Restaurant in Paris, France
Walk-in patisserie. Arrive early or miss out.
Cédric Grolet Opéra is a critically ranked patisserie on Avenue de l'Opéra, placing on Opinionated About Dining's Cheap Eats in Europe list three years running. No booking needed — walk in Wednesday through Sunday from 9am. Go for the sculptural fruit pastries that made Grolet's reputation, and plan a second visit to cover the full counter range.
Yes — but only if you arrive with a plan. This patisserie on Avenue de l'Opéra has ranked on Opinionated About Dining's Cheap Eats in Europe list three consecutive years: #83 in 2023, #21 in 2024, and #124 in 2025. That trajectory tells you something useful: the peak buzz has passed, but the quality hasn't gone anywhere. For visitors exploring Paris's broader restaurant scene, this is one of the few pastry stops with genuine critical backing to justify the detour.
This is a standalone patisserie, not a restaurant. Chef Cédric Grolet built his reputation at Le Meurice, where his hyper-realistic fruit sculptures attracted serious attention from pastry circles worldwide. The Opéra address is the retail expression of that work: a compact counter where the product is the entire point. You are here to buy, eat at a counter or standing, and leave. Think of it as the Paris equivalent of visiting a tes souhaits in Tokyo or Café Dior by Pierre Hermé in Tokyo — a chef's name on a showcase format, executed at a high level.
The OAD ranking places it in the Cheap Eats bracket, which signals that individual pastries are priced accessibly rather than at sit-down-restaurant rates. No price data is available in our records, so verify current prices before you go, but expect to pay per-piece rather than per-course. Compared to Pierre Hermé, which operates multiple Paris locations and a broad product range, Grolet Opéra is narrower and more focused on showpiece items. Compared to Blé Sucré in the 12th, the Opéra address trades neighbourhood warmth for a more designed, appointment-feeling space near the Palais Garnier.
One visit here is fine. Two or three visits, spread across a Paris trip, will get more out of the range. The counter rotates what is available across the week, so returning on a different day , say, Wednesday and again Saturday , gives you exposure to a wider selection than a single visit allows. If you are also planning stops at L'Éclair de Génie for choux-focused pastry or Mori Yoshida for Japanese-influenced technique, use Grolet as your reference point for the French sculptural tradition rather than as a comprehensive pastry tour on its own.
A practical second-visit move: come mid-morning on a weekday (Wednesday through Friday) rather than Saturday, when tourist foot traffic is lighter. The shop opens at 9am Wednesday through Sunday and closes at 6pm. Monday and Tuesday are closed, which catches a meaningful number of visitors off guard. If your Paris itinerary is only Monday-Tuesday, this stop is not available to you.
The Google rating of 3.4 across 7,650 reviews is lower than you might expect for a critically ranked address. This gap , strong editorial standing, mixed public scores , is common at venues where the product is technically precise but the experience is transactional: no seating comfort, queues, and prices that feel steep if you arrive without context. Mokonuts offers a fuller sit-down experience if you want pastry with more hospitality around it. But for the craft itself, Grolet Opéra is a serious address that belongs on a food-focused Paris itinerary alongside stops at Pierre Hermé and L'Éclair de Génie.
For broader context on France's culinary range, Pearl also covers landmark dining destinations including Mirazur in Menton, Flocons de Sel in Megève, Troisgros in Ouches, Auberge de l'Ill in Illhaeusern, Bras in Laguiole, and Paul Bocuse in Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or.
The showcase items are Grolet's hyper-realistic fruit sculptures , trompe l'oeil pastries designed to look like whole fruit. These are the technically ambitious pieces that earned the address its OAD rankings. Beyond those, the counter stocks tarts and biscuits that rotate. Go for the sculptural items on your first visit; treat secondary items as a reason to return rather than a first-visit priority. No specific menu data is confirmed in our records, so check the counter on arrival.
This is a counter patisserie, not a café or restaurant. You queue, select, pay, and either eat standing or take away. Arrive knowing that the Google rating (3.4) reflects the format , queues, no seating, and prices that surprise some visitors , not necessarily the quality of the pastry itself. The OAD Cheap Eats ranking (three consecutive years) is the more relevant signal for food quality. The shop is at 35 Av. de l'Opéra and is closed Monday and Tuesday, which trips up a lot of visitors.
There is no traditional bar or seated counter in the restaurant sense. This is a patisserie with counter service. Some standing space may be available depending on the format of the specific location, but this is not a sit-down experience. If you want pastry with a proper seat and hospitality, Mokonuts or Blé Sucré are better fits for that format.
Neither applies in the traditional sense. The shop runs 9am–6pm and there is no dinner service. Mid-morning on a weekday is the practical answer: you get the fullest counter selection and the shortest queues. Saturday sees the highest foot traffic given the location near the Palais Garnier and tourist density in the 2nd arrondissement. Sunday can work if you go early.
No booking required. This is a walk-in counter. The only planning needed is confirming the days you are in Paris include a Wednesday-to-Sunday window, and arriving mid-morning rather than at peak tourist hours (typically 11am–2pm on weekends). Booking difficulty is rated Easy.
No confirmed dietary restriction data is available in our records. Given the patisserie format , butter-heavy French pastry is the core product , options for dairy-free or vegan guests are likely limited. If dietary restrictions are a concern, contact the venue directly before visiting. No phone number or website is confirmed in our current data, so check Google Maps or the venue's social channels for current contact details.
No dress code applies. This is a patisserie counter, not a fine-dining room. Smart casual is entirely appropriate and consistent with how most visitors arrive. The location near the Palais Garnier means the surrounding area skews presentable, but there is no expectation beyond that.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cédric Grolet Opéra | Easy | — | |
| Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Kei | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| L'Ambroisie | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Le Cinq - Four Seasons Hôtel George V | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Pierre Gagnaire | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
Comparing your options in Paris for this tier.
Go for the hyper-realistic fruit sculptures — trompe l'oeil pastries engineered to look like whole fruit. These are the technically ambitious work that earned Grolet his reputation at Le Meurice and placed this address on Opinionated About Dining's Cheap Eats in Europe list three years running (#21 in 2024). The counter rotates available items, so treat what is on display that day as the order guide.
This is a counter patisserie, not a café: you queue, choose, pay, and eat standing or take away. The address at 35 Avenue de l'Opéra is easy to find, but the Google rating of 3.4 across 7,000+ reviews signals a real gap between editorial reputation and day-to-day visitor experience — often down to queue length and price-to-portion expectations. Arriving mid-morning on a weekday, Wednesday through Sunday, is the most reliable way to get the full range without a long wait.
There is no bar or seated counter here. The format is counter service only: order, collect, and eat standing if space allows or take it outside. If you want a sit-down patisserie experience in Paris, this is not the format — come for the pastry itself, not the seating.
Neither applies — the shop runs 9am to 6pm with no dinner service, and it is closed Monday and Tuesday. Mid-morning on a weekday is the practical answer: selection is fuller earlier in the day and queues are shorter than weekend afternoons.
No booking is required or possible. This is a walk-in counter. The only planning needed is making sure your Paris days include a Wednesday-to-Sunday window and that you arrive before peak afternoon queues build.
No confirmed dietary restriction data is in our records for this venue. The core product is classic French patisserie — heavily butter and egg dependent — so options for dairy-free or vegan visitors are likely limited. If dietary restrictions are a factor, check directly with the counter before visiting.
No dress code. This is a street-level patisserie counter on Avenue de l'Opéra, ranked on OAD's Cheap Eats list — come as you are. Wear whatever you would wear to walk around central Paris.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
