Ahhhh Paris. I can smell the warm baguettes, the fresh butter, the French onion soup, the boeuf bourgignon, and my favorite macarons now. It is common that I sit at my home in Boston daydreaming with strong cravings for my favorite restaurants, and even my favorite specific dishes, in Paris. My husband, who has been a vegetarian for over 20 years and is also a super-foodie, has extreme cravings for Paris restaurants, too, believe it or not. Because we have found the most incredible restaurants that serve him vegetarian deliciousness while I eat my meat! But it isn’t easy to find the best vegetarian restaurants in Paris. Fortunately, we have done an insane amount of research for you, so here’s our list of the best vegetarian restaurants in Paris for super-foodies.
- No list of the best vegetarian restaurants in Paris would be accurate without including the obvious: L’Arpège. If you’re reading this article as a super-foodie, you have almost certainly heard of this three-star Michelin restaurant that has at times been considered the best restaurant in the world. It lives up to the hype and chef Alain Passard lives up to his goal of elevating the humble vegetable to a grand cru. They offer a complete vegetarian tasting menu, which is one of the best we have ever had. I recommend booking months in advance. Lunch is a better deal/ good value for money.
- Epicure, another incredible *** Michelin restaurant in Paris, also offers a vegetarian tasting menu, too. It’s not on their website, but you just have to ask them. The setting is one of the most elegant I have ever seen, with lush curtains framing a picture perfect French dining room filled with china.
- Le Cinq, another *** Michelin, this time within the Four Seasons, doesn’t offer a specific vegetarian menu but the chef can make one. I prefer some of the other options on this list, just because they are more unique and less hotel-y, though wanted you to know that they can accommodate if you’re spending a week in my favorite city in the world! And it’s obviously great food.
- Septime, a * Michelin restaurant and on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list for a number of years now, is very vegetable focused (even with their non-vegetarian menu) and also offers a vegetarian tasting menu with amazing mostly natural wine pairings. Really hard to get a reservation but go on their website the minute—literally the minute—that the reservations open and you can probably secure a lunch reservation which is deliciously refreshing. Just have your credit card ready for booking during that one minute! Reservations open three weeks prior to the date you want to go online at 10am Paris time. Getting through on the phone has never worked for me.
- Chateaubriand used to be on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list and is probably my ideal type of restaurant. Offers a phenomenal tasting menu in a casual setting at a great price. Always creative, always a hip scene, and my husband is always happy when we leave.
- Le Reclamier is one of my favorite restaurants in Paris for a number of reasons. I love that it is close to many of my favorite shops (read Bon Marché, Pablo, Gerard Darel), I love that it’s on a pedestrian street surrounded by picturesque buildings with classic Paris windows and balconies, I love that many local Parisians flock here for Sunday suppers (and not many restaurants in Paris are even open on Sundays!), I love the gorgeous terrace covered in greens, I love that it allows dogs inside the restaurant. Can you tell I love it? I’m so subtle. My husband and split the salad, then we move to the cheese soufflé and the mushrooms soufflé (do NOT miss that mushroom soufflé), and then we get two dessert soufflés. It’s perfection.
- Le Potager de Charlotte,a popular and extremely creative plant-based restaurant, would be an ideal choice for Sunday brunch. I would go to the location in the 9th arrondissement and walk Rue des Martyrs afterwards for a Sunday market scene.
- Le Soufflé is another one of my favorite soufflé restaurants. My grandparents used to go here on dates! Delicious soufflés in a romantic small setting. Be sure to shop on Rue St Honoré beforehand and to stroll through Place Vendome afterwards.
- Breizh Café is a chain of crepe restaurants but I always go to the one in the Marais because it’s quaint, cute, and surrounded by a gorgeous walking area with nice shops. Best crepes I have ever had. Please don’t miss this restaurant even if you are in Paris for just a day. And don’t forget to pair your crepe with a cider!
- Shabour, a one-star Michelin restaurant, is a hot spot in Paris and offers a vegetarian tasting menu. It’s Jerusalem-inspired and their menu reminds me a little bit of Ottolenghi.
Honorable mentions with good vegetarian options:
- Buvette (also has a spot I love in NYC)—casual and with great vegetarian options but not ideal for someone like me who craves my duck confit while my husband feasts on vegetables.
- Ritz in Place Vendome offers the most expensive veggie burger I have ever seen that hits the spot if a burger is what you crave in a stunning courtyard
- Semilla—casual, vegetable forward menu. Michelin bib.
- Tekés—also from the Israeli team behind Shabour. Truly remarkable but similar in flavors to Shabour so I would do one or the other if you have limited time in Paris.
Lastly, this isn’t really an honorable mention but just a hot reminder—One of my favorite Paris traditions is picnicking, either along the Seine or on a private boat on the Seine. You can easily pick up the most foodie delicious dinner from a market street like Rue des Martyrs or Rue Mouffetard and feast while watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle. Is there anything better?
