Restaurant in Biarritz, France
Basque brasserie, Grande Plage views, book the terrace.
Le Café de Paris holds a Michelin Plate (2024) and a terrace directly above Biarritz's Grande Plage — making it the most location-advantaged €€€ brasserie in the city. The cooking is honest and regionally grounded, drawing on Basque and Iberian traditions. Book it for a weekday lunch in June or September for the best combination of atmosphere and service.
Le Café de Paris is worth booking if you want a reliable, well-located brasserie with a sense of place — Basque-inflected cooking, a Michelin Plate for 2024, and a terrace directly above the Grande Plage. It is not the most ambitious kitchen in Biarritz, and at €€€ pricing it is not the cheapest either. But for a food-and-travel enthusiast who wants regional character without the commitment of a multi-course tasting menu, this is a sound choice. Book it for lunch on a weekday, arrive before the midday rush, and take the terrace if the weather cooperates.
The location does a lot of heavy lifting here, and that is not a criticism. A terrace positioned above one of the most photographed beaches on the Atlantic coast creates an atmosphere that is genuinely hard to replicate — open, luminous, and carrying the low hum of a town that still believes in long lunches. The energy inside is brasserie-convivial rather than hushed-fine-dining: expect a room that fills quickly, a noise level that rises with the service, and a pace that suits people who are actually in Biarritz to enjoy themselves rather than sit in reverent silence.
That atmosphere is either an asset or a liability depending on what you are after. For a conversation-heavy dinner with someone you have not seen in months, the terrace at peak summer is challenging. For a solo lunch with a glass of Txakoli and a clear view of the Atlantic, it is close to the point. The mood is confident and sociable , this is a room that knows what it is, and the service largely reflects that.
On service: at €€€ pricing, the bar is set at attentive-but-not-fussy, and by most accounts Le Café de Paris clears it. The Google rating of 4.3 across 161 reviews is not spectacular, but it is consistent , no pattern of service complaints suggests a systemic problem, and brasserie-format service in a high-footfall coastal location is always going to be more functional than ceremonial. If you are comparing this to La Table d'Aurélien Largeau and expecting that level of front-of-house precision, recalibrate. This is a different register. The service here earns the price point by being present, reasonably paced, and knowledgeable about the menu , not by offering tableside theatre.
The cooking is anchored in what the Michelin Plate designation signals: technically honest, regionally grounded, without the ambition of a starred kitchen. The repertoire draws on Basque and broader South-West French traditions , piperade, chorizo, confit preparations, free-range poultry , with Iberian Peninsula references that reflect Biarritz's geographic and cultural position on the border. It is an intelligently updated brasserie menu rather than a creative tasting format. You are not here to be surprised. You are here for something well-made that tastes like the place you are in.
Timing matters more than most visitors account for. Summer in Biarritz , particularly July and August , compresses the entire Atlantic coast dining scene into a short window. Le Café de Paris, with its position above the Grande Plage and its terrace, attracts volume during peak season. A weekday lunch in June or September gives you the leading of the location without the worst of the crowds. If you are visiting in the shoulder season, the terrace experience is cooler but the room is more manageable and the service more attentive by default. Winter visits are a different proposition: the beach context is atmospheric in a different way, and the Basque-inflected cooking reads better against cold-weather expectations.
For broader context on the Biarritz dining scene , from budget options to splurge-worthy alternatives , see our full Biarritz restaurants guide. If you are building a longer trip, our Biarritz hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide cover the rest of the itinerary.
Booking difficulty is rated Easy. That said, terrace tables above the Grande Plage in July and August are a finite resource , if the terrace is the point of your visit, book further ahead than you think you need to. A week's notice is likely sufficient in shoulder season; two to three weeks is safer in peak summer. Walk-ins may work for indoor seating on quieter days, but do not rely on it for a terrace spot in season.
| Detail | Le Café de Paris | L'Impertinent | Léonie |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price Range | €€€ | €€€ | €€ |
| Cuisine | Modern Brasserie / Basque | Creative | Modern |
| Booking Difficulty | Easy | Moderate | Easy |
| Terrace | Yes (Grande Plage views) | No | , |
| Michelin Recognition | Plate (2024) | Check Pearl page | Check Pearl page |
| Leading For | Location + regional cooking | Creative tasting | Value |
Address: 5 Place Bellevue, 64200 Biarritz, France. The placement above the Grande Plage means it is walkable from most central Biarritz accommodation. See our Biarritz hotels guide for nearby options, and our Biarritz wineries guide if you want to extend the trip into the surrounding wine country.
If you are benchmarking against the broader French fine dining circuit, reference points include Mirazur in Menton, Bras in Laguiole, and Flocons de Sel in Megève , all operating at a meaningfully higher level of culinary ambition, but useful for calibrating where Le Café de Paris sits in the national picture. For modern cuisine at the furthest end of the ambition spectrum, Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen and Troisgros in Ouches represent what that category looks like at its ceiling. Le Café de Paris is not competing in that bracket , and it does not need to be.
At €€€, yes , provided you go in with the right expectations. This is a Michelin Plate brasserie with a prime location and honest regional cooking, not a destination kitchen. For the same price tier in Biarritz, L'Impertinent offers more creative ambition; Le Café de Paris trades on location, atmosphere, and a menu that tastes like the South-West. If that is what you are after, the price is fair.
Book the terrace in advance if the beach view matters to you , it fills fast in season. The menu leans Basque-French with Iberian references: piperade, chorizo, confit preparations. It is a brasserie format, not tasting menu. Expect a lively, convivial room rather than a quiet, formal one. The Michelin Plate (2024) signals consistent quality, not starred-level ambition.
In shoulder season (April-June, September-October), a week's notice is usually enough. In peak summer (July-August), aim for two to three weeks minimum if you want a terrace table. Indoor walk-ins are more feasible, but do not count on it on weekends.
It works well for solo visits, particularly at lunch. The brasserie format means you will not feel out of place at a table for one, and a solo lunch on the terrace with a view of the Grande Plage is a strong use of the venue. The room's energy is sociable rather than couples-focused, so the dynamic is comfortable.
There is no confirmed tasting menu format in the available data , Le Café de Paris operates a brasserie repertoire rather than a multi-course tasting structure. If a tasting menu is your priority in Biarritz, La Table d'Aurélien Largeau at €€€€ is the more appropriate choice.
No confirmed dress code in the available data, but at €€€ pricing in a Biarritz brasserie setting, smart-casual is the sensible call. Biarritz has a relaxed but put-together coastal style , you will not feel overdressed in a linen shirt and good trousers, and you will not be turned away in clean, neat casual wear.
Seat count is not confirmed in the available data. The venue's brasserie format and central location suggest it handles groups, but for parties of six or more, contact the venue directly to confirm table arrangements. Peak summer bookings for groups should be made well in advance given the demand for terrace seating.
Bar seating is not confirmed in the available data. The venue operates as a brasserie rather than a cocktail bar, so table service is the standard format. For Biarritz bar options, see our full Biarritz bars guide.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Le Café de Paris | €€€ | — |
| L'Impertinent | €€€ | — |
| La Table d'Aurélien Largeau | €€€€ | — |
| Léonie | €€ | — |
| La Rotonde | €€€€ | — |
| Dialogues | — |
A quick look at how Le Café de Paris measures up.
At €€€ pricing in Biarritz, the crowd tends to dress up slightly from beach-casual — think clean trousers, a shirt or light dress rather than shorts and sandals. Biarritz has a relaxed coastal register, but the Place Bellevue terrace setting pulls people toward something a step smarter. No confirmed dress code exists in the available data, so the venue is unlikely to turn anyone away, but you will feel more at ease dressed one notch above your afternoon beach look.
The brasserie format and central Place Bellevue location suggest groups are handled routinely, but confirmed seat count and private dining arrangements are not in the available data. For parties of six or more, check the venue's official channels before assuming availability — terrace capacity in particular is finite and heavily demanded in July and August. If a dedicated private room matters to your group, verify before booking.
Le Café de Paris operates as a brasserie, so table service is the standard format rather than counter or bar dining. Confirmed bar seating is not documented in the available data. If casual counter seating is what you are after in Biarritz, this is probably not the right format — come for a full sitting at a table, ideally on the terrace above the Grande Plage.
There is no confirmed tasting menu format here. Le Café de Paris runs a brasserie repertoire — à la carte dishes drawing on Basque-French cooking with Iberian references — rather than a set multi-course progression. If a chef's tasting format is what you want in Biarritz, L'Impertinent or Dialogues are better fits. Come to Café de Paris for well-executed regional brasserie cooking, not a structured degustation.
At €€€, yes — if you are paying partly for the setting. The Michelin Plate recognition confirms the kitchen is doing something credible with Basque-French brasserie cooking, but this is not a destination restaurant in the way a starred room would be. The Grande Plage terrace location adds genuine value to the meal, particularly at lunch. If you want serious gastronomy at the same price point, La Table d'Aurélien Largeau or Dialogues will push the cooking harder — but for a well-placed, regionally-rooted brasserie meal, the price holds up.
Book the terrace specifically and in advance if the view over the Grande Plage is part of the appeal — it fills fast in season and a table inside does not offer the same experience. The menu is Basque-French with Iberian touches: dishes like piperade with chorizo and confit potatoes set the register. This is a Michelin Plate brasserie, not a tasting-menu destination, so calibrate expectations to confident regional cooking rather than intricate fine dining.
It works well for solo visits, particularly at lunch. The brasserie format means single diners will not feel conspicuous at a table for one, and a solo lunch on the terrace above the Grande Plage is a reasonable way to spend an hour in Biarritz without committing to a long multi-course format. The €€€ pricing is noticeable solo, but the Michelin Plate cooking justifies the spend if you are treating a solo lunch as a proper meal rather than a quick stop.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
