Santa Silvia

This 18-seat Italian restaurant is located down a dark, cobblestoned passage in the 20th arrondissement, about 15 minutes from where Jim Morrison is buried in Pere Lachaise cemetery. (In fact, it’s the same dark, cobblestoned passage where Amagat, the Spanish tapas sister restaurant on our first-timer’s guide, sits as well.)

Expect buttery carbs in the form of focaccia, as well as sliced bresaola, plus beef meatballs surrounded by an almost sweet marinara sauce. Get a double dose of fromage by ordering the potato and cheese croquette served with a side of stracciatella “sauce” to dip them in. 

All of the plates are meant to be shared, though you can easily polish off the small bowls of pasta like the pappardelle ragu on your own. The same goes for the tiramisu, whose coffee flavor comes in gelato form, and mascarpone, which is doused in so much cacao powder you’ll probably blow your first big spoonful everywhere.