Feast Your Taste Buds on Paris’ Right Bank

Paris’s Rive Droite (Right Bank) is quite simply one of the best places in the world to treat your taste buds. Whether you’re after a charming street café or a sophisticated Paris restaurant, the Right Bank is where you’ll find it and – more often than not – fall in love with it. Here are a few of the best French restaurants and hip cafés to check out.

Cool Rive Droite cafés

A trip to the Right Bank simply wouldn’t be complete without visiting a traditional Parisian corner café. The Café Des Arts (7 rond point Rhin et Danube) in Boulogne-Billancourt is an ideal one to visit. It has a first-class menu offering everything from quick-fix coffees to full-on traditional French meals, and it really does have a timeless feel about it. Sitting outside, after a stroll around the exquisite formal gardens of the Parc Saint-Cloud, is a quintessentially Parisian treat.

You can’t spend a weekend in Paris without having at least one proper croque-monsieur. The place to go for this is the convivial Fric Frac café on Quai de Valmy. People from all across Paris come to this picturesque corner of the 10^th arrondissement to savour anything from the diverse menu that pushes the bread-ham-cheese combo well past its traditional remit. Its signature stack, the Aztec, manages to stuff in free-range chicken and red beans along with a generous helping of peppers and cilantro, and serves a small mixed salad and homemade chips alongside. Drinks wise, they have craft beers, micro-filtered water and fruit juice, although it’s the custom organic coffee – a nutty, dark chocolate number with a touch of green apple – that really stands out.

Ravishing Rive Droite restaurants

If you’re looking for a sleek Paris restaurant that’ll make you feel like a real food connoisseur then Septime (80 Rue de Charonne) is it. The industrial decor, with huge mirrors, antique flooring and stylish furniture, provide a hint that you’re in a restaurant where contemporary culinary magic is practised. The food conjured up in the open kitchen is delectable, with the likes of raw horse mackerel with yoghurt and red cabbage, or velouté of eggs, mushrooms and chicken. You’ll need to book ahead – this is a Paris restaurant that foodies love to book out months in advance.

While dining out on classic French food is of course a must during your time in Paris, you might want to opt for something a little less Gallic one night. Acqua e Farina (38 Rue Faidherbe) is a sumptuous yet straightforward place to dine. The first thing that will strike you about this tiny yet ever-so-charming pizzeria in the 11^th arrondissement is the warm welcome by the staff. This super-friendly team really does go out of its way to ensure your dining experience is second to none. The fact that the pizzas and pasta are out of this world, and that they have a fabulous selection of Italian wines (served by the glass), tops things off perfectly. Don’t even think about leaving without trying the tiramisu.