A HoodTip guide by Dave

Keith McNally’s Paris

The bistros that made Balthazar

Guide by DaveDave’s Paris file · 8 places · Bistros · 8 verified places
HoodTip editorial illustration of a warmly lit Paris bistro with mirrored walls and red banquettes

Why this exists

Before Balthazar and Pastis, there was a week of red banquettes, old mirrors and handwritten menus in Paris.

Keith McNally understands something about restaurants that is difficult to put on a menu: the way a room makes you feel.

He is the restaurateur behind Balthazar, Pastis, Minetta Tavern and a long list of New York places that somehow feel old even when they are new. The lighting is flattering. The mirrors look as if they have survived several owners. The room is busy without feeling frantic. Everything appears accidental, although almost none of it is.

That instinct has a Paris origin story. In 1978, Anna Wintour invited a broke, 26-year-old McNally to Paris and took him to a string of classic bistros and brasseries. He later said that the week did not convince him to stay in France. It convinced him to return to New York and build his own version of a Parisian restaurant.

Chez Georges was the place that got under his skin most deeply. Decades later, he publicly called Chez Paul his favorite Paris bistro. The other six addresses below were all part of that formative week.

I have always admired McNally’s ability to make a restaurant feel like a scene from a film you wish you were in. This is my attempt to trace that feeling back to its source.

This is an unofficial guide compiled by Dave from Keith McNally’s public interviews, writing and Instagram posts. HoodTip is not affiliated with or endorsed by Keith McNally or his restaurants. The recommendation text below is HoodTip editorial copy, not a quotation from McNally. Restaurant details should be confirmed before visiting. See Keith McNally’s public profile →

Map of central Paris showing eight numbered bistros connected to Keith McNally
8 bistros across ParisMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Paris

Eight classic bistros and brasseries across Paris.

8 places
Rue du Mail outside Chez Georges in Paris

Classic bistro · 2nd arrondissement

Chez Georges

The one that started it This is the essential stop. Of all the restaurants McNally visited during that first Paris trip, Chez Georges was his favorite. He remembered the garlic and butter in the air, the red banquettes, old mirrors, handwritten menus and formally dressed waiters. You can see the ingredients of Balthazar before Balthazar existed. Go for the complete room rather than a single fashionable dish: snails, egg mayonnaise, steak, sole and something unapologetically French for dessert. Tables are close, the mood is warm and the whole place feels resistant to time. Reserve ahead.
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Photo: Mbzt / Wikimedia Commons · cropped, resized and converted · CC BY 4.0
The white facade and awning of Chez Paul on rue de Charonne

Traditional bistro · 11th arrondissement

Chez Paul

His later favorite In 2023, McNally posted from Chez Paul and called it his favorite bistro in Paris. That is enough reason to include it, but the place also makes sense as a McNally restaurant: dark wood, old tile, crowded tables and the feeling that dinner should run longer than planned. This is the Bastille stop for traditional food and a lively, unpolished room. Come hungry, order something slow-cooked and settle in. It serves continuously and stays open late enough to be useful after the rest of your day has drifted off schedule.
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Photo: bslax28 / Wikimedia Commons · cropped, resized and converted · CC BY 2.0
Watercolor editorial illustration of the wood-fronted Allard bistro in ParisIllustration · HoodTip

Left Bank bistro · 6th arrondissement

Allard

The polished old survivor Allard has been serving generous French cooking since 1932. It is more polished now—it is part of Alain Ducasse’s group—but the narrow room, red upholstery and family-style classics still carry the old-bistro mood. This is a good Saint-Germain lunch when you want the whole ceremony: a proper table, a bottle of wine and food built for sharing. Do not rush it. The point is not merely to eat but to spend part of the afternoon inside an older version of Paris.
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Illustration: HoodTip / OpenAI image generation
The red awning and terrace of La Coupole on boulevard du Montparnasse

Art Deco brasserie · 14th arrondissement

La Coupole

Go for the room La Coupole is the grandest address in this guide. It is less intimate neighborhood bistro and more full-scale Paris production: painted columns, Art Deco geometry, seafood, waiters moving through a room large enough to have its own weather. The food matters, but the architecture is the tip. Go when the room is alive, order from the brasserie canon and look around. McNally has always understood that people remember how a restaurant made them feel long after they forget exactly what they ate. La Coupole demonstrates the point at full volume.
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Photo: LPLT / Wikimedia Commons · cropped, resized and converted · CC BY-SA 3.0
Watercolor editorial illustration of Chez René on a rainy Paris streetIllustration · HoodTip

Traditional bistro · 5th arrondissement

Chez René

The quiet classic Chez René sits on Boulevard Saint-Germain without behaving like a restaurant designed for the boulevard. The room is compact, traditional and refreshingly uninterested in reinvention. This is where to go for a straightforward old-school dinner near the Latin Quarter: white tablecloths, close conversation and familiar French dishes served without a lengthy explanation. It is the kind of restaurant that makes a strong case for leaving some things alone.
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Illustration: HoodTip / OpenAI image generation
The white Vaudeville brasserie facade and sidewalk terrace in Paris

Brasserie and seafood · 2nd arrondissement

Vaudeville

Lunch by the Bourse Vaudeville is a handsome brasserie opposite the old stock exchange, with Art Deco details, polished service and enough seafood to turn an ordinary lunch into an occasion. Use it when central Paris becomes overwhelming and you want to sit down somewhere that knows exactly what it is. Oysters or a seafood platter make sense here, followed by one of the traditional mains and no further plans for an hour or two.
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Photo: Mbzt / Wikimedia Commons · cropped, resized and converted · CC BY 4.0
The corner facade of Au Pied de Cochon near Les Halles in Paris

Les Halles brasserie · 1st arrondissement

Au Pied de Cochon

The late-night institution Au Pied de Cochon was built to feed the old Les Halles market and still operates on a schedule designed for people whose nights do not end at a sensible hour. It is open from morning until 5 a.m., seven days a week. The famous pig’s foot is there if you are feeling committed, but the broader tip is usefulness: onion soup, oysters, charcuterie and brasserie food in the middle of Paris when most kitchens have gone dark. Keep this one saved for the night you need it.
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Photo: GFreihalter / Wikimedia Commons · cropped, resized and converted · CC BY-SA 3.0
The red awning and street-facing windows of Brasserie Balzar in Paris

Latin Quarter brasserie · 5th arrondissement

Brasserie Balzar

The Sorbonne stop Balzar is a compact Left Bank brasserie near the Sorbonne that has fed students, professors, writers and neighborhood regulars for generations. It feels less cinematic than La Coupole and more like a place built into the daily machinery of its street. Come for lunch after the Luxembourg Gardens or before wandering the Latin Quarter. Order from the classics, take the room as it is and enjoy a restaurant that has been doing roughly the same job since the nineteenth century.
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Photo: Calyste23 / Wikimedia Commons · cropped, resized and converted · CC BY-SA 3.0