Restaurant favorites, 2025
Dandelion, Shabour, Le Saint Sébastien, Chez Carrie, Apdikt, holiday cocktails
Where should you eat (and drink) right now
At FOUND, we capture the restaurant (and bar) scene via three primary lenses — short narrative pieces relaying our experiences dining in the field (First Person, First Word & FOUND Table), distilled lists of recommendations (The Nines), and interviews with the city’s movers, shakers, and industry insiders of taste (Routines).
FOUND is fascinated with what’s new, reporting regularly on just-opened spots before the rush. Just as interesting to us: those places that haven’t received their just acclaim, and old favorites that reward return visits. And while we will spend 350 € per person for an extraordinary experience, we are equally at home at an exemplary neighborhood bistrot.
Across the breadth of our coverage, we’re as focused on the room and the vibe — the way the restaurant makes you feel — as we are the food. We’re also obsessed with the movements and trends shaping the dining scene. And finally, our coverage reaches beyond the city and into weekend getaway markets (i.e., “surrounds”).
Here now, a sampler of FOUND pieces from our first year in restaurants for your holiday enjoyment.
RESTAURANTS • First Word
Dandelion wine
The Skinny: When Antoine Villard wrote his last assignment at prestigious cookery school Ferrandi, it was about one day opening a restaurant in the 20th arrondissement. After hunkering down here for the pandemic, and hanging out with friends in the neighborhood even longer, Villard finally opened Dandelion with sommelier Morgane Souris last summer.
The Vibe: Villard and Souris picked a century-old neighborhood bistro on rue des Vignoles and decorated it with help from Souris’s architect friend to create their own modern version. The laid-back, undone styling — unfinished walls, exposed brick painted white, simple dark wood furnishings — is cool but not pretentious, and rather romantic when lit by the evening candles.
The Food: Villard has plenty of experience in tasting menus and fine dining (Septime, Restaurant Guy Savoy) but at Dandelion, he’s gone à la carte with a reassuringly tight menu of just four starters and four mains. It’s mostly a contemporary take on French cuisine, exhibited in Villard’s deft use of sauces that add a kick to seasonal ingredients. Asian influences from his time at Double Dragon are also at play. Sweetbreads with a satay and shrimp jus, Meyer lemon, and chilli pepper are a good example of all of the above coming together on the plate. Homemade cavatelli with cavolo nero, Cantabrian anchovies, and taggiasca olives also introduce a bit of the Mediterranean. Desserts are fancier reinterpretations of more down-to-earth French favorites. We couldn’t choose between the old-fashioned café Liégeois and the “chou” version of a tarte Tropézienne, but with only two sweets on the menu, Dandelion makes it easy: get one of each and share.
The Drink: Having found her passion for wine at Parcelles, Souris has put together an excellent list of natural and classic bottles, though there’s also a very good dirty martini (among other cocktails) to get things started.
The Verdict: This elegant neo-bistro is refined enough for special occasions, but shouldn’t be saved for them — it’s too good to wait until one comes around. With tables booked up two months in advance, reserve now and make whatever evening you manage to get into something special. –Nicola Leigh Stewart, 27/06/25
→ Dandelion (20th arr) • 46 Rue des Vignoles • Tue-Thu 19h15-22h30, Fri-Sat 12h-15h, 19h15-10h30 • Book.
RESTAURANTS • First Person
Open minded
Shabour doesn’t feel like fine dining — until the food hits the table. Opened by chef Assaf Granit (known for Balagan, Tekés, and Machneyuda), the narrow, candlelit spot is loud, irresistibly alive. There’s no traditional dining room. Instead, you’re seated around a central open kitchen, where chefs shout orders and laugh with servers — dinner and a show.
The menu changes often, but its vibe stays the same: deep flavors, bold spices, and unexpected combinations. One night, it might be a creamy polenta laced with harissa and brown butter; the next, a slow-cooked egg yolk nestled in freekeh. Dishes move between France and Israel without warning, like tuna tartare spiked with fermented chili, or pigeon roasted in pomegranate molasses. There’s also a signature “bread moment” mid-meal, with warm challah or buttery brioche to scoop up whatever’s left. For most of the dishes, you’ll be more than encouraged to eat with your fingers.
The wine list is mostly natural, the playlist is wild, and the service feels like a tight-knit family that forgot you weren’t actually their cousin. Shabour may be a tasting menu restaurant, but don’t expect anything classic. –Victoire Loup, 19/09/25
→ Shabour (2nd arr) • 19 Rue Saint-Sauveur • Lunch Fri-Sat 12h-13h, Dinner Mon-Sat 19h-22h30 • Reserve.
WORK • Friday Routine
Queen of the castle
DANIELA LAVADENZ • restaurant owner • Le Saint Sébastien
Neighborhood you live and work in: 11th arr
It’s Friday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
Le Saint Sébastien is a neo-bistrot in the 11th, which is where I live too, within walking distance of the restaurant. We’re only open for dinner, so we start our work day at 14h. I’m very involved in the daily operational life of the restaurant, all day, every day, which is normal when you work for yourself. My husband is a business owner, too; he runs a great craft brewery near Paris, Deck & Donohue, and his schedule is dynamic like mine, so we’ve created our own balance. Fridays are often a very busy service for us; it requires organization of the main room (where we welcome the guests), the wine selection, and coordination between kitchen and front of house. A few hours before service, things feel lively — great vibes, and a little bit of adrenaline before the evening starts.
What’s on the agenda for today?
Small but important tasks — replying to client requests, paying invoices, validating wine orders with the providers, checking food costs, and creating social media content. I need to catch up on them now, as tomorrow, I’m going to be on the floor, so I’ll have less time for the back office tasks.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
This weekend, we’re heading to Alsace, where my husband is from. He’s booked us a table at La Nouvelle Auberge in the village of Wihr-au-Val. We’re going for its amazing wine program, so I’m really excited to discover the menu. Another restaurant I loved for the wine is La Table de Chaintré in Mâcon in Burgundy. It has one of the best wine lists in the region, so I’m keen to go back. Otherwise, in Paris, I often go to Clamato, Café du Coin for their pizzetas, Ten Belles for a quick lunch (they have the best egg mayo focaccia) and Le Mary Celeste for a small bite to eat with a nice glass of wine.
Any weekend getaways?
We own a cottage in the north of Burgundy, in a region called Yonne, and for the last two years, we go there as much as our schedules let us. Since we bought it, every second of my free time has been spent looking around for interior inspiration, then scouring secondhand websites like Le Bon Coin, Proantic, Interencheres, and the auction house Drouot for furniture, china, chandeliers, and so on. My other main activity since we bought the cottage is planting raspberries and blackberries out in the garden, and removing the weeds. During the summers we’ve been going to Les Estivales de Puisaye, which puts on an amazing show of classical music in castles and chapels around Yonne.
I also love visiting castles, the villages around them, and during the summertime, the village flea markets. Among my favorites are Château de Fontainebleau and Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, both around a one-and-a-half-hour drive from Paris, and Château d’Azay-le-Rideau, which is around a four-and-a-half-hour drive.
What was your last great vacation?
It was the Scottish Highlands in April last year, a destination that I’d had in mind for a really long time. We stayed at The Whitebridge Hotel, a beautiful old hunting lodge turned hotel and pub in Inverness before driving up to the Isle of Skye where we stayed at Viewfield House, a gorgeous Victorian manor house in Portree. Whilst there we visited Stirling Castle and Urquhart Castle (like I said, I love castles), Rosslyn Chapel and Roslin Glen, and Scone Palace, a former royal Scottish palace, nothing to do with pastry! The restaurant we loved the most was Inver in Strathlachlan in Argyll & Bute.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
A patchwork platter from Astier de Villatte & Saquai. I think it was a limited edition, but I love what Astier de Villatte do in general. I’m a big fan of the coupelles, which are like small dishes or saucers, and the coupe and the gobelet in the Lion Collection. –21/03/25
RESTAURANTS • First Word
American in Paris
The Skinny: Best-known as the woman who taught Parisians to love vegetables, Michigan native Carrie Solomon carved out an impressive gastronomic career for herself since arriving here 23 years ago. She’s authored several cookbooks, had a column in Elle a Table and was hired by the French public schools to develop vegetarian recipes for their cafeterias. After a recent stint cheffing at Aube in the 11th arrondissement, she finally hung out her own shingle last month at Chez Carrie, a Californian/Mediterranean restaurant in the Sentier.
The Vibe: The intimate premises of a former café have gotten a pleasantly bohemian makeover with a jaunty butter-yellow awning, a white-painted beamed ceiling, and a custom-made wooden bar wide enough for a meal. From day one, this place has been a favorite for an international crowd of digital nomads, stylists, designers, and artists.
The Food & Drink: “My goal was to use American cooking, with its big bold flavors, prominent textures, hot sauces and pickles to invent dishes the French would actually want to eat,” says Solomon. “I’m not vegetarian, but there will never be red meat on my menus, because of the toll producing it takes on the environment. For me, meat is best used as a condiment.”
Signature dishes from her regularly evolving menu include Caesar salad made with fried anchovies and varying greens, like cabbage; cioppino with langoustines and fermented tomatoes; deviled eggs with spicy mayonnaise (“a totem of my Midwestern childhood,” Solomon says); hearty soups like ajo blanco (Spanish white-bean and garlic soup); fried polenta with tzatziki made with lacto-fermented vegetables; zucchini fritters with kimchi; and carrot-cake ice cream. Pancakes with homemade syrups like fig leaf star at brunch.
The Verdict: A welcome outpost of delicious, modern American eating with friendly serving hours, a mellow atmosphere, and great people-watching. –Alexander Lobrano, 31/10/25
→ Chez Carrie (2nd arr) • 14 rue Léopold Bellan • Tue-Fri 11h-15h & 18h-22h, Sat 10h-23h, Sun 10h-16h • Book.
Photo: Joann Pai
GETAWAYS • Luxembourg
Lingering riot
The Skinny: Housed in the village’s former pharmacy, Apdikt is part old-world apothecary, part contemporary sanctuary — a space where every detail hums with quiet intent. The spirit of Hippocrates is literally etched into the glass: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”
The Vibe: An open kitchen offers a view of chef Mathieu Van Wetteren — or “captain,” as he calls himself — sailing towards the season’s prime produce, indie rock at his sails. “Lisztomania” by Phoenix is on the stereo, and I’m 15 again, seated at the white tablecloth, waiting for the riot to come.
The room is dimly lit textural, serious, but unpretentious. There are rough limewashed walls, soft tiles, and a striking black wood bar anchored by a green Bankers lamp. Large jars labeled with plant names in sober gothic script dot the space, evoking a potion workshop that just happens to serve impeccable food. Up a flight of stairs, the toilets are surrealist plunge pools of sorts — tiled in deep aquatic greens, with tattoo-style illustrations and playful nods to the chef’s world. The table is set with intention, but I won’t spoil it — its progression is part of the curated experience.
The Food: Each course of the tasting menu delivers impact with precision, never overpowering. It’s the rhythm of perfectly tuned drums: deep, expansive, immersive. One dish mirrors Phoenix’s outpouring of emotions, a chawanmushi with kombu and roasted scallops dashi, bbq peas, topped with sake-marinated salmon roe and a wild garlic oil. So clear in its flavors and balance, I almost didn’t want to take another bite so the moment wouldn’t end.
The stuffed morel, filled with brandade mousse, veiled in a hazelnut foam and a wild garlic jus, is all umami and forest — dark and light in one bite. Chef Mathieu breaks my heart a little, as I don’t see bread on the horizon. I could glide on the jus; surprisingly the vessel makes it very spoonable. The pieces are brought back together as the next dish comes with a shiny saucepan left tableside, accompanied (of course) by a thick-crusted bread.
Desserts follow the same principle: full-bodied but never heavy. A truffle ice cream with Isigny chantilly, caramel of topinambour, and sablé crumble is decadent but focused. An ice cream sandwich — gaufrette, pickled plum marmalade, crushed nuts — is the kind of bite that keeps you silent. One might expect a pharmaceutical coolness, a detached precision, but the plates are incredibly generous in taste and texture. Comforting, yet striking. Think less, but see it grow.
The Drink: The wine pairing is revelatory. As a somm myself, it’s the first time I truly understood how magical a perfect pairing can be — a complete experience. Each sip of the vinho verde accompanying the briny scallop carpaccio takes you deeper: you’re not at the table anymore, you’re at the criée with an oyster still on your tongue. The wine journey is deeply considered — an off-the-beaten-path Côtes du Rhône blanc from Elodie Jaume, a 2019 Merlot from Bordeaux, L’Étoile du Temps, closes the meal with the pigeon — round, earthy, and exactly what the name suggests: a bit timeless, and a rare Banyuls blanc from the far south of Roussillon. Every sip matched to a moment. There’s no non-alcoholic pairing, but a marigold kombucha from Belgian maker Rish fills the gap with grace.
The Verdict: Apdikt doesn’t shout — it murmurs, it simmers, it lingers. A house of precision, generosity, and slow-blooming wonder. You leave full but not heavy, senses sharpened, palate grateful, and already plotting your return. Like a riot — inspiring. –Candice Chemel, 27/06/25
→ Apdikt (Luxembourg) • 1 rue des Martyrs • Tue-Sat 19h-22h • Book.
BARS • The Nines
Hotel bars, for holiday cocktails
The Nines are FOUND’s distilled lists of the best in Paris and surrounds. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or email found@foundparis.com.
Les Ambassadeurs – Hôtel de Crillon (8th arr), timeless bar on Place de la Concorde in space where Marie Antoinette allegedly took piano lessons
Bar Joséphine – Hotel Lutetia (6th arr), show-stopping bar near Le Bon Marché, regarded for unique cocktail creations and live music
Bar Hemingway – The Ritz (1st arr), classic space where Serendipity cocktail (Calvados, fresh apple juice, Champagne, and mint) was created
Wilde’s Lounge – L’Hôtel (6th arr), regular outpost of artists and actors, known for elegant, clandestine vibe, recurring live music
Le Bar Bibliothèque – Saint James Paris (16th arr), sophisticated space marked w/ leather books and wood paneling, try signature cocktails such as the Poire (pear, armagnac, and vanilla) and Saint James Julep
Bar Sur le Toit – La Fantaisie (9th arr), panoramic views and craft cocktails served on 7th floor rooftop featuring views of the city and plant-filled terrace
Bar 228 – Le Maurice (1st arr), hideaway located a 10-minute walk from Louvre, known for signature Le 228 cocktail made with Champagne, pear, lychee, raspberry
Le Très Particulier – Hôtel Particulier Montmartre (18th arr), intimate space tucked away in former Montmartre mansion, velvet furniture and lush greenery
Jacques – The Hoxton (2nd arr), contemporary bar boasts speakeasy vibe and Moroccan-inspired decor for themed cocktails and stunning 8th century staircase –12/12/25