These Are The Best Destinations In Paris Where Anthony Bourdain Ate

"Most of us are lucky to see Paris once in a lifetime," Anthony Bourdain wrote in "Kitchen Confidential," the book that launched it all. The beloved writer and television personality was fortunate enough to visit Paris countless times, and he documented three of those visits on his shows "No Reservations" and "The Layover." He even visited the culinary capital in one of the first-ever episodes of "No Reservations" and returned to the City of Lights for the 100th episode. Few chefs were as curious about international cuisine as Bourdain, as he visited 80 countries throughout the two decades he spent filming 300 episodes of his shows. Plus, he visited more restaurants on camera in Paris than any other city except New York City.

Bourdain loved Paris, and he found an endless supply of restaurants to further his notion that the French have a "sensual point of view that drives not only their cuisine, but their entire existence." We weeded through all of the spots Bourdain visited on his documented trips to the French capital to determine the best of the best, evaluating which restaurants had the best reviews, the most accolades by food organizations and bloggers, and were most adored by Bourdain. To learn more about how we created this list, visit the last slide of this article. And no matter where you're heading, Anthony Bourdain's best travel tips are well worth following.

"The menu's small, the wine's young, and the price tag is cheap," Bourdain said about Au Passage, a bistro that the chef visited with a prominent French food journalist. But still, Bourdain said Au Passage was "refreshingly simple," offering only a seasonal, daily-changing prix fixe menu with a choice of two entrees. That menu speaks to visitors, as Au Passage has garnered four stars on Tripadvisor, with one reviewer saying, "This ended up being one of our favorite restaurants in Paris so we went back for a second time on our last night. The food is inventive and delicious. EVERYTHING is amazing! We can't wait to go back to Paris to eat there again!"

Like other casual Paris bistros Bourdain noticed were becoming increasingly popular, Au Passage has a jovial atmosphere that is anything but stuffy. However, joy is easy to come by when a restaurant has an interesting wine list full of both natural and low-priced wines. Bourdain certainly couldn't help but smile here, especially when his meal ended with a drool-worthy cheese plate that the French are experts at creating.

No meal is complete without dessert. Bourdain stopped for a sweet treat at Berthillon, a shop on a Paris island that serves arguably the best ice cream in the city. He ordered cherry — in-season during his visit — and salted caramel cream, both of which garnered a "Wow. Ridiculous," from Bourdain. Berthillon has a whopping four-and-a-half stars on Tripadvisor, and visitors can't stop raving about it. "The most delicious and natural ice creams I ever tried!" said one. "Delicious! Highly recommended, do not miss out if you are in Paris, you would be surprised!"

It's also a spot with an interesting history that Bourdain shared with "The Layover" viewers. He told his audience that shop founder Monsieur Berthillon wouldn't even give his sons his ice cream recipes. The influential figure also had a fondness for moseying around the street in front of the ice cream shop, sweeping as journalists swarmed, hunting for Monsieur Berthillon. His response? "I don't know where he is. He never comes in."

Parisians have long congregated in the Les Halles district, and the area has tons of bistros. Chez Denise is one such spot, a century-old bistro that built a reputation for transforming less-appetizing cuts of meat affordable for the masses (like lamb brain and calves' liver) into "something magical," according to Bourdain. Inside the loud, bustling eatery outfitted with walls lined in eclectic, colorful artwork and patterned tiled floors, Bourdain feasted on a pot of blanquette de veau (a French veal stew) upon a red-checkerboard table.

Chez Denise even has a vault-like wine cellar kept where countless age-old bottles line the walls underneath the low ceilings that 6-foot-4-inch Bourdain had to duck down to fit beneath. But even if you stay above ground, you'll love your stay at Chez Denise. It has four stars on Tripadvisor, with one reviewer saying, "Because of the Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" show of this restaurant, lots of people look for it ... and do it, go for it. It was my best meal in Paris." Visitors choose their meals from a chalkboard menu, another old-school nod that Chez Denise has kept alive. To get a table here, however, make sure you make a reservation in advance — and you should also probably speak some French. This spot is no tourist trap, as there is no English menu, and English isn't widely spoken among the staff.

Despite all the high-end restaurants in Paris, Bourdain believed that the hardest reservation to get in the city is one at Le Comptoir. According to acclaimed chef Eric Ripert — Bourdain's dining companion throughout his shows — it's "the perfect bistro." Even Bourdain needed help getting a table at the regaled restaurant, requiring a favor from the owner of La Quincave, who is friends with the owner of Le Comptoir and sister wine bar L'Avant Comptoir (which means "before Comptoir"). Bourdain eventually experiences what all the fuss is about as he dines on foie gras, crab, flying fish eggs, and ravioli of blood sausage, which the "No Reservations" star said was "one of the best things I've tasted all year."

A Tripadvisor reviewer agreed. "My wife had ravioli and her eyes rolled back in her head, so I suspect she was well pleased. Best casual dining experience ever. Loved this place." So do nearly 1,000 other reviewers, who gave Le Comptoir four-and-a-half stars. Whether you snag the prix fixe dinner by booking a reservation months in advance or opt for a few bites from the stand-up hors d'oeuvre and wine bar that even includes communal bread and butter, you should prepare for something special. Bourdain even said, "I can't tell you how happy-making this is." But don't miss out on the deviled eggs, which the owner of La Quincave — who joined Bourdain for dinner — says is his favorite.

Le Chateaubriand is the anti-French restaurant that Bourdain and Ripert speak about throughout a season 6 episode of "No Reservations" in Paris. "It looks like a pub, a noisy, minimally decorated pub. It has a ridiculously tiny kitchen. And a single prix fixe menu per day," said Bourdain. Despite those relative limitations, it more than delivered. Bourdain and Ripert dined on beef carpaccio with fava and green beans, anchovies, rouget, chicken liver, and white sea bream with white asparagus, mascarpone cheese, and brown butter. "It's amazing. It's devastating," Bourdain said.

That it is. Le Chateaubriand has four stars on Tripadvisor, with one reviewer saying, "Incredible tasting menu lunch. Amazing service and stellar food. A Bourdain stop for a reason, they were the standout place from our trip." But Bourdain and us common folk aren't the only ones clamoring for a table at Le Chateaubriand, which opened in 2006. It has been named one of the best restaurants in the world under the helm of cutting-edge Basque chef Iñaki Aizpitarte and has led a whole new movement of hip French cooking, where traditions had to make way for what was new and exciting. It's no surprise that, despite its counterculture vibe, it has earned Michelin stars. If you want to grab a table here, make sure you're down to try whatever Aizpitarte feels like cooking up for the day — even better if you have a penchant for natural wines.

Being just about 100 miles from the ocean, Paris knows its seafood. And according to Bourdain, there's no better place to get it in Paris than Le Dôme, a white-tablecloth eatery surrounded by lush greenery known for its super-fresh seafood. Bourdain says it is one of the best restaurants in the European foodie city, but he's barely the first famous face to make his mark on Le Dôme. Iconic names such as Ernest Hemingway have been here, and some of the items on the menu have even been named after the notable figures who once dined on them. Bourdain went for the restaurant's delectable shellfish tower, and he wasted no time digging into it — and even got a few stains on his shirt in the meantime.

Clearly, it's worth it, according to the nearly 1,500 reviewers who have given Le Dome four stars on Tripadvisor. One said, "Fantastic food, with a heavy emphasis on seafood. Wonderful, cozy, period interior and friendly, relaxed and cheerful service. I can't believe it has taken me so long to discover what I now consider to be one of the great Parisian restaurants."

When Bourdain returned to Paris in 2012 in his Travel Channel show "The Layover," he started his journey the same way as when he visited Paris several years before on "No Reservations" — with a visit to a café near his accommodation, a big reason why a hotel is the first thing Bourdain booked when traveling. He heads to Le Pure Café, a nod back to Paris more than a century ago with its red banquettes, glass chandeliers, and center coffee bar lined with wooden stools hidden behind a throwback façade. Bourdain starts his day by sipping on espresso and people-watching. But don't feel guilty, Bourdain said. "In this city, coffee is actually rent. Milk that cup for as long as you like. Take up some prime real estate while people-watching. Everybody does it."

However, this isn't the only thing you can get at this adorable bistro. It offers crowd-pleasing menu items as well as offbeat options, like grilled cuttlefish with sesame seeds, rhubarb compote, and spiced bulgur. Le Pure Café is the spot where many Parisians start their days. It has four stars on Tripadvisor, with one reviewer saying, "This was the perfect start to our day. We enjoyed peasant and engaging service, a lovely atmosphere and some tasty nibbles."

There's no better way to start your day in Paris than with a visit to "someplace inviting to slip comfortably into the Parisian way of life," as Bourdain said, one of his top tips for choosing a restaurant while traveling. For him, that was Le Royal, the perfect place for an espresso and an orange cream-filled croissant. With a basic wood façade and a red banner declaring its name, Le Royal epitomizes a local Parisian hangout. It offers quality and genuine French fare, with items like Burgundy snails and foie gras on the menu. The nondescript café is a typical stopping point for a Parisian local — a hidden gem that won't make it into a guidebook, Bourdain said. Not that he used them — Bourdain recommended this unique resource instead of guidebooks. Le Royal is doing plenty well for itself, with visitors on Tripadvisor giving it an excellent four-star rating.

"This place was a slam dunk," said one reviewer. "Walking distance from the Eiffel Tower, surprisingly not one tourist until we showed up. This is unpretentious, classic decor, very inexpensive prices, chalkboard menus, great beer selection, warm service." And this reviewer wasn't kidding — many other visitors said the prices are surprisingly reasonable, especially for costly Paris. That's partnered with friendly service, another anomaly in a city known for being occasionally surly to outsiders.

Les Cocottes is at the forefront of casual, neighborhood-oriented dining in the city, according to Bourdain. Here, the chef and Ripard met with owner Christian Constant and other chefs to discuss the more laid-back style that new French chefs were embracing. The traveling duo couldn't help but be distracted over their plates of ravioli with Mousseron mushrooms served at Les Cocottes. "That's a magic mushroom," said Ripert. He's not the only one to think so. Les Cocottes has four stars on Tripadvisor, with one reviewer saying, "Best dinner we had in France. No surprise, as this restaurant was featured by Anthony Bourdain, but in addition to the fantastic food, we were treated so well by the staff that we stayed well beyond our meal for drinks, dessert, and fun times."

Fun is inevitable at a restaurant where the menu is handwritten on a board and tables are practically on top of one another, making it easy to share a chat (or even a dish) with your neighbor. Reasonably so, Les Cocottes has been called a French version of a diner thanks to its convivial atmosphere and reasonable prices. However, this gem is located in an area known for pricey, tourist-trap restaurants not far from the Eiffel Tower. If you visit, know there will likely be a wait for a table — it's very popular even at off-times and doesn't take reservations.

Pâtisserie Pinaud Pascal owner Pascal Fino has serious pedigree, as he was a chef-instructor at the renowned Le Cordon Bleu cooking school, baked for French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac, and also baked for acclaimed Pierre Hermé. He then brought all of his experience to his bakery, Pâtisserie Pinaud Pascal, which he opened with his brother. Today, apprentice bakers come from all over the planet to learn from Pascal. "This is a man with a calling to make great pastries and great bread," Bourdain said. Every day, Pascal wakes up at 3 a.m. to get the day's bread baked and ready to sell, selling a whopping 200 baguettes alone every day. "He has a crazed hell-bent focus on quality and baking really good bread," Bourdain continued. While there — beginning at 3 a.m. after a night out eating and drinking — Bourdain tried the pain aux raisins (a flaky pastry with cream and raisins) after it finally departed from the oven. "That's worth waiting for," Bourdain said. "So good."

Other visitors agree, as Pâtisserie Pinaud Pascal has four stars on Tripadvisor. "This place is frequented by the local population, the prices are very reasonable and the quality is excellent. I would love to go back," said one reviewer. Many other reviewers echoed those comments, as they all seemed to agree that the prices were affordable given the high quality of the pastries, the staff was very receptive to tourists and spoke English.

Robert et Louise is so authentically French that even Bourdain was worried about people staring at him when he walked through the door of the restaurant with no sign and the curtains drawn, flanked by a wood-burning fire where the steaks are cooked in the dining room. "Everything that makes this place good would be illegal in the United States," said Bourdain. But he had nothing to worry about, as this homestyle French restaurant known for its country eats is anything but unfriendly. "It's always been the same, and the simplicity and traditional cuisine that they cook is the key to their success," Bourdain's dining companion said. Here, Bourdain feasted on blood sausage made from pig's blood and onions that were crispy on the outside and creamy in the center, as well as fromage de tete (head cheese). But don't let those real-deal French dishes scare you.

Robert et Louise has four stars on Tripadvisor, with one reviewer raving, "Anthony Bourdain was right. Food cooked in an open hearth. Seasoned with smoke and love. So friendly, so good. What a joy! An essential stop on a visit to Paris." It's been as such since 1958 when Robert and Louis opened it. Today, it's owned by their daughter, Pascale, and her husband, François. Despite the change, it still has nostalgic touches that match the classic cuisine, and strangers often share a table in the intimate eatery.

With his rebel persona, ability to find comfort in discomfort, and his commitment to speaking his mind, Bourdain was decidedly American. However, with his deep love for delectable cuisine — whether it garnered a Michelin star or just a long line — he also had his own French je ne sais quoi. Bourdain fit right in at most of the Parisian restaurants he visited and had a gift for bringing out what made those spots unique in their own rights to his millions of viewers. As such, it wasn't easy for us to determine the best Parisian spots that Bourdain visited.

To do so, we combed through the reviews that each restaurant garnered on sites such as Tripadvisor and determined which had the most complimentary reviews from travelers all over the world. We also considered which restaurants had attracted the most outside attention from food media, organizations, and bloggers. And, of course, we also measured each restaurant's substance based on how much the king of international eats — Bourdain himself — loved them.