Celebrate your graduation at these must-visit Parisian restaurants
Congratulations on your graduation! To mark this milestone, Paris offers a multitude of restaurants perfect for a memorable celebration. Here’s a selection of places to savor this unique moment.
Da Alfredo – Authentic Italy near the Champs-Élysées
In bustling Paris, da Alfredo is a place where time seems to stand still. Situated just a stone’s throw from the Arc de Triomphe, this warm, authentic trattoria-style restaurant has established itself as a benchmark for lovers of Italian cuisine. At its helm is Alfred Bernardin, a passionate restaurateur with an extraordinary background. He offers an experience where simplicity and excellence meet.
For Alfred Bernardin, da Alfredo is the expression of an enduring vision of the restaurant business. Far from the big 200-cover brasseries, he favors a human scale where each dish is created with love and precision.
Da Alfredo, 182 Bd Haussmann, 75008 Paris
Spiti Sou – Greek flavors to share
Nestled just a few steps from the majestic Notre-Dame de Paris, the bistronomic restaurant Spiti Sou invites you on a culinary journey to Mediterranean Greece. Its generous, refined cuisine promises an escapade well worth the detour.
Spiti Sou, whose Hellenic expression “Spiti Mou Spiti Sou” means “My home, your home”, harmoniously embodies warm hospitality and home-cooked Greek cuisine. This elegant restaurant, with its Mediterranean blue accents, offers refined decor and seating for 50. A 20-seat private dining room is also available for large tables. Perfect for festive group meals!
Spiti Sou, 53 Quai des Grands Augustins, 75006 Paris
Magdalena – Elegance in front of the Madeleine church
Brasserie Magdalena opened its doors in winter 2024 on Place de la Madeleine, on the historic site of Café Pushkin. This new venue offers traditional French bourgeois cuisine. Under the direction of chef Sylvain Bouzard, some twenty cooks work their hearts out to delight you at the table.
The menu features emblematic dishes. You’ll find beef bourguignon and sole meunière. But also more sophisticated recipes such as linguine with lobster and rack of lamb. Products are carefully selected from renowned producers such as Boucheries Nivernaises and Maison Reynaud for seafood. Throughout the day, an “on-the-go” offer is available, with timeless favourites such as roast chicken and truffle-flavoured coquillettes.
Magdalena, 16 Pl. de la Madeleine, 75008 Paris
Flonflon – Modern and friendly bistro
Just off the Champs Élysées, Flonflon is certainly one of our favorite bistros in the 17th arrondissement. If the name evokes a song, it’s not by chance. Owner and chef Pierre-Thomas Clément has paid tribute to Alain Souchon and the spirit of Parisian fun.
At Flonflon, there’s nothing superfluous: the menu focuses on the essentials. Pierre-Thomas Clément favors generous, authentic, no-fuss cuisine, where seasonal produce is sublimated with intelligence.
The menu, which changes every two months, offers signature dishes revisiting the classics of French cuisine. The finger food menu is well worth a visit, especially for after-work drinks.
Each plate is generous, carefully prepared and full of flavor, with efficient, friendly service.
Bistrot Flonflon, 2 Rue Brunel, 75017 Paris
Derrière – A quirky atmosphere in the Marais
Behind a discreet Marais façade, hidden between Andy Wahloo bar and 404 restaurant, lies a singular place where the culinary experience flirts with the world of arty. Welcome to DERRIÈRE, the restaurant imagined by Mourad Mazouz, famous for his offbeat concepts blending gastronomy and bold aesthetics. More than just a restaurant, it’s an immersion in a former apartment transformed into a reception space. A place where you feel like you’re in the home of an artist friend.
The restaurant attracts a varied and cosmopolitan clientele, mixing trendy Parisians, travelers passing through and loyal customers. Art lovers, designers and professionals alike come to discuss business in an atypical setting.
Restaurant Derrière, 69 Rue des Gravilliers, 75003 Paris
Sam Chic – Korean barbecue in the heart of Paris
Want to mark your graduation with an original culinary experience? This restaurant specializing in top-quality Korean barbecue offers a friendly, interactive and resolutely premium concept.
Each table is equipped with a built-in grill, allowing you to cook your own marinated meats, vegetables or fish according to your preferences. But here, nothing is left to chance: the products are ultra-fresh, the meat perfectly matured, and the homemade sauces make all the difference.
The service is attentive, the cooking perfectly guided, and the atmosphere always cheerful. Sam Chic is the perfect place to celebrate a graduation with a small group, while enjoying an unforgettable gourmet experience.
Sam Chic, 11 Rue Rameau, 75002 Paris
Chez Julien – Romantic charm near the Seine
Ideally located in the heart of the Marais district, Chez Julien is a haven for trendy Parisians and tourists alike.
Nestled in a former bakery listed as a historic monument, Chez Julien immediately catches the eye of passers-by with its period frontage, gilding and large terrace. While this address, which Parisians pass on to each other under the mantle, is in great demand during Fashion Week, the rest of the time it’s a true haven of peace in the heart of Paris. With its exceptional location, it offers a magnificent view of the Pont Louis Philippe and the Church of St Gervais, the oldest church in France after Notre-Dame-de-Paris… The dream spot to enjoy the French art of living!
Chez Julien, 1 Rue du Pont Louis-Philippe, 75004 Paris
Maison Brochettes – Gourmet skewers in the Marais
Far from traditional brochettes, Maison Brochettes offers a culinary experience where the elegance of bistronomy meets the conviviality of the tapas format. The brainchild of chef Bruno Viala, this original concept allows diners to enjoy iconic dishes such as egg mayonnaise, sole meunière and beef bourguignon… on a skewer!
Each bite is designed to combine creativity and flavour, with fresh, seasonal produce to be paired as desired with one of the festive cocktails on the menu. The objective? Deconstruct to better rediscover the emblematic dishes of French cuisine, in a setting reminiscent of a cabinet of curiosities, where every detail is an invitation to amazement.
Maison Brochettes, 10 Rue du Grenier-Saint-Lazare, 75003 Paris
Vedettes de Paris – A gourmet cruise to celebrate your graduation with a view
For an unforgettable graduation experience, nothing beats a dinner cruise on the Seine. Les Vedettes de Paris offers an elegant and accessible experience, cruising between the Eiffel Tower and the Île de la Cité. It’s the ideal way to celebrate on the move, far from the hustle and bustle, but right in the heart of Paris.
The medium-sized boats offer a more intimate atmosphere than the large tourist barges. Each cruise offers a carefully-crafted catering service, featuring seasonal produce and reinterpreted French cuisine. You choose your formula: aperitif at sunset, sit-down dinner or Sunday brunch.
Vedettes de Paris, 2 Port de Suffren, 75007 Paris
Brasserie des Arts – Artistic ambience and French cuisine
Those of you who think Saint-Germain-des-Prés is a dull place need not worry. The Brasserie des Arts is the place to spend the night! It’s also the place to eat. Rendezvous at the capital’s most chic (and canaille) brasserie.
In charge of the kitchen, chef Valentine Davase, formerly of the prestigious Espadon restaurant at the Ritz, creates a gourmet menu. Passionate about local produce, she offers revisited classics such as home-made cordon bleu with Cantal cheese, old-fashioned croque-monsieur and vanilla profiteroles.
On Sundays, brunch is the order of the day, with a generous selection of sweet and savoury dishes priced at 28 euros per person.
Brasserie des Arts, 28 Rue Saint-André des Arts, 75006 Paris
Whatever your choice, these Parisian establishments are sure to make your graduation celebration a memorable one. Don’t hesitate to book in advance to guarantee a place in these popular venues.
