Le Clarence is more than just a meal; it's an extraordinary journey to a parallel world, full of crystal chandeliers and neoclassical paintings. It's the kind of place you imagine important figures from history might have dined once, taking place in a luxurious private mansion, overflowing with wood panelling, mouldings and velvet. Chef Christophe Pelé serves up an incredible seasonal menu – we loved the tempura shrimp, the baby eels and grilled red mullet with bone marrow. Unforgettable stuff.

James Edward Henry and Shaun Kelly escaped to the countryside in the renovated outbuildings of a chateau in Essonne to create an exquisite restaurant in a beautiful setting. The delicate dishes at Le Doyenné include veal steak – grilled on the wood fire – with sides to share around the table, like purslane and grilled green beans and cabbage salad. The garden provides most of the veggies, and small local farms supply the meat. The setting will make sure your soul feel just as nourished.

The Levha sisters, Katia and Tatiana, have been lighting up their corner spot on Rue Saint-Maur since 2014. The setting is drop-dead gorgeous: ceiling mouldings, a vintage fresco, and a bouquet of flowers on the massive brass bar. The cuisine, which hops freely between France and Asia, is boldly innovative and very now: check out the grilled sweetbreads boosted by phrik phao (spicy Thai sauce). Oh, and the carefully selected wines are grea too, heavy on Burgundy reds and whites.

At the helm of this cool bar mixing wood, glass, concrete, and steel, Bertrand Grébaut (of Septime) is your captain on a voyage of seafood. The menu changes based on the day's catch (which is always sustainably sourced). The delicious dishes include spicy Oléron cuttlefish and mullet ceviche with butternut squash. Just watch out: the bill can rise as quickly as the tide. And that’s quick.

Giovanni Passerini has got to be the best Italian chefs in Paris. Hell, we reckon he's one of the top chefs in the city full stop. Passerini's menu is a perfect balance of classic Italian comfort food (think duck ragu tagliatelle and ricotta-spinach ravioli with sage butter) and insanely good gourmet dishes, like the two-course pigeon, which might just have you dreaming about it for weeks after you've paid the (admittedly steep) bill.

Septime hasn't aged a bit since it opened in 2011. This is fine dining in a London pub-type setting; think weathered wood tables, blackened steel and dim lighting. Another thing that hasn’t changed? Bertrand Grébaut's Michelin-starred cuisine, which remains fresh, innovative and delicious (and features a seven-course menu that knows how to build up to a crescendo). It changes every three weeks, but previous highlights include pearly scallops with bone marrow and an incredible grilled sweetbread.

Looking for a starched-tablecloth meal with genteel service and some friendly vegetarian options? Yeah, this isn’t the place. At this Parisian market counter, you eat standing up in the open air (it does get chilly in winter), with Michael Grosman as your endearing host and sommelier; he was named the ‘Best Host in Paris’ at the Time Out Food and Drink Awards. The bold and meaty plates from Japanese chef Shunta Suzuki are just as satisfying as they are pricey. Order the gorgonzola Groix mussels.

A typical 8th district brasserie setting, Le Mermoz looks like something out of the 60s, with bistro-style furniture, a mosaic floor and opaline chandeliers. Its impeccable contemporary cuisine is the brainchild of the gifted Californian chef Thomas Graham and his brilliant team (awarded a prize at the Time Out Paris Food and Drink Awards). Think mackerel in a zucchini flower, roasted lamb medallions with chanterelle mushrooms and wild blueberries, and samphire risotto with sheep's milk yoghurt.

Opaline lighting, a marbled counter, and basket-woven service; Châteaubriand invented the codes of bistronomy in 2006 and has been breaking boundaries ever since. From its kitchen, the iconic chef Iñaki Aizpitarte always strays from the mainstream. It's a true author's cuisine; vibrant, energetic, and almost punk. Sometimes you miss the mark a bit, sometimes it hits the bull's-eye. But however it turns out, everything he sends out is innovative, fresh and exciting.

This bistro may have officially opened in 2016 and not cost much, but it has an old soul. It sort of feels like the kind of place where figures from history have sat, and where your favourite author may have enjoyed some snails back in the 80s. Of course, Les Alorts serves its iconic sausage and mash, unbeatable at the top of the bistro pantheon, but everything else on the menu is finely crafted and perfectly executed. Take our word for it: this is the best bistro in Paris.