If you’re looking for tapas in Paris – in the sense of the traditional Tapas or Pintxos that you would find in Spain, you’ll be a bit disappointed.
The culture of food in Paris and indeed France is a taken a lot more seriously than their neighbours. I mean that in one way – other than fast-food (kebabs, McDonalds etc) it’s rare to find a bar or restaurant in France that serves small plates with a glass of wine quickly and let you pay equally quickly. Dining out in France is meant to take a while and the service culture here is very different to other countries.
I absolutely adore the tapas/pintxos way of live in Spain, I find frustrating here in Paris that it’s hard to sit, order, eat (quality food of course) and pay quickly. However in recent years the city has embraced the more relaxed, small sharing plate way-of-life and it’s becoming more and more popular.
French Tapas in Paris
There are Spanish restaurants here but the modern Parisian way of tapas is called tapassiettes (a mixture of the word tapas with the French word ‘plate’ assiette). These are usually innovative, cheap, small sharing plates that have come from new restaurants that want to move away from the classic bistro dishes.
Interested? Read my list below to discover some bars and restaurants where you can eat a lot of different small plates of food.
The Best Tapas in Paris
Freddy’s
Freddy’s is an amazing, tourist friendly, Japanese-French tapas bar. Located between the famous Place Saint Michel and l’église de Saint Germain de Près in the 6th arrondissement, it’s incredibly easy to get to from anywhere in the city. Freddy’s offers an incredible array of small plates with the menu divided up into vegetables (yes Freddy’s is vegetarian and vegan friendly!), meat and fish. The relatively small dining area, with its rustic stone walls, is counter space only – don’t expect a sit down meal with comfy seats.
The food is exceptional – the majority of dishes are cooking over a Japanese Hibachi charcoal grill giving an amazing smokey bbq flavour to the food. Expect magret de canard (Duck breast), chicken yakatori, grilled cod, soy marinated mushrooms. Apart from the food they also have an exceptional wine list (not surprising considering the owners also run a wine shop around the corner – La Derniere Goutte).
What to know before visiting.
- They don’t take reservations
- You will need to arrive early during peak tourist seasons
- If they are full you can put your name on the waiting list and grab a drink at the near by Bar du Marché
Address: 54 Rue de Seine, 75006
Website: https://www.instagram.com/freddys.paris/
Lolo Cave à Manger
Lolo Cave à Manager is a very small natural wine, small plate sharing bar in the 9th arrondissement. Forget small simple plates of fried food – the food here is a lot more creative which changes with the seasons. Mackerel cooked over a Japanese charcoal BBQ sitting of tonnato sauce or scallops with an airy beurre blanc are some of the excellent dishes coming out the tiny kitchen at Lolo. Other creative combinations such as a classic tarte tatin served with a miso custard (this is incredible) are served up daily (apart from Sundays). The wine offering is just as good as the food – expect all natural wine here.
What to know before visiting.
- Only open for dinner
- They don’t take reservations
- No table/chairs – only stools
- It can be quite intimate – expect to be very close to other guests!
Address: 12 rue de Châteaudun, 75009
Website: https://www.lolocaveamanger.fr
Cafe du Coin
Cafe du Coin is a great neighbourhood bar in Paris’ 11th arrondissement – just off Place Voltaire. The relatively small bar/restaurant is very intimate and offers an amazing selection of seasonal, ever changing, small sharing plates. The one things that is constant at Cafe du Coin is there incredible pizzettes (small pizzas) which come in numerous forms – my favourites are the nduja and the caci e pepe. The other sharing plates on the menu change from week to week, expect creative combinations like pork neck, polenta and prawns to sea urchin with scrambled eggs. Like many restaurants in this list, the wine is mainly natural and they have an extensive wine list.
What to know before visiting.
- Gets very busy at weekends
- Kitchen closes at 10:30pm
Address: 9 Rue Camille Desmoulins, 75011
Tel: 01 48 04 82 46
Website: https://www.instagram.com/cafe_du_coin/
L’Avant Comptoir de la Terre/Mer
L’Avant Comptoir (both Terre and Mer) are two sister bars right next to each other near the metro station Odéon in the 6th arrondissement. Probably the closest that you’ll find to a traditional pintxos bar in San Sebastián or a tapas bar in Madrid, they offer seafood tapas (L’Avant Comptoir de la Mer) and more meat based food (L’Avant Comptoir de la Terre). It makes sense as the food is heavy South-West France focused with plenty of hearty duck and pork dishes. You won’t find cassoulet here but you will find small similar combinations such as western style Sweet and Sour pork belly in a meaty pork jus or a grilled duck heart brochette. The service is also akin to bars in neighbouring Spain; you go to the bar tell them what you want, your drinks are served and then they’ll shout out your name when your food is ready. As in any restaurant in France, you’re handed bread but here they have huge mounds of butter on the counter for you to take as much as you want!
What to know before visiting.
- Service continu (non-stop food service throughout the day)
- Little to no seating (there are a few stools)
Address: 3 Carr de l’Odéon, 75006
Website: https://camdeborde.com/les-restaurants/
