Whether you’re eating alone due to unforeseen circumstances or by choice, you can still enjoy your meal! There are many choices in Paris. Here is a list of my favorite establishments where you can enjoy a meal on your own.
For those of you in a hurry, here are my top picks:
- Best quality-price ratio: Benoît Castel
- Most original restaurant: Café Livre
- Finest cuisine: Ogata
Here’s a map of these restaurants:
Pierre Sang Boyer in Oberkampf
55 Rue Oberkampf, 75011 Paris
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Franco-Korean chef Pierre Sang Boyer offers you a Franco-Korean fusion in the heart of the Oberkampf district.
Although it is possible to go there in a group, the upstairs room offers a special experience: eating at the counter facing the chef as he prepares his dishes. A large wooden table, with ten seats, will give you the possibility of watching the chef cook as well as chatting with your neighbors while waiting to be served.
You will not be disappointed by the chef’s dishes, who renews his menu every day according to the market and offers a unique menu consisting of 3 courses at lunchtime and 6 courses at dinner.
💰 Price: €23-39 for lunch depending on the menu and €44 for dinner
😍 We like:
- Fusion cuisine
- Constantly changing menu
Le Café Livres
10 Rue Saint-Martin, 75004 Paris
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If you like to eat quietly and without being disturbed, the Café Livre is the ideal place for you.
Right next to the Town Hall, this restaurant-library is perfect for a quiet meal in a neighborhood that can be quite hectic.
Comfortably seated in an armchair, in a cozy atmosphere, you can enjoy eating snails, onion soup or smoked salmon as a starter, various woks or burgers as a main course and for dessert, a crème brûlée, a tarte tatin or a milkshake.
The upside of going alone? Picking up one of the many books on the shelves and reading it, of course.
💰 Price: €10 for starters, €20 for main courses and again €10 for desserts
😍 We like:
- The possibility to read books
Le Loir dans la Théière
3 Rue des Rosiers, 75004 Paris
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This restaurant has developed a more touristy vibe over the years but is undeniably perfect for dining alone.
The eclectic seating—a sofa here, a two-person table there—offers plenty of options.
Warning! The cafe has a no cell phone policy, so make sure to pack a book to keep yourself busy.
The menu, prepared daily, offers family cuisine based on fresh, seasonal products.
But most importantly, save room for the best as well as the biggest lemon pie you could possibly imagine.
💰 Price: €16.50 for the dish of the day
😍 We like:
- Calm atmosphere
- Lemon pie
- Daily menu
La Felicità
5 Parv. Alan Turing 75013 Paris
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As the largest restaurant in Europe, this Italian restaurant has plenty of seating for solo dining: comfy chairs or at the bar… and, there are so many people that no one will notice you.
With freshly roasted coffee, homemade pasta and pizza and an impressive drinks list, the dining experience, although a bit pricey, is well worth it.
Wi-Fi is free and the building remains open even when there is no restaurant service. So you can sit back, read and plan your next adventure.
💰 Price: Appetizers cost around €6, main dishes €15 (plan for €5 extra for dishes with truffles) and desserts are around €6
😍 We like:
- It’s lively
- We can use the premises to work
Information and reservation (in French)
Le Rigmarole
10 Rue du Grand Prieuré, 75011 Paris
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Everything is calm in this restaurant specializing in skewers cooked over charcoal. Robert Compagnon takes care of the embers while Jessica Yang prepares delicious desserts.
The chef says he has spent a long time in Japan where eating alone is normal, which is why he and his wife make sure people sitting at the counter will always have a show to watch.
💰 Price: It will take around fifty euros for a selection of skewers from the chef
😍 We like:
- Calm and friendly atmosphere
Ogata
16 Rue Debelleyme, 75003 Paris
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One of the most beautiful solo experiences for a gift to yourself.
Why?
An omakase-type menu (chef’s choice) to travel for the time of a few dishes, in a sober setting.
The almost sacred atmosphere seems to discourage communication. When you come, you aren’t coming for a social experience, you’re here to eat authentic Japanese cuisine.
💰 Price: lunch at €65, dinner at €120
😍 We like:
- Succulent fine cuisine
Tekés
4 bis Rue Saint-Sauveur, 75002 Paris
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A rather surprising vegetarian restaurant where the chef, Cécile Lévy, revises the classics of Israeli gastronomy in a kitchen that you can see from the dining room.
There, you will want to eat at the counter, facing the chefs who prepare the dishes in front of you. You’ll find a myriad of dishes such as spinach ravioli, aubergine flambée, lentil mousseline or mushroom mousse for dessert.
💰 Price: €5 for mini dishes, €15 for main dishes
😍 We like:
- Mini dishes concept
- Vegetarian cuisine
Benoît Castel
150 Rue de Ménilmontant, 75020 Paris
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Although technically a bakery, Benoît Castel offers an all-you-can-eat brunch whose dishes change according to the time of day (around 10 a.m., they tend to have cold dishes, such as cereal, yogurt, etc. but around noon you can find salads, ribs, chicken, etc.). On Sundays, you can sit at long wooden tables, and get up whenever you are ready to go and pick up your food.
Although nothing prevents you from going there with a friend, you will spend most of your time eating and refilling – an experience equally delicious alone and with friends.
On the menu, you will find pastries and fresh breads (remember, this is a bakery, the bread here is very fresh), roast chicken, coffee, tea, cereal, quiche, salads, tiramisu, yogurt cake… you will leave completely full and satisfied.
💰 Price: €28 for an all-you-can-eat brunch
😍 We like:
- Gigantic and delicious Brunch
- Bread, bread and bread
Information and reservation (in French)
Naritake ramen
31 Rue des Petits Champs, 75001 Paris
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The main flaw of this restaurant? Its popularity that will make you queue outside.
If you walk by the rue des Petits-Champs, you can’t miss it. It’s the one with a three-number long line right in front of it.
This ramen restaurant doesn’t have a gigantic menu but rather sticks to the essentials: salt pork or vegetarian ramen and possibly an extra poached egg.
The restaurant is tiny and most of the room is filled by the cooks behind the counters, preparing the dishes right in front of you, all in a very Japanese atmosphere.
💰 Price: €10 for a simple ramen, €12 for an egg ramen
😍 We like:
- Best ramen in the Japanese neighborhood
Buffet sentier
69 Rue d’Aboukir, 75002 Paris
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An all-you-can-eat restaurant which, contrary to its name, is not a buffet.
The restaurant is separated into two spaces, one for groups and one for tables for one or two people. Lots of people just eat there alone, you won’t feel embarrassed.
The menu consists of sushi, maki, yakitori, and much more. I’d like to insist on the fact that they make excellent beef-cheese yakitori and sublime fried noodles.
💰 Price: €19.50 for an all-you-can-eat menu
😍 We like:
- Their cuisine which is significantly better than most all-you-can-eat restaurants
I aim to share my tips and recommendations for the beautiful country of France. My goal is to help you plan your next adventure, whether it’s a weekend getaway or a once-in-a-lifetime trip. From finding the best hotels and restaurants, to discovering unique activities and sights, I’ve got you covered!
