The new Michelin-starred restaurants to try in Paris

Always on the lookout for the most promising chefs on the French gastronomic scene, the Michelin man rewarded a series of exceptional tables on March 16. Once again, we were spot on with these three freshly starred restaurants whose potential we had clearly sensed. To be tested urgently!

Grandson of a pastry chef, trained at L’Atelier Robuchon and then at Monnaie de Paris, Irwin Durand went as far as earning a star for two restaurants: Alan Geaam's and that of his mentor Guy Savoy at Le Chiberta. Suffice to say, we smelled the first star from afar for his new restaurant Irwin, located in a quiet corner of the 8th arrondissement. While his menu changes constantly, the permanent framework features a 5 or 9-course meal (he prefers to call them "paths") sublimating vegetables, a meat, a fish, and two desserts. On the night of our visit, following the appetizers, we enjoyed roasted Provence green asparagus, yellow egg yolk confit thyme mayonnaise, grapefruit jelly, and juniper berry-infused butter sabayon, or an exquisite Mediterranean red mullet in seaweed transparency escorted by its pretty artichoke tartlet. She has just received the Prix Passion Dessert from Michelin: a huge crush on Tessa Ponzo, the friendliest pastry chef in Paris, who pampers her vanilla beans like precious treasures. Stunning, for example, her first dessert arrives in a monochrome of white, playing with the lactic acids that make up the fermented milk whipped cream, sage-infused raw cream, sage-infused yogurt ice cream, toasted almond milk veil, and that delicate crispy milk skin. A true revelation whose work you will want to follow very closely…

Irwin, 22 rue Cambacérès, Paris 8th. Open Monday to Friday for lunch and dinner. 3-path menus (lunch only) at €75, 5-path at €130, and 7-path at €175. © Florian Domergue / PAUSECOM

Like an artist's work, you recognize a great chef by the character of their cuisine, recognizable among thousands. This is obviously the case for Romain Meder who, after earning three stars at Plaza Athénée + a green one at Domaine de Primard, has just scooped a star in his very first restaurant… all his own! We sat down at Prévelle, which unfolds, a stone's throw from the National Assembly, an exceptional plant-based score and surely tickles the curiosity of a certain red guide on the lookout… Prévelle is first and foremost a tribute to Combe au Prévelle, a tiny hamlet in Haute-Saône where he grew up, foreshadowing an ode to the earth in line with his career, embracing a pastoral score in the era of zero waste. This results in a poularde cooked in brioche, cauliflower, and olive; a squash in a fine velouté, scallops, and praline; or a sea bass with Jerusalem artichoke or clementine. Expect €65 or €85 at lunch for two or three-course menus, and €145 or €165 for the 5 or 7-course Tasting menus, all adorned with top-notch gastronomic service including appetizers, mignardises, and the whole works.

Prévelle, 34 rue Saint-Dominique, Paris 7th. Open for lunch Tuesday to Friday, and for dinner Monday to Friday. © Maki Manoukian - Marie Callaud

Chef Julien Dumas takes over the former Pergolèse, not far from the Étoile, to open his first solo gastronomic jewel. He named it Zostera, after the seagrass beds essential to the balance of ecosystems. A nod that is far from insignificant for this chef deeply committed to environmental issues, whose cuisine remains profoundly focused on the sea. In a deliberately minimalist decor of light wood, natural materials, and soft light, nothing distracts from the plate. At lunch, the chef offers a four-course menu at €55, perfect for discovering his iodized universe. Throughout the dishes, the sea is never far away, as evidenced by his smoked trout, strong oil, and meadow cream, or his langoustine and lemon sole in pearly slices placed on a deep green vegetable puree. A menu full of finesse that gives the impression of traveling somewhere between wild and marine lands.

Zostera, 40 Rue Pergolèse, Paris 16th. Open for lunch and dinner Monday to Friday. Four-course menus at €55, seven-course at €135, and 9-course at €185. © Emmanuelle Levesque © Stéphane Riss

He obtained his first star last year after a few months of opening. Aldéhyde, a word that sounds like a first name, designates a molecule contained in several plants and flowers (e.g., cumin, orange blossom). If Youssef Marzouk chose it as the name for his restaurant near the Hôtel de Ville, it’s because before sharpening his knives, he graduated top of his class in chemistry before moving through the kitchens of the Ritz, Tomy and Co, or even Le Tout Paris at Cheval Blanc… Poetic, precise, creative, Youssef Marzouk's cuisine delivers unique plates in flavors, nourished by his roots, travels, and childhood memories. Two canapés open the show, one with potatoes, tarragon, and those Andaliman berries that echo those used in the craft beer Chef Youssef Marzouk co-created with the Kilomètre Zéro microbrewery in a limited edition. To follow, a delicate onion tart with vinegared smoked dates, an atypical blend that works marvelously. Youssef Marzouk revisits it with smoked dark chocolate worked in three ways, shaken up by a touch of marigold for a graceful herbaceous note: a total success! The good news? Aldéhyde offers a lunch menu for €75, the best option for discovering this solar cuisine. In the evening, let yourself be carried away by an Éclosion menu in five or seven stages (€110 for 5 stages and €135 for 7 stages) which establishes the taste and lets you savor his already star Orange Duck which is truly worth the detour.

Aldéhyde, 5 rue du Pont Louis Philippe, Paris 4th. 09 73 89 43 24. Open Tuesday to Friday from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM and from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM. And Monday from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM. © Ilya Kagan

A gastronomic sushi experience, to be enjoyed with your fingers (as tradition demands!) in a very small group facing the sushi master himself in a pocket-sized restaurant well known to lovers of (real) sushi in Montmartre. At Sushi Shunei, the smiling chefs Takeshi Morooka and Chizuko Kimura work with exceptional raw fish in front of only 9 guests in a minimalist wooden decor, without any frills! A unique discovery to offer to fine palates… We order the Chefs' Sashimi & Nigiri menu at €200, where each bite is felt in its entirety around the tongue and palate: startling hot and cold appetizers, melt-in-the-mouth sashimis carefully sliced (the show is fascinating), 12 nigiris (turbot, sea bream, yellowtail, sea bass, toro tuna, eel…), a gourmet temaki, and a devilishly fragrant miso soup. We finish with freshness with a hazelnut & hojicha - umeboshi sorbet by the Manufacture de Glace Alain Ducasse.

Sushi Shunei, 3 rue Audran, Paris 18th. 06 44 66 11 31. Open for dinner Tuesday to Saturday, services at 7:00 PM and 9:30 PM, and for lunch on Saturday at 1:00 PM. © Shunei (@sushishunei)

We were more familiar with the République / Parmentier district for its street food outlets and high-potential feasting bistros. Now it boasts a gastronomic spot called Amâlia, run by Eugenio Anfuso and Cecilia Spurio, an Italian couple with a starred CV as long as your arm. In the evening, choose between two menus: the gargantuan Grand Menu Amâlia (€145) or the Vegetal Menu (€145), whose preludes delight in advance (you'll have to tell us about the spicy scallop bite). To follow, starters and main courses that push the comfort and elegance sliders to the max, all enhanced by the perfect oil and the interplay of textures that ensures you’re never bored: red mullet à la bourguignonne, smoked artichoke ravioli, wild mushroom and razor clam fricassee, or celeriac tartlet and Piedmont hazelnut praline (insanity). We rinse the palate before the sweets with a cute pre-dessert: iced pear on its goat cheese cloud, just to move gently into the serious stuff: 70% chocolate, butternut squash confit with cardamom, and Angostura juice. Care for one last treat? They finally arrive in threes! Italian generosity and French high standards have never made such a good match.

Amâlia, 32 rue de la Fontaine au Roi - Paris 11th. Open Wednesday to Sunday evening, and for lunch on Saturdays and Sundays.

It took only a year after its opening to scoop a star. A true gastronomic experience unfolds at Chakaiseki Akiyoshi, creating an atmosphere as refined as the most beautiful addresses in Kyoto near the Eiffel Tower. The mood? A single time slot per service for the 16 guests: 12:00 PM for lunch, 8:00 PM for dinner. An Olympian calm reigns here, a complete peacefulness ensuring an immediate disconnection. Miso soup and white rice cooked to order, vegetable sakizuke, and charcoal-grilled fish serve as the prelude to the two wonders of the menu: the broth garnished with 15 vegetables and the explosive grilled mackerel sushi. A favorite for dessert is the Omogashi, a traditional soft sweet composed of a mixture of flour and rice powder on the outside and a red bean paste inside, which almost brought a tear to our eye! A true tea ceremony is prepared at the very end of the meal, in a silence that no guest dares to break and with one instruction: “Hold the tea bowl firmly, always with both hands.” The chef prepares the matcha with slow, precise movements, plunging the audience into a totally meditative state. The hardest part? The return to reality upon leaving the restaurant.

Chakaiseki Akiyoshi, 59 rue Letellier, Paris 15th. Menu prices vary depending on your seating. Lunch menu: from €200. Dinner menus: from €300. Open from Wednesday evening to Sunday, from 12:00 PM to 2:30 PM and from 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM. © Justin De Souza / Taisuke Yoshida / Nobu Hidetaka

To take the reins of its iconic restaurant, the Ritz Paris gave carte blanche to a chef little known to the general public, who previously worked at La Roya in Corsica and with Michel Sarran. Born in Libreville and having spent 20 years in Africa, notably in Gabon and Ivory Coast, Eugénie Béziat offers a clear, bold, and readable perspective. With the Ritz approaching her with total confidence, the chef unashamedly embraces her cuisine inspired by the two continents, giving pride of place to surprising combinations (always brilliantly successful). Scallop / coconut / vanilla / tuberose, oyster / brède mafane / brousse, sweetbread / sorrel / tobacco leaf, all seared with clever cooking techniques for a never-before-seen result. To create the link to dessert, Ritz pastry chef Olivier Lainé extends the experience with an original sweetness with hazelnut notes, enhanced by the freshness of kaffir leaf and the spicy sweetness of piquillo pepper. Menus from €190.

Espadon at Ritz, 5 place Vendôme, Paris 1st. Open Tuesday to Saturday from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM. © Emanuela Cino ©Studio PAM

For one of the rare gastronomic tables around the Canal Saint-Martin, chef Maxime Bouttier (ex-Mensae) plays an ode to nature with products honoring his region of Le Mans, which he twists according to the seasons and arrivals. In a setting that breathes, mirroring what is on the plate, this restaurant is designed like a country house in the city. The concept? A carte blanche dinner in 8 or 11 stages of your choice, à la carte for lunch, showcasing graphic and colorful dishes like leek, capers, and cecina. You also find bold compositions like scallops with tuberous nasturtiums, pear, béarnaise, and sage, with a special mention for the delicate Romanesco cauliflower tartlets. We continue with green cabbage, pistachio, poultry, and tarragon. A treat!

Nota bene: we are now eagerly awaiting the opening of Éthanol, the chef's new address scheduled to open this spring, where his cuisine will be shared around beautiful tapas accompanied by more than 400 carefully selected wine references from different terroirs.

Géosmine, 71 rue de la Folie Méricourt, Paris 11th. Open Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, and in the evening from Wednesday to Saturday. From €11 to €49 for lunch. Evening menu from €140. © Laurent Dupont and Delphine Constantini

Do you know the smallest palace in Paris? Right across from the Élysée Palace, La Réserve houses the exceptional table Le Gabriel, awarded three stars since 2024 under the leadership of Jérôme Banctel. Inspired by both his Breton origins (as evidenced by a certain obsession for marrying earth and iodine) and his love for Japanese gastronomy, the chef celebrates excellence there, with a lunch menu featuring flame-cooked salmon, sweet potato and a herb tabbouleh, Louvigné pigeon and turnip candy with spices, finishing with the now-cult vanilla bean, baba with Woodford Reserve. In the evening, expect €310 for the Virée menu unfolding millimetric creations with incisive flavors, like the smoked Brittany octopus, vegetable virgin sauce and melting tielle, or the mackerel on a pebble, bottarga, sea urchin, and samphire. The crowning of this table was particularly awaited by the industry, and the emotion was palpable upon the arrival on stage of this genius chef joining his peers under a thunderous applause. To be tested once in a lifetime to be able to say: “I was there.”

Le Gabriel at La Réserve Paris, 42 avenue Gabriel, Paris 8th. Open Monday to Friday from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM and from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM. @Grégoire Gardette © GeraldineMartens

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