5 Paris Restaurants That Are NOT Tourist Traps!

Every year, millions of tourists eat the worst food that they could have in Paris, and they don't even know it because it's right next to a big attraction they came to see. So today, we're taking you to five Parisian bistros, all within walking distance to a major attraction like Notre Dame. These are places where locals actually eat, not a tourist version of what French food is. And one of those restaurants have been serving food in the same neighborhood since 1956, and most tourists have never heard about it. So what does it taste like for someone who's never tried it? Somebody described it once as a strange mushroom. I can understand that. I'm sorry. So the first restaurant we're going to try is right down the street from the Invalides. Right over here is the Eiffel Tower. So you're literally five, ten minutes walking from either of them. And I'm going to meet up with Colleen and Mick, and we're going to try this place, Le Coucou. Let's go. Bonjour. Ça va bien? Ça va. Super. Voilà. He's skipping. He skips. Okay, I am sitting here. You're sitting there. So this is the menu. Champagne is here. Tanté. Merci. Tanté. One other thing that you can actually see is the Eiffel Tower, which is right behind the trees. Well, the last time we were here, we had the view. It's a piece of beef. And it's, you know, roasted, but very quickly on the grill. Yeah. Okay, got it. The young lady here is going to take the... Tataki? Oui. Tataki. Very good. Calamari, eggs, hummus. Yes. Merci beaucoup. Merci. This is a place where locals come to hang out, and there's no reason for a tourist to come here if they didn't know that they should. Yeah, for sure. You come here on purpose. Oh, there it is. Parfait. Merci. Wow. Bon appétit. Okay, merci, merci, merci, merci. That looks so yummy. Three different mayonnaise on three different eggs. Oh. All right. You see all that truffle mayonnaise? Yeah, I'm having the regular mayo, and it might seem like, why am I going to Paris to eat this? Trust me. All right, Mick, you're having the spicy one? This is when I become an absolute savage because I have to do that. That's good stuff, isn't it? This is the best calamari I've had in Paris. Just like that. All right, the hummus. I am kind of a hummus snob. Yeah. All right, great appetizers so far. Tataki. Oh, this is the tataki beef. You can see it's just seared on the outside, so it's going to be a good quality piece of meat. Oh, yeah, it's cutting nice and easy. It's really tender beef. Yeah, it's super simple, super high quality. This is good stuff. So Mick has a tartare with french fries. It's really, really good. So me, I have coquillettes. It's just elbow macaroni with truffle cheese sauce. In terms of the flavor, this is not for kids, unless your kid has a developed palate. Is that taking you to your childhood? Yeah, this is how she would serve it and transport it. Awesome. Young men with dessert. That one comes here. No, that comes here, darling. Don't get excited here. Oh, nice. Look at this. This one is brioche perdu. Brioche perdu. Oh, it doesn't feel hot. This is nice. This is thick chocolate. Okay. What did you do? You ruined it. You cannot have it now. Oh, my Lord. What have you done? I'll put your hat back on. Just a little bit of chocolate. That's just a little. That's good stuff, huh? All right, Mick, let's give it a shot. Yeah, that is fresh baked apple. It's really very good. Nobody's dessert is safe with you around. It's light. All right, so this is the second restaurant that we're visiting, and we're going right here to Vendémiaire. We are literally five minutes from the Imbalance and about 10 minutes from the Eiffel Tower. Let's go and check it out. You always say yes to champagne, right? This is a great way to start a day. It's not day drinking. It's lunch. Day drinking is drinking without a purpose. I'm drinking this champagne on purpose. I don't know how you picked this restaurant, Antoine, but I love this menu. I can tell just by looking at the menu how meticulous and conscious this chef is. So I'm expecting the food to be pretty good. We'll see about dessert. All right, perfect. Look at that. Oh, it looks like pistachios. A little mustard seed, a little croutons, a little bit of salad, which is a nice touch. It hits the spot. I really like that. This has jalapeno mayonnaise on it. Oh, wow. We're getting a surprise of oysters. Well, thank you. Merci. I think they recognized us. So sometimes they throw us a gift. Yeah, this is an oyster with Granny Smith apple. All right, I got to try this. Holy moly, that's fresh. I got to drink it. Well, we were getting something in between. It's a red tuna? I don't, I didn't listen. You didn't listen? I've been drinking, darling. It looks fresh, whatever it is. I'm guessing tuna. Put a little bit of tuna on the asparagus. There you go. Are you dancing? Yeah, I am dancing. I'm giving a little bit of... This is nice. That is mine. You know what this is? Also called meatballs. Oh, peas, carrots and barley. Yeah, and barley. Mine looks a little fussy because you can see all of the bubbles in the whipped up something sauce. You know what? What? Those are mussels. Let me put a little piece of fish with it. That's a sea bream. That's hitting the spot. It's a little bit on the dry side, the meatball, but it's really in the juice and with the vegetables, which brings all kinds of flavor. My darling, I might be falling in love with this chef. Yeah. Just a warning. That looks like asparagus tempura. Oh, there's an egg. That's what he said. There's an egg under that. Like holiday sauce or something. I got to pop that egg. Oh, wow. Yeah, like that. Oh, my gosh. You know, I don't like that at all. You ate all the yolk. No, I didn't. Almost. I have no idea. I really am serious when I tell you, I'm crazy about this chef. Wait until you find out we're in the third, fourth, and fifth restaurant of this video. I'm happy. Chocolate mousse. Absolument. So, look at this. Here, you just take the tip of the ice cream like that, a little bit of a cookie that comes with it. So, you're going to do it the French way as you go. Are you happy? And I'm thinking I better get in there before you eat it all. Oh, yeah. I'm just gonna put that on here like that and eat it like a cracker. Well, you ate half of it already. I did not. I did not do such a thing. Did I bring you back here? You have to. Like, you bet. One of the things we always tell people when they're planning a trip to Paris is that when you get here, you should book a food tour, especially at the beginning of your trip, because that gives you a lay of the land and a great foundation. And to know exactly where the good food is. Yep. Devour Tour runs small groups, 12 people max, through neighborhoods like Le Marais and Montmartre. Every guide is a local and they'll take you to family-run spots you would literally walk right past on your own. You're not just eating. You're learning what to look for, what to order, and what to expect. So the rest of your trip, it's better too. So scan the QR code or click on the link in the description to see if these Devour Tours are right for you. You won't regret it. We are about five minutes walking distance from Republic. This is a Parisian neighborhood. This restaurant has been here since Brigitte Bardot became popular in 1950s. So it's been at this location for over 70 years. The third restaurant in the series. And it's a Parisian gem and I can't wait to go and try it out. I think I know what I want. Yeah. Let's go eat. Bonsoir. Bienvenue. Du filet. Champagne. Merci. And that is the way to start a fabulous meal. It is. This is a goose rillette. A little crunchy. Crusty bread. But that rillette is fine. Yeah. You want to do the cote de boeuf? I want the cote de boeuf. Un escargot. Une cote de boeuf. Et voilà. Yum, yum, yum. Allez, on y va. Escargot. Oui. I got a cute little fork and a lot of garlic. So that I can just dip in here. I can smell the garlic from here. So what does it taste like for someone that has never tried it? Somebody described it once as a strange mushroom. I can understand that. And do you know where the escargot originates from in France? Burgundy. L'escargot de Bourgogne. Yeah, that's where it comes from. We need to take a little bit of bread and stick it all the way in the shell. There's so much garlic yumminess in here. I'm wrestling with it. But yeah, I mean, I get extra garlic. Yeah, it's really, really good. That's really good. This is the promise of something good. Yeah. Oh man. Okay, that's a feast. Super. Just a little bit on that side. Because I know I'm gonna like it. And you have a little pomme d'aufine right here. Oh yeah. Okay. Let me cut into this meat, dip it in here. It has the right blend of meat and fat so that you can see the flavor. You see what I mean? Oh yeah. It's more of a gravy. It's more of a sauce than a thick paste, you know? If you don't say anything in French, you're gonna get your meat like that. So if you want it like medium or well done, you better make that clear. That's the mashed potato. It's a mashed potato ball. Yeah, but pomme d'aufine, it's like whipped mashed potato. And the way you eat it is you take it, you dip it in your sauce like that. This chocolate souffle looks amazing. Got the powdered sugar on top and the little green flecks everywhere. These are kambawa, which is citrus. So that's the grated peel of that. So I'm just gonna dive in. Oh yeah. I'm smelling the green citrus and it's just there. It's not overpowering, but it's definitely present. I serrated the powdered sugar. It's a powerful smell that comes into your taste. Oh, it's a powerful chocolate too. For the fourth restaurant in this series, we are in the Latin Quarter right by Notre Dame. This is Notre Dame right here. And we're going into a bistronomy type of restaurant. So it's a little bit of gastronomy and bistro and it's called Atelier Maître Albert. This is a restaurant that is owned by Guy Savoie. Guy Savoie being one of the finest restaurants in Paris, which we did a video about, you should check out. Let's go and have some lunch. Let's go. So they brought us that, which is a soup of carrot and fenouil. Looks like it's going to be a delightful lunch. I already know that this place is going to be excellent just by the attention to the decor and the way that the room feels. Yeah. All right. I get a little saucisson amuse-bouche. Yeah. So that's a shooter. It's a fenouil and carrot. It's just light and easy. Well, this amuse-bouche hit me right. I can't wait to see the rest. What's really interesting about this restaurant is we basically ran into it one day. I'm like, oh, I saw the name like Guy Savoie and I'm like, what is this restaurant that I don't know about? This was Guy Savoie's answer to making gastronomic foods available. He's not the day-to-day chef here, obviously, but he put together the menu, he put together the concept, and this is his answer to having people enjoy top quality food in a fabulous environment. And I couldn't be happier. Yeah. Merci, madame. Okay. Wow. Looks interesting and I'm betting it's very yummy. The chicken livers, the little chicken livers on top of the salad together with liver. Don't judge my bite size. All right, give me a bite. Let's do it like that. You want me to hand you the fork or give you the bite? Look at this. We're switching. All right. What I was surprised is I was expecting the chicken liver to be a little bit greasier, not overly salty, not overly flavored. Just a great flavor of chicken liver and then with the salad, it's like, wow. All right, so this is the pâté en croûte. Look at that. Nice little square. I can easily say that this is one of the best pâté en croûte that I've had. All right, now you said you wanted to switch? It's really good. I mean, you'll try some of it and everything, but wow, this is good. It has got some, I think it might be chicken liver. A bunch of different textures. Yeah, that's for you, my darling. It's coming in. There's the chicken. Nice. With a little bit of mashed potatoes. Oh my. Happy birthday, darling. There's the roasted veal. That looks nice. Yeah, mashed potato. We have gratin dauphinois for two, which is very, very hot, so be careful. On the house, it's a mashed potato. Oh, yeah. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It's a farm chicken from Maine, but it's not American Maine. This is in the Loire Valley. But this chicken has been cooking forever on a rotisserie right over there. Oh yeah, the skin is just right. And I wanted to get some of those rosemary ashes on there. Pick some of that. Just a cute little bite. That looks delicious. It's the way every chicken should ever be cooked. I'm going to take some of that. I'm going to put it on my plate. Look at that. So this is a veal, slow roasted. Oh, this is nice. Au jus in the juice right here. That's one bite. Fine. What is it? What do you call gratin dauphinois in the U.S.? Gratin potatoes. Oh, potato or gratin. Yeah. One of the questions that people ask us all the time is, can you share, you know, switch your plate and everything? So we're in a fine dining restaurant and look at us. As we always say, better to ask for forgiveness than for permission. The thing you should do is be yourself. Exactly. Anywhere. All right, now try your chicken. It was a happy chicken. I told you. I mean, it's a silly thing to say, but you taste it, right? It is. It's excellent. Both of our plates are excellent. Yeah. That looks good. I want some of that. I have like, it's like a chocolate mousse. Yeah. And then here's a layer of pears with toasted almonds. Those are very fresh. It was a little bit surprising, but good. So that's, I think mine is beurre salé. Salted butter caramel crumble. With apple. Oh, yeah. Now I see it. Uh-oh. It's really not bad. It's really horrible. What's the face you just made? It was just the face. This is so unique. I haven't had this, like an apple crumble. I need a bite. We're going to switch. I want the record to show that I'm sharing nicely. I'm sharing nicely. Get your ice cream now. So I see how it surprised you, because the pear is kind of like, it sets you back. This is really delightful. You know what I mean, right? Forget about it. I'm not getting my plate back. Well, you switched. Give me your hand. I love you. I love you, too. Now, if you're coming to Paris and looking for good restaurants, well, there are thousands of them. So we've put together a list of 125 of our favorite restaurants. You can scan the QR code on the screen or look for the link in the description and see if it's a good fit for you. So for the fifth and last restaurant in this series, I'm going to take Colleen to a hidden gem near Les Jardins de Luxembourg. And it's called La Maison du Jardin. This is a Bib Gourmand. It doesn't have a star, but it's recognized as Michelin for being an amazing restaurant. And I can't wait to go discover this little gem with Colleen. This is tiny. Yeah. Oh, and this is perfect. Yes, that's for you. I have my eye on some snails with mushrooms. I'm looking forward to that. That sounds like... They do have the menu in both French and English. Which is nice. I expect everything is good. I think the chef has worked in all kinds of places. Yeah, the chef I'm actually reading here, With his family, 25 seats. It's a very intimate, small restaurant, unassuming from outside. Now, one of the things that I know about this restaurant is it's closed on Sunday and Monday. And this is the type of restaurants that you probably do want to make a reservation. So you're sure to have a table. I'm used to the escargot being laid out in little dips with tons of garlic butter. But I wanted to try... Oh, that is hot. Yeah. Parmesan creamy crumble. That actually looks interesting and good. If there was so much garlic, I would be tempted. Oh, there's two of them there. I'm going to take them both. This is an escargot. No, that looks like... That's a mushroom. That one's a mushroom. Yeah, that's a mushroom. That's an escargot right there. I'm so glad I got that. Okay, I'm going to take my leather hat off. Oh, look at that. There's something fishy about this. There's something very fishy about this. Oh, it's crispy. Yeah, it's crispy. You get the crispiness. I'm going to go with my fingers. Good manners. Is that spinach? That's spinach, leaf spinach. Spinach? It goes amazing together. This is so good. If you like sardines, because Colleen hates sardines. I don't like them at all. But I do. Oh, man. That's a way to start a meal. All right, my darling. That looks amazing. Did he ask you how you wanted it cooked? He did not ask me how I wanted it cooked. He cooked it the way the chef wanted it. I'm happy about it. Okay, and I have the dorad. It's a white fish, yeah, basically. So I'm seeing a few things that are fish. So this chef has to love grilling fish. It takes good skills to make good seafood. What are you struck with? Everything. The explosion of flavor, the sauce that is delightful, the ratatouille underneath. The dorad is so fine, not fishy at all. You're in love. I'm going to take another little piece of steak together with a potato. I'm telling you, this is like really, really excellent food. I'm in a dining room having some of the most amazing food that you'll have in Paris. Without a question. That's extraordinary. I want to try it. I think it's going to ruin my taste buds. It might. This is excellent, no question. But I'm in the mood for a grilled fish today. And this is not, this is a different ballgame. So I'm happy with what I have. I'm glad I tried it. Oh good. You know, oftentimes when they do a ratatouille, it's sliced, but it's cubed. So it's a different texture because of the vegetables a little bit. And instead of being like completely... A big bite of each. Yeah, disintegrating. It's more like there's a crunch to it. And gives you a texture. Okay, give it a shot. I'll feed you. I want you to notice he's giving me ratatouille, not fish. I ain't no fool. Instant regret. Yeah. Awesome. The coffee there? The dessert here? No? Look at this thing. Yeah. With a little raspberry here, a little strawberry, a little coulis of raspberry. Okay, I'm going to be honorable. I'm going to say ladies first. What do you say? I think he just wants me to have the skinny tip. I'll take it. I'm not picky. The crust is really crusted. The lemon part has got some bite to it. But the meringue is almost like whipped cream. I'm going with my fingers. I'm going to take the raspberry. Oh, the little mint wants to come. You know what? You want to come? I'll put the little mint there. I'm going to take the mint out. I'm going to eat the mint. You ate the mint? Did it... You ate all of it? No. Because I'm talking so. Good stuff. I got the mint flavoring on there. What a way to finish a meal with a nice little lemon pie with meringue. If you like this video on restaurants where locals eat, next I would watch this video on mistakes to avoid in Paris restaurants.