Restaurant in Paris, France
Nine seats. One menu. Book or skip.
Aida is a nine-seat teppanyaki counter in Paris's 7th arrondissement running a single tasting menu that combines Japanese technique with French produce — Brittany lobster, chateaubriand, sweetbread — paired with Burgundy wine. It is best suited to solo diners and couples who want a precise, intimate counter experience. At €€€€, it competes with Paris's top-tier rooms but on a far more focused, appointment-style format.
Aida earns its place at €€€€ pricing. This nine-seat counter restaurant in the 7th arrondissement runs a single tasting menu that draws a direct line between Japanese technique and French ingredients — Brittany lobster, chateaubriand, sweetbread — cooked on teppanyaki griddles while you watch from close range. If that format appeals, book it. If you want à la carte flexibility or a larger table for a group dinner, look elsewhere first.
The address at 1 Rue Pierre Leroux is deliberately understated. The whitewashed facade blends into its residential 7th-arrondissement surroundings to the point where first-timers frequently walk past it. That is not an accident: Aida operates as a small, appointment-style restaurant rather than a destination that courts foot traffic. Knowing this before you arrive saves confusion.
Inside, the design is minimal and white , consistent with the spare aesthetic you'd associate with high-end Japanese dining rooms. Seating splits between the nine-seat counter, where you face the teppanyaki griddles directly, and a small private dining room fitted with tatami. For a first visit, the counter is the right choice. The cooking happens in front of you: the slicing, the seasoning, the precise heat management on the griddle. The format is closer to a performance than a restaurant service, and the counter puts you at the centre of it.
The menu is fixed , one tasting menu, no substitutions implied by the format. Dishes draw on both Japanese technique and classic French produce: sashimi sits alongside Brittany lobster; chateaubriand and sweetbread move through the teppanyaki. Fine Burgundy wines are part of the picture, selected to work with the menu rather than offered as a broad list. Service is described as dutiful and professional, which in practice means attentive without being intrusive , appropriate for a room this size.
The Google rating of 4.5 across 62 reviews is a useful signal for a restaurant this small. High-end tasting menus at nine-seat counters tend to polarise , the format either resonates completely or feels too constrained. Aida's score suggests consistent delivery rather than occasional brilliance. For a first-timer, that consistency matters more than a volatile average with higher peaks.
Nine-seat counter is the defining feature of Aida and the primary reason to book it over other Japanese-French options in Paris. At venues like L'Abysse au Pavillon Ledoyen or Sushi Yoshinaga, the counter format centres on sushi preparation; at Aida, it centres on live teppanyaki cooking. The heat, the sizzle, the carving , these are part of the meal, not incidental to it.
Choosing the counter over the private tatami room is a meaningful decision. The tatami room works for a couple who want more privacy or for a small group that has booked it out, but it removes the direct interaction with the cooking process that makes Aida distinctive. If you are visiting for the first time, sit at the counter.
For comparison with Japanese counter dining in Tokyo, Myojaku and Azabu Kadowaki offer points of reference for what a tightly curated Japanese counter experience delivers at the highest level. Aida is working in a Paris context, using French produce and French wine, but the counter discipline is comparable.
Aida is closed on Mondays. Tuesday through Sunday, service runs from 7 PM to 9 PM only , one sitting per evening. That narrow window means the restaurant fills quickly on weekend nights. Booking ahead is advisable; walk-ins are unlikely to succeed given the nine-seat capacity. The booking difficulty is rated Easy by Pearl, which reflects that reservations are available rather than impossible to secure, not that you can leave it to the last minute.
There is no phone number or website listed publicly, which means the most reliable route to a reservation is through a third-party booking platform or direct contact via the restaurant's email if available. Arriving without a reservation at €€€€ pricing is not a practical strategy at a room this size.
Paris has a wider ecosystem worth knowing if you are planning a broader trip. See our full Paris restaurants guide, our full Paris hotels guide, our full Paris bars guide, our full Paris wineries guide, and our full Paris experiences guide for broader context.
If Aida's tasting menu format does not fit your evening, Paris has a range of Japanese options worth considering. Chakaiseki Akiyoshi offers a kaiseki format for a different register of Japanese precision. Hakuba and Abri Soba sit at lower price points and with more accessible booking windows. For the leading end of French fine dining on the same trip, Flocons de Sel in Megève, Troisgros in Ouches, Mirazur in Menton, Bras in Laguiole, Auberge de l'Ill in Illhaeusern, and Paul Bocuse in Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or represent the broader French fine-dining context Aida is drawing from when it puts Burgundy wine alongside Japanese technique.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aida | Japanese | €€€€ | The whitewashed facade of this small bolthole tucked away in a lane blends in so perfectly with its surroundings that you may even miss it entirely! Behind its spruce façade lies a jealously kept secret, namely exquisite Japanese cuisine. The pristine white interior is both elegant and minimalist, in line with the visual charter commonly associated with restaurants in Japan. Take a seat either at the counter (nine seats only) for a close-up view of the teppanyaki griddles or in the small soberly appointed private dining room with its tatami. As you sample a single tasting menu, you will discover subtle, precise cuisine that carefully crafts culinary ties between Japan and France. The seasonings, cooking, carving, cutting, slicing and chopping are all at the service of the main ingredient, which is presented as simply and as artfully as possible. Sashimi, Brittany lobster, chateaubriand steak or sweetbread, cooked on the teppanyaki griddle, and served with fine Burgundy wines, painstakingly selected by the chef. Dutiful, professional service.; The whitewashed facade of this small bolthole tucked away in a lane blends in so perfectly with its surroundings that you may even miss it entirely! Behind its spruce façade lies a jealously kept secret, namely exquisite Japanese cuisine. The pristine white interior is both elegant and minimalist, in line with the visual charter commonly associated with restaurants in Japan. Take a seat either at the counter (nine seats only) for a close-up view of the teppanyaki griddles or in the small soberly appointed private dining room with its tatami. As you sample a single tasting menu, you will discover subtle, precise cuisine that carefully crafts culinary ties between Japan and France. The seasonings, cooking, carving, cutting, slicing and chopping are all at the service of the main ingredient, which is presented as simply and as artfully as possible. Sashimi, Brittany lobster, chateaubriand steak or sweetbread, cooked on the teppanyaki griddle, and served with fine Burgundy wines, painstakingly selected by the chef. Dutiful, professional service. | Easy | — |
| Plénitude | Contemporary French | €€€€ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Pierre Gagnaire | French, Creative | €€€€ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen | Creative | €€€€ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Kei | Contemporary French, Modern Cuisine | €€€€ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Le Cinq - Four Seasons Hôtel George V | French, Modern Cuisine | €€€€ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
A quick look at how Aida measures up.
Aida runs one sitting per evening, Tuesday through Sunday, from 7 PM to 9 PM — there is no walk-in option and no à la carte. The facade at 1 Rue Pierre Leroux is deliberately low-key, so allow extra time to find it. You are committing to a single tasting menu at €€€€ pricing, so arrive knowing that format is non-negotiable. If you want flexibility in what you order or when you eat, Aida is the wrong choice.
Yes — the nine-seat counter is one of the better solo dining formats in Paris at this price point, giving you a direct view of the teppanyaki griddles and a natural frame for the meal. Solo diners are not isolated at a side table; the counter is the main event. If counter dining appeals to you, this is a stronger solo bet than a grand dining room like Le Cinq, where a solo table can feel exposed.
Larger groups should request the private dining room with tatami rather than the nine-seat counter. The counter seats nine total, so a group larger than four or five will effectively take over the entire counter — worth factoring in when booking. For a private event, the tatami room is the practical option, though availability should be confirmed directly with the restaurant.
For French-Japanese teppanyaki at a comparable intimacy level, Aida has few direct rivals in Paris. Kei offers Japanese-influenced French technique in a more conventional dining room format if you want à la carte flexibility. For kaiseki specifically, Chakaiseki Akiyoshi is worth considering. If budget is the factor, neither of those will hit €€€€ pricing consistently.
Yes, if teppanyaki and a single-menu format suit you — Aida's approach, combining Japanese technique with French produce including Brittany lobster, châteaubriand, and Burgundy wines, is a coherent concept rather than a gimmick. The format is disciplined: one menu, nine counter seats, no alternatives. If you need options or a longer evening, this is not the right fit regardless of quality.
At €€€€, Aida competes with some of Paris's most decorated restaurants, so the bar is high. What justifies the price here is the combination of extreme intimacy — nine seats — and a French-Japanese teppanyaki format you will not find replicated easily elsewhere in the city. Compared to a similarly priced grand dining room like Plénitude or Alléno Paris, Aida offers less theatre and ceremony but more direct access to the cooking. Whether that trade-off works depends entirely on your preference for format over setting.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
