon 
Tel: +33 (0)6 12 91 72 71 

Erso 

Yann Placet and Marine Bert, both from the south of France, opened this address last September. Provençal for “wave” (as in ocean wave), the name signifies “seizing the wave,” as in surfing. This lovely neo-bistro is located a block up from the 19th-century neogothic Church St-Ambroise that gives the quartier, and the street on which the restaurant is located, its name.

DETAILS

Open lunch & dinner Tuesday-Saturday 
18, rue Saint Ambroise, 11th 
Metro: Saint Ambroise 
Tel: +33 (0)1 81 69 96 55 

Biche (for Saint Valentine’s)  

“Where do you want to eat for Valentine’s Day, ma biche?” whispers your sexy French lover. “Let’s try Biche,” you’ll suggest. This address, straight out of the France of yesteryear, is so romantic. Like a film set… When you enter Biche, you step into the world of Charles Perrault’s fairytales.

Michel Puech and Jason Bourgoin open the doors to the past. Scents of vanilla and fruit waltz in the air to subtle jazzy music, and under soft lights, white tablecloths cover wooden bistro tables, bare red brick walls add to the atmosphere, shelves display signed bottles, silent witnesses to pleasant and intoxicated evenings. The chairs, indoor plants, parquet floors and paintings also contribute to the atmosphere.

French regional dishes are cooked with fresh, seasonal produce. We love (and book ahead for) the onion soup, with croutons and gratinated cheese on top – served in grandma’s soup tureen! Continue with beef bourguignon, a delicious return to French culinary roots. Accompanied by the basket of fresh baguettes on the side, and a glass of wine with each dish (such as the Côte de Gascogne – Prélude d’Hiver 2021 €8, and the organic Côtes d’Amour de Fruits 2022).

To finish, choose the seasonal fruit salad and/or tart of the day that has won its way to our hearts, yours, and the lover’s, bien sûr!

DETAILS

Starters from €11. Mains from €21. Desserts from €11
129 Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 8th 
Metro: Saint Philipe de Roule 
T: 01 53 89 83 73