5 Top Restaurants & Bistros in Paris (Recommended by Locals)

This week, we're taking you to five restaurants in Paris where locals eat. We'll have an amazing steak au poivre in Saint-Germain, we'll try a new restaurant that some of our fans were raving about, and we discovered a gem in the Latin Quarter that we can't wait to try. Allez, on y va! Today, we're in the heart of Saint-Germain, and we're going to meet up with our friend Karen to try some fabulous French food. A foie gras with a cider jelly. You can go with your fingers. We don't judge. How is it? It's good stuff. Look at that, come on. Oh yeah. Oh yeah, this is beautiful. I love the bone marrow. It's crazy. Yeah. It's not good for cholesterol and stuff. Thank God I'm healthy. Yeah. But oh yeah, I know it's crazy. It is crazy. It seems like the texture could be weird, but it's not. It's like very spreadable. I don't know. I just really like it. It looks boneless. That's awesome. And I got this. This looks exactly what the doctor ordered. I got another bone marrow, which is definitely not a problem for me. But here, check that out. It comes with a little chunk of meat and carrots and potatoes and all of that mess in here. They go from the carrot to the potato to the carrot to the meat. You can have a little bit of mustard with it too. I'm not going to put mustard on it. Yeah, you do put mustard on pot-au-feu. No, you put mustard on pot-au-feu. I don't. You ready? Yeah. That's good stuff. Slow cooked forever and you can just taste how the flavors all blend together. Simple, soft, just falling apart and it's just yummy. And I ordered the steak au poivre. And they don't call it steak au poivre here. They call it something, something poivre. Look at this. The meat is excellent. It's tender. It's cooked to perfection. The sauce actually is peppery. This deserves an Antoine approved chef d'orchestre. All right, so this is salted caramel. That's got to be, oh, ice cream salted caramel with a little bit of, oh, with my chocolate. Oh, this is show. It's very show. It's very, very show. Oh man, chocolat, ice cream. That's how you do it. So we're here on the Ile St. Louis, which is right by Notre Dame. And we're going to meet our friend Rasa for lunch right over here at the St. Regis. Come on. Okay, hold on. She's taking a bite. Oh yeah. What's the stuff on top? Is it saffron? Onion. It's sweet. Yeah. With vinegar, balsamic vinegar. Okay. You can do it. That's a bite and a half sister. But it had everything in it. It had everything. This is the St. Regis omelet from the St. Regis Cafe. Because in France, an omelet is a main dish. It's not necessarily a breakfast item. It's a good omelet. It's exactly what I wanted. It's light and it's filling. It's very satisfying. It's light. I don't feel like I need to walk it off when I'm done. And I got the salmon, the grilled salmon. A light lunch by my standards. It probably goes with the fish. So I put a little bit with the fish. I'm going to try it. Is it good? Yeah, very good. I was just wondering whether it went with lemon or not. I think it's either lemon or the sauce. No, actually it works together perfectly. I got it. It's like a brioche bread that's a little bit toasty. And with the looks like the little sugar crystals on top. And inside it's very creamy. Just oh yeah. I do need a knife because I don't want to make that big of a mess. Yeah. Okay. All right. That is an enormous bite. That's a bite and a half. It is super light. Yeah. It's very light. It looks super filling, but it's super light, right? You can see there's like little flaky bits in the in the... With my finger? No, not with your finger. Don't press on it. I just want to see how it goes. You gotta make the sound too. It goes like that? Oh yeah, okay, yeah. It looks thick, almost like a cheesecake kind of a texture. But it's really not. It's very light. It's very yummy. Yeah, it's not like cheesecake. It's super light. No, it's very light. Today we're going to a great little spot that was recommended by our fans. This is a newly reopened spot in Saint-Germain, the Jardin de Saint-Germain. Let's go. Yeah. So what is this? This is tarrama, which is a spread. Generally it's like a salmon or tuna or something. But it's just a yummy little spread. You ready? Just a nice light little nibble. That's served often for a pair of teeth or appetizer. Can I take a bite? It's light and it's creamy and just, again, very subtle flavors. A little bit of truffle. That's mine. No, no, that's mine. So I got a little bit of pepper sauce here in this steak. And he told us that their beef was actually excellent. You can taste the quality of the beef. There's nothing like a steak au poivre with french fries in Paris. This is a backstreet little restaurant. So usually they're better than their touristic areas. This is not a touristic restaurant at all. And this is a neighborhood restaurant. I got the fish of the day and today it is a sea bass. But if you're expecting a Chilean sea bass in France, it's not that. In France, a sea bass is kind of the consistency of, you know, like a snapper or something. Well, that looks delish. You want to switch? No. You're going to switch halfway through. Yeah. It actually tastes like a really light dolphin. Yeah, like a mahi-mahi, very, very nice, very light. Really yummy. Yeah, and you got vegetables with it. Yeah, because you see the french fries right there. Yeah, these are, no, no. You mean these fries? Like that really big long fry? You're a french fry thief. Here's what you do. You drop them over here in the sauce. No, not that one. This one. What? Over here. Just, I'm just going to try them all. Merci. Merci, merci, merci. I'm not sharing this one. If I can get away with it. Oh, yeah. So I got a little bit of ice cream, a little bit of, that's a bite. Yeah, it is a bite. I'm not sharing. I got the café guamon. So the café guamon, they're supposed to give you like a very small bite. It's supposed to be a one bite thing. But, so I have a key lime pie. I have the brownie with the melted, oh, I think I'm going to hit the brownie. Oh. It's so crisp. It's not too sweet. It's very crispy, very crunchy, not too sweet. And they gave us that just, well, I think he's really proud of everything he does in the kitchen. So I can see that. That's cool. Yeah, so what you have to do is. Oh, I'm starting with this one. Imagine that. Brownie with ice cream and sauce. Look at this. All homemade. Oh, this is good. Key lime pie, look at that. It's not as tangy. It's very soft. A little cheesecake with a strawberry. That's how you end a meal. Finding a restaurant that's not a tourist trap in Paris can be a little challenging sometimes. So we put together a guide with 125 restaurants that we've tried, love and approve of. And they're assorted by Aranda's month. There's something in there for all of the budgets that people have. So if you're interested in something like that, there's a link in the description below. Check it out and see if it's for you. So today we're having lunch in La Marais at a little place called Camille. And we're meeting up with our dear friend, Connie, to join us. Come on. Salty. Onion jam, foie gras and toast point. And I'm betting like a brioche bread. And then I put a little bit of ground salt on it. Yeah. Taste it. Yeah. You need all four pieces. Yeah, you do. Oh, yes. Merci. Oh, that looks yummy. Yay. I got the Magrette de Canard. And she asked me, how do you want it? And I told her to bring it how the chef wants it. Whatever the chef says is best. So they made it pink. Always. Mashed potatoes whipped in the little sauce. And I'm excited to try it. It tastes like a steak. It's like the texture of a good steak. Very nice. With all of the juices and sauces there. That looks delicious. It is delicious. Makes my mouth water. I got lamb chop. Same thing. He asked me, how do you want it cooked? And I said, well, as little as you have to do it. And it serves with a ratatouille. Is it as soft as I imagine? You would love that. If you want to switch plate halfway through, I'm game. I want to introduce you to a French quintessential dessert. C'est un petit pot. Called la mousse au chocolat. And surprisingly, it's made out of two things. One, chocolat. Two, mousse. Put it together. I don't even know what sound a mousse makes or I would be imitating one. No, it's not made out of mousse. It's not a mousse. It is if you have enough champagne. That. I mean, that is one firm piece of chocolate. Let me see. I'm just for filming purposes. She's bringing you coffee. No, no, but it's for filming. I want to make sure. And our server said we should put just a little bit of salt on here. And I'm adventurous. And I followed the instructions. So I'm going to try. Coarse salt on mousse au chocolat. I don't know. She said try it. So I'm trying it. I've had great surprises when I follow what they tell me in a restaurant. It gives it a little something. It gives a little something. And it's a little something that I like. Ew. Open up your mouth. Creep. That was a dirty trick. This is good. Today, we're having lunch in a little restaurant, not far from Notre Dame called Le Petit Pontoise. And it's right over here. Come on. Oh, now I understand why it's popular. Yeah. That looks excellent. OK, great. With aubergine and some eggplants. Perfect. Thank you. I'm excited because I didn't know what to expect with an artichoke tart. But this is like a pie crust with a little thin layer of tomato and some roasted eggplant and roasted artichoke. And let me show you from this side. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Artichokes. It looks delish. I can't wait to take a bite. Go ahead. Go for it. Yeah. That's what the doctor ordered. That's not anything like anything I ever had in the US. Wow. That looks... That is... Wait, wait, wait, wait. Look at mine, look at mine. Super mother. It's like a beef bourguignon, but it's a pork cheek. It's the pork cheek. Oh, wow. The thing that I need to do before I can decide. That's what I have to do. A little bit of French bread with that yummy sauce. Yeah. Then maybe I'll know. Is it a little spicy? We'll be back here for sure. It is a nice cooked foie gras with a little... Oops. I'm going to get messy. This looks delicious. My mouth is so watering. A little bit of sauce, a little bit of... A little bit more potato because, hey, I'm Colleen. I'm Irish and I like potatoes. Yeah. I'm going to get it on here so it sticks. And then I'm going to put this little piece of foie gras right on top. Oh, that's a bite for... Check that out. Oh, my God. It's a big bite, but... You can do it. Ready? Yeah. I don't want to share that one and I don't want to share this one. I want it all. You know what? It's so good. And that is a classic French upside down baked apple tart. With a little vanille and a little caramel on the bottom. I am fully equipped for this dessert. So the first thing you do is you take a little champagne. You fight off the other guy trying to steal your food. Oh, yeah. Cuts like butter. See, I say funny things after my champagne. I thought you were from Florida. Not after champagne. It's perfection. You can taste the apple. You have the very subtlety of flavors. Definitely not sweet, which is probably why they put the caramel on it and the apple. Yeah, no, it's caramel and apple and even the ice cream is not that sweet. But it's still definitely dessert. Yeah. No, it's delicious, but it doesn't overpower you with sweetness. No, it tastes like perfection to me. If you like this video on five restaurants to try in Paris, next I would try this one on how to order in a French restaurant.