City guide · Paris

The Best Value-for-Money Restaurants in Paris

Bib Gourmand tables, world-food canteens and a mythical bouillon: where the plate far outweighs the bill, from the 5th to the 18th arrondissement.

By the Gatto editorial team4 min read9 places
The Best Value-for-Money Restaurants in Paris

Eating well in Paris without spending your rent is possible, provided you know where to go. This selection gathers the addresses where quality far outweighs the bill: bistros holding a Bib Gourmand, the Michelin distinction that specifically rewards good cooking at moderate prices, world-food canteens backed by thousands of reviews, and the indestructible bouillon populaire.

On the bistro side, Le CasseNoix in the 15th, Gilles Choukroun's Baca'v in the 5th and Jouvence, set in a 1900s former pharmacy near the Aligre market, all carry the Bib Gourmand. On the world-food side, Gourou turns India into a sharing feast in the 11th, and Mắm From Hanoï, a Vietnamese table in the Sentier also holding a Bib, is deservedly packed.

And for the smallest budgets, two institutions: Bouillon Pigalle and its great classics served from noon to midnight, and Chez Mamane, the Butte-aux-Cailles couscous, where 86-year-old Mamane still mans the stoves.

Places in this guide

  1. Mắm From Hanoï
    1Vietnamese restaurant

    Mắm From Hanoï

    The Sentier's Bib Gourmand Vietnamese table: a Hanoi-born couple, authentic Northern Vietnamese cooking and nems worth the trip on their own according to Télérama.

    « Light and crispy, the famous pork nems are worth the trip on their own. »

    Télérama
  2. Abri Soba
    2Japanese restaurant

    Abri Soba

    The 9th arrondissement's soba specialist, holding a Bib Gourmand: chef Katsuaki Okiyama's buckwheat noodles, cold or hot, lunch and dinner, at neighbourhood-Japanese prices.

    « Do you know soba, Japanese buckwheat noodles? This restaurant has made them its speciality and serves them, so to speak, in every possible way »

    Le Guide Michelin
  3. Le CasseNoix
    3Bistro

    Le CasseNoix

    The 15th arrondissement's Bib Gourmand bistro, on the quiet side of the Champ de Mars: a chef trained under Christian Constant at the Crillon and at La Régalade, hearty traditional cooking at measured prices.

    « This Orléans native, trained in the big city of Paris, learned his craft from the very best. »

    gillespudlowski.com
  4. Baca'v
    4Bistro

    Baca'v

    Gilles Choukroun's Bib Gourmand in the 5th: a chef past all fashions playing the innkeeper with lively, mischievous dishes, rated 4.8 out of 5 by the public.

    « He has moved past every fashion and now plays the good-natured innkeeper with talent, offering lively, mischievous dishes »

    gillespudlowski.com
  5. Bouillon Pigalle
    5Bistro

    Bouillon Pigalle

    The bouillon that revived the genre: great bistro classics served from noon to midnight at low prices, more than 57,000 reviews, and a queue that never empties in Pigalle.

    « From noon to midnight, Bouillon Pigalle delivers the great bistro classics at a brisk pace and low prices. The go-to for small budgets. »

    Sortir à Paris
  6. CHOUKRAN – Restaurant Marocain, Paris 9
    6Moroccan restaurant

    CHOUKRAN – Restaurant Marocain, Paris 9

    Chef Abdel Alaoui's generous Morocco in the 9th: refreshed kemias, polished couscous, a still-climbing rating and nearly 5,000 reviews at 4.8 out of 5.

    « Major crush alert for this fresh address! »

    doitinparis.com
    9 mentionsRating rising
    See the full place file
  7. Horiz
    7Chinese restaurant

    Horiz

    On Rue Volta, the Lin brothers turned the family restaurant into a contemporary table of Southeast China: precise cooking, contained prices and one of the 3rd arrondissement's best signals.

    « Horiz proves that in Paris, the renewal of Chinese cooking does not always come down to a grain of madness, but sometimes simply to a grain of rice! »

    Sortir à Paris
  8. Jouvence
    8Bistro

    Jouvence

    A 1900s former pharmacy turned Bib Gourmand bistro, steps from the Aligre market: modern cooking, a fine wine list and one of the 12th's best quality-price ratios.

    « In the 12th arrondissement, steps from the Aligre market, Jouvence has occupied a 1900s former pharmacy since 2016 »

    starwinelist.com
  9. Gourou
    9Indian restaurant

    Gourou

    The playful India of Rue Léon Frot, praised by Gilles Pudlowski: generous sharing plates and 4.8 out of 5 across 7,000+ reviews, a rare landslide in the 11th.

    « The menu was designed to follow the table's cravings, then share everything between guests. »

    Sortir à Paris

Frequently asked questions

What is a Bib Gourmand?
It is the Michelin guide distinction rewarding good cooking at moderate prices. Five addresses in this selection hold one: Le CasseNoix, Baca'v, Jouvence, Mắm From Hanoï and Abri Soba.
Where can I eat well in Paris on a small budget?
Bouillon Pigalle serves the great bistro classics at low prices, from noon to midnight. Chez Mamane, in Butte-aux-Cailles, offers a hearty Algerian couscous at gentle prices.
Does good value mean simple cooking?
No: the selection includes chef-driven tables such as Gilles Choukroun's Baca'v, and Abri Soba, Katsuaki Okiyama's address devoted to Japanese buckwheat noodles, both holding a Bib Gourmand.
Do I need to book?
For Mắm From Hanoï, yes: Michelin notes you should book several days ahead. For the others, arrive early or check, as several of these addresses fill up every night.
Which neighbourhoods are these addresses in?
All over: from the 5th (Baca'v) to the 15th (Le CasseNoix), from the Sentier (Mắm From Hanoï) to the 11th (Gourou), from the 3rd (Horiz, Rue Volta) to Butte-aux-Cailles (Chez Mamane) and Pigalle (the bouillon).