Paris: Epicure
The elegant Epicure at the Hôtel Bristol in Paris ranked No. 7 on TripAdvisor's top 10 restaurants in the world. A self-proclaimed "temple of gastronomy" and "defender of French cuisine," the three Michelin-starred restaurant is helmed by chef Eric Frechon, whose signature style is all about "terroir," or evoking a sense of place. This place is none other than France, as dishes from foie gras to smoked oysters in a duck bullion are about as French as it gets. That and and the dress code, which requires men to wear a jacket.
Marseille: Le Petit Nice Passedat
The seafood heavy menu of this three Michelin starred restaurant, Le Petit Nice Passedat, reflects its Mediterranean location in Marseille. The restaurant is famous for its Bouille-Abaisse, three tiers of bouillabaises.
Paris: Alleno Paris
Alleno Paris, formerly known as the Pavillon Ledoyen, was one of two restaurants to receive a coveted 3rd Michelin star this year, winning over critics with chef Yannick Alléno's extravagant haute cuisine, which also won him three Michelin stars as a chef at Le Meurice. The restaurant is a masterpiece itself — a beautiful, historic pavilion in the Jardins des Champs Elysées.
Chagny: Maison Lameloise
Maison Lameloise in Chagny made 3rd place on TripAdvisor's list of the world's best restaurants. The restaurant was family-run for three generations, but is now headed by Eric Pras, who has maintained its three Michelin stars thanks to his signature French dishes made with seasonal and regional ingredients, and innovative take on classics, like gingerbread topped foie gras.
Paris: L'Arpège
Chef Alain Passard was ahead of his time when he opened a biodynamic farm outside of Paris to supply his restaurant years ago (veggies are picked fresh daily, transported to the city by high speed train), shocking diners when he wrote off red meat and seafood in favor of vegetables in 2001. Today, Paris' L'Arpège is rated number 12 in the world by World's 50 Best Restaurants, with simple dishes like an egg becoming world famous, and emulated globally.
Fontevrault-l'Abbaye: Fontevraud Le Restaurant
Once a prison, then a monastery (and burial place of Richard the Lionheart and Eleanor of Aquitaine), now a hotel and restaurant, this new addition to France's culinary scene is highly buzzed about. The 12th-century abbey in Loire Valley was completely restored, and is now a super designy and minimalist hotel. Inside of the former cloister, Le Restaurant focuses on local ingredients: It uses honey from its own bees, herbs from its own garden, and mushrooms that grow in on-site limestone caves.
Lyon: Jour de Marché
The French might not always warm up to Americans, but when it comes to good food they'll put any qualms aside. Chicago chefs Anthony and Caroline Keravec won Michelin's prestigious bib gourmand award for their market-inspired restaurant Jour de Marché in Lyon, where, aptly named, the menu changes daily, and in accordance to whatever produce is available at the market.
Paris: Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée
Alain Ducasse is one of the most famous chefs in the world, and his flagship restaurant in Paris' ritzy Plaza Athénée hotel is a must. And it's not just the food — classic French fare with a focus on organic produce — that stuns: The super stylish décor drops mouths in equal measure.
Megève: Flocons de Sel
Nestled high up in the French Alps, the three Michelin-starred Flocons de Sel (flakes of salt) has brought haute cuisine to new heights — literally and metaphorically. The hotel and restaurant in the ski town of Megève is a rustic Alpine hideaway, which juxtaposes the delicate 10 course tasting menu it features, helmed by local celebrity chef Emmanuel Renaut.
Paris: L'Astrance
A former navy chef redefined fine dining in France. Chef Pascal Barbot's L'Astrance restaurant in Paris is widely credited with heightening the already haute French cuisine, but with a far east twist he picked up during his navy days, with ingredients like lemongrass and daikon commonplace on the menu. There is no menu: you say how many dishes you want and Barbot takes care of the rest.
Illhaeusern: Auberge de L'Ill
Auberge de L'Ill in Illhaeusern, Alsace, got its first Michelin star in 1952 and its third in 1967, and has maintained all three since, even as the restaurant was passed down through decades of the Haeberlin family. Rustic farmhouse on the outside, super swank glass palace on the inside, the menu here is Alsatian with Asian influences.
Paris: Guy Savoy
Guy Savoy's three-Michelin starred restaurant in Paris dishes out haute cuisine full of foie gras and truffles. Recently, he moved his signature restaurant into a 4,300-square-foot space in the site of France's oldest institution: the French mint.
Menton: Mirazur
Mirazur features Mediterranean-inspired food with an Argentine twist, thanks to its Argentine-born chef, Mauro Colagreco. Located in Menton, on the French Riviera, the restaurant boasts views as revelatory as its dishes, and was awarded two Michelin stars as well as the No. 11 spot on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list.
Laguiole: Bras
You can't go wrong at a restaurant with three Michelin stars, but what makes Bras stand out, besides being helmed by another father and son team, is its focus on fresh local herbs and vegetables: most ingredients used are produced in the area, around Laguiole. The house specialty is gargouillou, a fresh mix of vegetables and flowers of the day that might as well be a work of art.
Paris: Mandoobar
In a country often focused on legacy and tradition, this relative newcomer has quickly become a local favorite. Mandoobar in Paris is minimalist and stylish, and famous for its Korean dumplings, which are known as mandoo. Try the house specialty, Gogi Mandoo, dumplings filled with marinated beef and pork, tofu, onions and garlic.
Paris: Clown Bar
Despite the name and the circus scenes painted on the walls, this relative newcomer is not clowning around. Chef Sota Atsumi (who has worked with Joël Robuchon) wows Parisians with his modern take on casual Parisian cuisine at Clown Bar, serving up meals like langoustine beignets, veal tartare and duck breast brioche on a seasonal menu.
Paris: Le Chateaubriand
Formerly a gardener, self-taught chef Inaki Aizpitarte revolutionized Parisian gastronomie by casualizing the once-formal bistro business with Le Chateaubriand, which ranks No. 21 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants. The casual but uber-hip Michelin-starred restaurant features a prix fixe menu that combines French, Asian and Latin American influences, and changes daily.
Roanne: La Maison Troisgros
Chef Michel Troisgros, part of a powerhouse family of French restauranteurs and chefs, proves that he can fill his father's shoes with his super minimalist, three starred French restaurant La Maison Troisgros in Roanne, which was inspired by his grandmother's cooking, and has been in the family since the 1930s.
Learn more about La Maison Troisgros »
Paris: Septime
Septime in Paris is all about minimalism and molecular gastronomy. Its carte blanche tasting menu is so famous, as well as so surprisingly affordable, that you'll have to book months in advance.
Saint-Martin-de-Belleville: La Bouitte
La Bouitte, meaning "little house" in the local dialect, was once just that, in the middle of a potato field in Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, purchased by a French couple in 1976. Over the years, remaining in the family, it has turned into a luxury chalet, surrounded by the Saint-Marcel ski slopes and boasting a restaurant with three Michelin stars, helmed by a father and son duo. The food, like the chalet, manages to be both modern and rustic — think haute comfort food — and is inspired by the surrounding mountains and lakes, with ingredients like lake trout and chanterelles from the forest.