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Where To Eat In The Middle Of The Day In Paris
photo credit: Ilya Kagan
Spontaneously stumbling upon an unforgettable restaurant can be the highlight of a trip. Unless you’re in Paris and it’s the middle of the afternoon, when the chances of stumbling into anything that’s great and open are slim. Restaurant hours are strict here: places are generally open for lunch from noon to 2:30pm and close again until dinner, which starts around 7pm. That means you either need to eat when everyone else eats, or go to one of these spots.
Below are some options that offer continuous service all day, plus some that stay open late for lunch. We’ve included a few of the best brasseries (which nearly always have non-stop service), as well as other options beyond steak frites and coq au vin.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: Jessica Vosges
Ask anyone in the 11th where to go for coffee and a sandwich at any time of the day and they’ll send you to Ten Belles. There are three locations (including two tiny outposts in the 6th and the 10th), but we like the one on Rue Bréguet best, which has a big terrace and plenty of tables indoors. Post up here for flaky quiches or sandwiches, like hard boiled eggs and chard with a slick of aioli and crunchy almonds on ciabatta or rye, before heading over to the nearby L’Atelier des Lumières for whatever immersive exhibition is on display.
photo credit: Jessica Vosges
Like Ten Belles, Rose Bakery has a couple of locations where you can linger over some sandwiches, quiches and tarts, seasonal salads, and desserts. The outposts at the Musée de la Vie Romantique and BNF Richelieu are two of the best-sit down options—both have plenty of room indoors with enough space for kids and strollers, as well as lovely outdoor areas that are open year-round.
photo credit: Jessica Vosges
There are always lines outside Bouillon’s two locations, and that’s because from noon to midnight every single day, the kitchens pump out classic French dishes at super low prices (€20 can get you exactly eight orders of oeuf mayo, should that be the direction you want to take your day). Swing by the one in Republique after walking around the Marais or the Pigalle outpost if you're in Montmartre. Order the onion soup, snails with parsley butter, and the quarter roast chicken with fries as you map out which wine bar you’ll be hitting up for apéro.
photo credit: Jessica Vosges
Technically, Maafim isn’t nonstop—but they’re open till 4pm, and it's central. have Keep it in your pocket for when it’s 3pm and you’re in the mood for a hot, crispy falafel (plus they’re also open Mondays, when many restaurants aren’t). The compact menu leans vegetarian and dishes change weekly, though their fantastic shakshuka and babka French toast are always available.
Did you even go to France if you didn’t eat a crepe? Sure, they’re from Brittany, and you’re 300 miles away in Paris, but crepes are an objectively perfect meal, and Crêperie Gigi is where you should have one. In addition to non-stop service, Gigi also works for people with dietary restrictions, which isn’t the case at many Parisian restaurants. All the buckwheat crepes are gluten-free, there’s a vegan option with plant-based cheese, and our favorite item just so happens to be vegetarian, with sweet goat cheese, confit onions, with apples, spinach, nuts, and honey.
photo credit: Ilya Kagan
Lunch in this 17th-century covered market in the middle of the Marais is definitely not going to be a peaceful or serene experience. It’s a proper market, so most of the seating is at countertops on tall backless stools where tourists pour over their phones and locals who work nearby enjoy a long lunch break.
Skip the takeaway sandwich stalls and head to one of the restaurants for a sit-down meal: Les Enfants Du Marché is a seafood-heavy natural wine bar, Chez Takeo is a Japanese counter that serves bento boxes and assorted small plates, and The Butcher Of Paris is exactly what it sounds like. The first two (and certainly not the third) have solid vegetarian options, like the breaded porcinis sprinkled with pecorino at Les Enfants, or cool soba with vegetable tempura at Chez Takeo.
photo credit: Jessica Vosges
If you walk into the Kodawari Ramen location in the 2nd and think to yourself: “Gee, I wonder if they’re trying to make this feel like a market in Tokyo,” you’d be very right. The staff are in white rubber boots, drying fish hangs from the rafters, and styrofoam trays of fresh ones sit on the floor. (And if you’re really paying attention, perhaps you noticed that the soundtrack is an actual recording of the Tsukiji Outer Market).
At the outpost in the 6th, the market chaos is replaced with low lighting, paper lanterns, and a long red counter. The ramen at both is a warm umami hug, especially the “sardine bomb,” with its namesake fish and chashu Iberico pork. There’s always a wait, so scan the QR code to get on the list, then go wander around.
