Summer is one of the great pleasures of eating in Paris — peak-season produce at every market, glasses of chilled rosé, meals that drift outdoors, and evenings so long the sun doesn’t set until well after dessert. Every so often the city also gets a proper hot spell, and we’re in one right now. None of this should keep you home: Parisians have been eating beautifully through warm weather for a very long time, and a little planning makes all the difference between a wilting lunch and a lovely one.
So we asked. We contacted some of our favorite restaurants — the ones we’ve reviewed in this newsletter — and asked whether they have air conditioning. We’ve organized their replies by location, beginning with the 1st arrondissement.
These confirmations come directly from our favorite restaurants, but we can’t vouch for how strong the air conditioning actually is. It’s almost never as cold as Americans are used to. But we think these are your best bets for booking a really good restaurant that stays comfortable when the temperature climbs.
Be sure to tell us in the comments if we’ve missed something - we’ll keep updating this list as we discover more good options.
A live-fire newcomer near République from Antoine Rollin (ex-Hémicycle), cooking meat, fish and vegetables over wood flame in a theatrical, diner-meets-brasserie room. Rollin promises it’s very heavily air conditioned — handy, given the open hearth.
41 rue Notre-Dame de Nazareth, 75003
Open Wednesday-Sunday for lunch & dinner
Closed Monday & Tuesday
Reservations online or at +33 1 86 04 90 83
A Bras-family restaurant on the top floor of the Bourse de Commerce, the contemporary art museum. The food is pleasant rather than thrilling, but the room is blissfully cold, centrally located, open in August when much of Paris is closed, and there's a vegetarian tasting menu at dinner. A problem-solver in a heat wave.
Bourse de Commerce — 2 rue de Viarmes, 75001
Open every day for dinner
Open Wednesday-Monday for lunch
Closed Tuesday lunch
Reservations online or at +33 1 82 71 71 60
Through 23 August only: no dinner service. Lunch and afternoon only, every day except Tuesday, with a shortened summer menu. Normal hours resume 24 August.
An Italian natural-wine bistrot tucked in the historic passage des Panoramas, where Sardinian chef Simone Tondo cooks comfort classics like vitello tonnato and polpette. The main dining room and the private room are both air conditioned.
8 passage des Panoramas, 75002
Open every day for lunch & dinner
Reservations online or at +33 1 40 13 06 41
Chef Erica Paredes’ wildly creative small plates in a fun, loud Marais room — polenta fries with homemade Cheeto dust, oyster po’boys on bao wrappers.
25 Rue des Gravilliers, 75003 Paris
Open for dinner Tuesday-Saturday
Closed Sunday & Monday
Reservations online
A modest, much-loved neighborhood bistro in the Marais where chef Denis Groison cooks classic French food with subtle Vietnamese accents — Phu Quoc pepper in the steak au poivre, Hanoi spices on the duck — while his wife Lan runs the room and a deep, Burgundy-focused wine list.
46 Rue de Montmorency, 75003
Open Monday-Thursday for lunch & dinner
Closed Friday, Saturday & Sunday
Reservations online or at +33 6 42 83 79 52
An intimate, personal new room on the Île Saint-Louis from chef Marcin Król, built around a wood-fired brazier in a beautiful 17th-century space.
11 Rue des Deux Ponts, 75004
Open Wednesday-Saturday for lunch & dinner
Closed Sunday-Tuesday
Reservations online or at +33 6 49 70 49 54
A warm, candlelit bistro near the Place des Vosges serving classic French comfort — very good oeufs mayonnaise, gravlax, a rich beef daube — at fair prices. Open every day, including Sunday and Monday, when much of the neighborhood is dark.
6 Rue des Tournelles, 75004
Open every day for dinner only
Reservations online or at +33 1 57 40 99 96
One of the most personal fine-dining rooms in the city, near Notre-Dame, where chef Toshitaka Omiya’s plates carry a quiet intensity.
5 Rue de Poissy, 75005
Open Monday–Friday for lunch & dinner
Closed Saturday & Sunday
Reservations online or at +33 1 75 51 57 54
A sexy little Saint-Germain wine bar built around well-sourced cheese, charcuterie and cured fish, with a few excellent cooked dishes each night.
26 rue des Grands Augustins, 75006
Open Wednesday-Sunday from 5-10pm
Closed Monday & Tuesday
Reservations online or at +33 9 81 21 76 21
A longtime Saint-Germain favorite on the rue de Seine, with one of the best wine lists in the city (supplied by sister shop La Dernière Goutte) and a kitchen that leans generously vegetable-forward. Good for vegetarians, and open Sunday. Their next door wine bar Freddy’s also has air conditioning.
54 Rue de Seine, 75006
Open for dinner Wednesday-Sunday, plus lunch on weekends
Closed Monday & Tuesday
Reservations online or at +33 (0)1 43 54 34 50
Chef Martin Maumet’s Asian-inflected bistronomy — lemongrass, ginger, exotic citrus — in a gorgeous Saint-Germain room.
25 rue des Grands Augustins, 75006
Open Tuesday to Saturday for lunch & dinner
Closed Sunday & Monday
Reservations online or at +33 1 46 33 00 85
Fish La Boissonerie
A welcoming Saint-Germain fixture from the Semilla family, with an outstanding wine list (from sister shop La Dernière Goutte), bread from Cosí across the street, and a bar that's long been a haven for solo diners. Open Monday, when much of the neighborhood is closed. Their wine bar across the street Freddy’s also has air conditioning.
69 Rue de Seine, 75006
Open Monday-Saturday for lunch and dinner
Reservations online or at +33 (0)1 43 54 34 69
A lively luxury bistro with one of the best wine lists in Paris; go gentle with oeufs mayo or all-in on the tournedos Rossini. Air conditioning plus a covered terrasse.
45 Rue Saint-Georges, 75009
Open every day for lunch & dinner
Reservations online or at +33 1 48 78 40 30
One of the most intimate dining rooms in Paris, where a four-course dinner tasting menu (75€) meets a gorgeous wine list and gallant service — a recipe for romance, near Montmartre. They added air conditioning last month.
34 rue Petrelle, 75009
Open Wednesday-Sunday for dinner
Plus lunch on Saturday & Sunday
Closed Monday & Tuesday
Reservations online or at +33 1 42 82 11 02
Chef Adrien Ferrand puts a lot of ideas on the plate, with consistently precise technique and saucing, an impressive wine list, and at least one solid vegetarian option per course — a genuinely good special-occasion choice without the booking anxiety.
27 Rue d'Hauteville, 75010
Open Tuesday-Saturday for lunch & dinner
Closed Sunday & Monday
Reservations online or at +33 1 42 28 80 20
A grown-up room near Montmartre — deep blue banquettes, glazed tiles, polished service — where chef Benjamin Schmitt is known for a deeply satisfying cassoulet but cooks an otherwise modern, inventive menu, with a self-assembled wine list full of reasonably-priced treasures.
I ate here on June 19 during the heat wave and it was reasonably cool
41 rue Catherine de la Rochefoucauld, 75009
Open Tuesday-Saturday for lunch & dinner
Closed Sunday & Monday
Reservations online or at +33 1 42 81 00 17
A true locals’ spot for natural wine and Claire Grumellon’s excellent small plates until 1am, with a sidewalk terrace under a big awning. They were refreshingly honest with us: the AC isn’t a big one, and when it gets really, really hot, it’s still just hot. Air conditioning plus a shaded terrasse.
48 Rue de la Folie Méricourt, 75011
Open Tuesday-Saturday from 5pm-1am
Closed Sunday & Monday
Reservations online or at +33 1 80 87 22 68
Chef Masa Ikuta’s intimate room moves fluidly between French and Japanese, with a deep natural wine list and vinyl spinning all evening. Chef Ikuta replied that they have Japanese A/C, “so it works!”
26 bis rue de la Fontaine au Roi, 75011
Open Wednesday-Saturday for lunch & dinner
Open Tuesday for dinner only
Closed Sunday & Monday
Reservations online only
Some of the best pizza in Paris: Dan Pearson’s sourdough pies, a warm welcome, and a natural wine list shared with Le Rigmarole. Good for vegetarians.
4bis Avenue Jean Aicard, 75011
Open Monday – Friday from 6-10pm
Closed Saturday & Sunday
Reservations online or at +33 9 87 41 68 53
Erica Paredes’ buzzy, bargain-priced room in the eastern 11th — Filipino small plates, three kinds of fried chicken, and a natural wine list. (Sister to Mischief in the Marais.)
41 Rue de Montreuil, 75011
Open Tuesday-Saturday for dinner only
Closed Sunday & Monday
Reservations online or at +33 1 40 09 06 82
A seafood institution with a wood-paneled, yacht-like dining room — go for the sole meunière, filleted tableside, and oysters among the best in Paris. Pricey, polished, and open Monday.
243 Boulevard Raspail, 75014
Open Monday–Saturday for lunch & dinner
Closed Sunday
Reservations at +33 1 43 22 59 59
A tiny, serene room near Montparnasse — barely sixteen seats — from a pair who met at Alain Passard's Arpège. Chef Jihyun Kim cooks a refined, vegetable- and fish-forward menu, with Simon Plantrou running the dining room.
8 Rue Falguière, 75015
Open Tuesday-Saturday for lunch & dinner
Closed Sunday & Monday
Reservations online or at +33 1 42 19 98 01
Confident, beautiful Franco-Italian cooking from Flavio Lucarini and Aurora Storari, with a dedicated vegetarian menu. Air conditioning plus a covered terrasse.
18 Rue de Chaillot, 75116
Open Monday-Friday for lunch & dinner
Closed Saturday & Sunday
Reservations online or at +33 1 47 20 08 90
A husband-and-wife team running one of the best spots for a special occasion in western Paris, with delicious food from chef Noam Gedalof and standout wine pairings from sommelier Etheliya Hananova.
31 Avenue de Versailles, 75016
Open Monday-Friday for dinner only
Closed Saturday & Sunday
Reservations online or at +33 1 42 15 55 70
A lively Levantine spot in Montmartre, open every night and late on weekends, with sharing plates like horta croquettes and blackened Esh bread, cocktails, and a France-meets-Levant wine list. Made for a celebratory night out.
40 Rue Véron, 75018
Open every day for dinner (until 2am on Friday & Saturday)
Reservations online or at +33 7 83 57 38 99
Chef Antoine Westermann’s poultry house in Montmartre, serving heritage-breed birds poached then roasted until golden — best shared whole among a group. A handful of vegetarian starters too, and a great location across the street from the village’s last remaining windmill.
98 Rue Lepic, 75018
Open every day for lunch & dinner
Reservations online or at +33 1 42 59 82 89
As an expat in Paris for two years I’m still amazed at the lack of understanding (and disregard for energy usage) that Parisians have regarding air conditioning. You HAVE to seal off the area being conditioned! It’s simple thermodynamics. Putting the A/C hose out the door, but leaving the door open does nothing to cool the room. But it does consume beaucoup €€ in energy costs. Perhaps if every Parisian had the benefit of growing up living with my dad in New England, they would have the heard him say “shut the door - the a/c is on!”
La Boissonerie also has AC which we discovered during the hot spell at the end of May.