Créé par Romane, le 20 juin 2026
Votre guide Ryo
Top 20 Culinary Specialties in Paris
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It's hard to imagine the City of Light any other way than it is today. With its boulevards, its institutions, its business district and of course, its typical cafés that are bustling all day long. Yet Paris was once a dynamic agricultural territory with exemplary yields.
From the diversity of its terroir were born more specialties than this top list could contain!
In the streets of the capital, let yourself wander among the brasseries or starred restaurants, street food, or traditional houses. Each cuisine has its own identity and culinary establishments of all sizes compete for even the smallest corners of the capital.
What to eat in Paris? Our selection of 20 Parisian specialties
The tops of the best chefs and addresses seem to renew themselves every week... Certainly because Paris is a clash of cultures and flavors. Cuisines from all four corners of the world meet quasi-ancestral French specialties there. You will soon have an infinity of aromas within fork's reach for your greatest pleasure!
1. The Baguette
Impossible to start our top without placing the star of French breads at its summit! The baguette is an emblem of France. Its elongated shape and inimitable taste earn it international recognition as well as a UNESCO World Heritage listing. Essential at breakfast with butter and jam, at lunch, it forms the basis of the crunchiest sandwiches. Finally, at dinner, its soft crumb perfectly soaks up the gourmet sauces at the bottom of the plate. To taste the best baguettes in Paris, head to a real artisan baker. They are the masterminds who perpetuate the tradition of its preparation and guarantee its quality.
2. The Bouchées à la Reine
Behind this refined name hides an even more delicate Parisian specialty. It's an individual pastry case in puff pastry, generously filled with a mixture of poultry, ham, veal sweetbreads and mushrooms cut into cubes. Everything is bound with a thick sauce of choice: forestière, béchamel or suprême. A bit of history to make you wait for your dish? Bouchées à la reine were created at Versailles by the court's cooks in the 18th century. This delicious creation was made at the request of Queen Marie Leszczynski, Louis XV's wife. She wanted an aphrodisiac dish to be regularly served to her husband to keep him faithful.
3. Onion Soup
Onion soup (or Gratinée des Halles) is a gourmet starter, typical of Parisian brasseries. Originally, it was served to the night workers of the old Halles market. Covered with a layer of gratinated cheese and croutons, this soup is made of broth and onions caramelized in butter. Legend has it that it was invented one evening by King Louis XV who was in his hunting lodge, and whose pantry contained nothing but bread and onions.
4. The Croque-Monsieur
Childishly simple yet so delicious, the croque-monsieur is one of the most widespread Parisian (and French) specialties beyond our borders. Since its creation in the 1900s, the croque-monsieur has been on the menu of most brasseries in the capital. It consists of two slices of sandwich bread, filled with cooked Paris ham and béchamel sauce. Before cooking, the top of the bread is covered with a thick layer of cheese to be gratinated. In an even more hearty version, the croque-monsieur is topped with a fried egg and becomes... the croque-madame.
5. Leek and Potato Soup
No offense to other regions of France, the ultra-popular leek soup of the country was indeed born in Paris! In the old days, it was even called "Parisian soup". Hard to make more basic in its preparation, it consists of leeks, potatoes, some caramelized onions and a little garlic. After cooking, the ingredients are blended to obtain a smooth and velvety texture. The soup is then served piping hot, accompanied by fresh bread or croutons. It's a real delight to comfort yourself in winter!
6. Shepherd's Pie
If your goal is to satisfy an ogre's hunger, this is definitely the dish you need. Made with basic ingredients, shepherd's pie is a popular dish by essence. The original recipe is a gratin of smooth mashed potatoes, on a bed of minced beef. A more gourmet (and more expensive) variant replaces the beef with shredded confit duck legs. This specialty was named after an idea by Mr. Antoine Parmentier, who invented it to fight famine. A pharmacist by profession, Mr. Parmentier was convinced that the potato could combat hunger. His determination led him to the court, where he had King Louis XVI himself taste his shepherd's pie!
7. Steak and Chips
A simple, hearty, but always winning dish! Also called "steak-frites", this dish dates back to the 19th century, when the Vilette district still housed slaughterhouses. Butchers prepared the entrecôte with herb butter, accompanied by "pommes Pont-Neuf", which would be the ancestors of our current french fries.
8. Beef Miroton
A traditional dish of French cuisine, beef miroton was born at the end of the 18th century. At the time, Balzac called it "Madame Pipelet's dish". To prepare a beef miroton, the meat is first cooked in a pot-au-feu (a simmered broth of winter vegetables and beef chuck). The remaining pieces of meat from this first dish are then mixed with a good amount of onions, garlic, olive oil and red wine. Before serving, pickled gherkins are sometimes added for a touch of acidity.
9. The Opera
This gourmet pastry is composed of a layer of "Joconde" sponge cake, chocolate ganache, and coffee butter cream. It was allegedly invented in 1955 by pastry chef Cyriaque Gavillon from Maison Dalloyau. His wife, finding a resemblance between the cake and the stage of the Opéra Garnier, would have then named it "Opera".
10. Parisian Flan
Synonymous with pastry flan, this creamy delight is a must-have in all French bakery-patisseries. Distant cousin of the Portuguese Pastel de Nata, a slice of Parisian flan has no equal from a quantitative point of view! In the flan mixture as they say, eggs, milk, sugar, corn starch and vanilla are mixed. The preparation is then cooked on a shortcrust pastry and occasionally, enhanced with apricots. Its great popularity has given birth to other flavors, such as chocolate flan, caramel, coconut, and rarer, flan with candied fruits. We leave you to decide which are the most original!
11. Cheeses
Here's another national cliché that, this time, is as true as it is observable: the French love cheese! The cheeses produced in Paris and Île-de-France are mild and very pleasant to taste. The most famous cheese from Île-de-France is certainly Brie de Meaux, made from cow's milk, recognizable by its creamy texture and tender rind. No cheese is left aside when the end of the meal arrives or at aperitif time, all the cheeses of the country will be part of it.
12. The Croissant
Among the symbols of finesse and indulgence, the Parisian croissant could well take first place... A true myth of French breakfast, the butter croissant is on all morning tables, at all hotel buffets and it's made nowhere as well as in Paris. In bakeries, it often goes hand in hand with pain au chocolat, another institution of French viennoiserie.
13. Chouquettes
These are small hollow choux pastries sprinkled with pearl sugar before baking. A "successful" chouquette is well rounded, crispy on the outside and soft once in the mouth. Sometimes, some chouquettes come out of the oven slightly caramelized due to overcooking, but are no less delicious. These mini viennoiseries are sold in bakeries, individually or by 100g. Just one of them will have a Proust's madeleine effect for many French people.
14. The Macaron
In the golden square of great French pastry classics, you'll find the Parisian macaron, also called smooth macaron. Recognizable by its small size, its rounded shape, its two delicate almond shells, bound by a flavored ganache. The Parisian macaron seduces all palates. In shops, you can find them in all flavors as long as they are natural! As the holiday season approaches, you can even find them in savory versions, with foie gras, champagne or summer truffles for example, depending on the recipes. The great houses of French gastronomy have, over the centuries, elevated this royal snack to icon status. An appointment not to be missed...
15. The Paris-Brest
Behind this elegant crown-shaped cake hides the most gourmet advertising campaign ever. Indeed, the Paris-Brest is a dessert made of choux pastry filled with praline mousseline cream and sprinkled with sliced almonds. All in the shape of a crown... Or rather a bicycle wheel! Yes, in 1909, a pastry chef from Maisons-Laffitte was commissioned to create a pastry to promote the Paris-Brest-Paris bicycle race, between the city of Paris and Brittany. The success was immediate and Paris-Brest have never left the windows of Parisian patisseries since!
16. The Saint-Honoré
The Saint-Honoré is a beautiful example of elegance and pastry know-how. It's also an emblematic specialty of the capital, created in the 19th century by the Chiboust house. The name "Saint-Honoré" refers to the street of this famous Parisian house: rue Saint-Honoré. This was quite fitting, knowing that the Patron Saint of pastry chefs and bakers is none other than Saint-Honoré himself! The cake consists of puff pastry and whipped cream, surrounded by small choux filled with chiboust cream and covered with a caramelized sugar shell. You'll recognize it by the fineness of the whipped cream piping, as well as its superb crown of small choux covered in caramel! Connoisseurs are not mistaken...
17. The Mille-feuille
The Mille-feuille is an ancient cake that combines technique and emblematic flavors of French pastry. It's certainly this mixture of know-how that makes it so iconic and delicious. Dating from the early 19th century, the mille-feuille consists of 3 layers of puff pastry, superimposed and alternating with vanilla pastry cream. To finish the assembly, the mille-feuille is skillfully decorated with white and black fondant or (in a more modern version) a thin layer of powdered sugar. We must admit it's not very practical to eat, but what a treat once cut.
18. The Rum Baba
Also known as "savarin", the rum baba is a copious dessert highly appreciated by epicureans! You'll find it mostly in individual portions rather than in sharing format. The baba takes the form of a leavened dough, soaked in a syrup made with rum or kirsch (sometimes for several days!). With tasting, the soaked brioche is topped with light whipped cream.
19. The Almond Tart
Common name of the traditional Bourdaloue tart, named after rue Bourdaloue where it was created in the 19th century. This indulgent dessert is a true regressive pleasure. The almond tart is composed of poached pear, placed on a shortbread pastry base and covered with almond cream or frangipane.
20. Grand Marnier
Created in 1880 by Louis-Alexandre Marnier in Yvelines, this liqueur is made of bitter orange peels macerated in cognac for more than a month. It can be consumed neat, with ice cubes, or in cocktails. It's also often used in cooking, as in the famous crêpes Suzette, prepared with caramelized sugar, butter, orange zest and juice, and of course Grand Marnier!