Restaurant in Paris, France
Plan ahead. Ingredient-led cooking that delivers.
Frenchie holds a Michelin star and ranks #145 in Europe on the 2025 Opinionated About Dining list — a hard booking (plan 4–6 weeks ahead) that pays off if ingredient-led, seasonally driven cooking is what you are after. Located at 5 Rue du Nil in Paris's 2nd arrondissement, it runs dinner only, Tuesday through Friday, with two sittings per night.
At €€€€ per head with a Michelin star and an our full Paris restaurants guide-worthy placement at #145 in the 2025 Opinionated About Dining Leading Restaurants in Europe rankings, Frenchie is not a casual booking. It is a deliberate choice — and for the right diner, a well-rewarded one. If you have been once and are wondering whether to return, the short answer is yes, particularly if you time your visit to align with the season. Greg Marchand's kitchen is ingredient-led to a degree that makes the time of year genuinely matter to what lands on the table.
Frenchie sits at 5 Rue du Nil, in the Sentier district of the 2nd arrondissement, on a street that has become a concentrated node of serious food sourcing in Paris. The kitchen draws produce directly from Terroirs d'Avenir, which operates across the street, meaning seasonal availability is not a menu-writing exercise but a daily operational reality. What Marchand cooked in June is not what he cooks in October, and that gap is the point. For a returning visitor, this is the strongest argument for going back: the menu you experienced before is largely gone.
Marchand trained at Gramercy Tavern in New York, Jamie Oliver's Fifteen in London, and the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong. That Anglo-American thread runs through the food , particularly in the desserts, which carry a lightness and structural logic more common in contemporary London or New York than in traditional French kitchens. The Michelin citation calls out the marriages of flavours as original and ingredient-led, a description borne out by the kinds of combinations that appear across seasons: peeled cherry tomatoes with crab and lightly acidified tomato water in summer; butter beans with ripe blood peach and finely spiced chanterelles in early autumn. Neither combination is showy for its own sake. Both are built around what is actually ripe at the time of service.
The room itself is compact, with exposed brick, beams, and stonework that keep the atmosphere grounded despite the level of cooking. It fills quickly, running two sittings , at 6:30pm/7pm and again at 9:30pm , Monday through Friday. Saturday and Sunday, the restaurant is closed. If your trip to Paris falls on a weekend, Frenchie the main restaurant is not an option; the wine bar on the same street operates separately and is worth noting as an alternative for a lower-commitment visit. Michelin reviewers describe the wine bar as a place of genuine pleasure, with a wide selection of wines by the glass and dishes that hold up on their own terms, including organic, natural, and biodynamic options.
This is a hard booking. The 2025 Michelin star, combined with consistent OAD recognition across three consecutive years (#178 in 2024, #145 in 2025, and a Highly Recommended for new restaurants in 2023), means demand has not softened. Expect to plan four to six weeks ahead, minimum, for a preferred seating. The 9:30pm service can occasionally be easier to secure than the first sitting, but neither is reliable on short notice. If you are visiting Paris and Frenchie is a priority, lock in the date before you book your flights. Walk-ins are not a realistic strategy here.
For reference, Frenchie operates exclusively Tuesday through Friday for dinner, with Monday also on the schedule. The kitchen does not open for lunch. That means you have a narrow weekday window, which tightens the booking further for anyone with a fixed itinerary. If you cannot get a table, Pilgrim and Nakatani operate in adjacent territory and are worth considering as alternatives for contemporary French cooking at a similar level of seriousness.
If you are deciding when to visit, autumn is the strongest season for this kitchen's style. The overlap of stone fruits ending and root vegetables beginning, combined with the chanterelle and wild mushroom availability that Marchand's sourcing relationships can access, tends to produce menus with the most textural and flavour contrast. Summer visits reward tomato and stone fruit combinations; spring brings lighter, more acidic constructions. Winter narrows the palette but the kitchen's technique holds the quality consistent. The Michelin guide specifically notes the cuisine is rooted in meticulous sourcing , which means the seasonal argument is not theoretical, it is built into how the restaurant operates.
For broader Paris dining context, see our full Paris restaurants guide. If you are planning a longer French itinerary, comparable-level cooking at similar price points can be found at Flocons de Sel in Megève, Mirazur in Menton, and Troisgros in Ouches. For classic French benchmarks outside Paris, Auberge de l'Ill in Illhaeusern and Bras in Laguiole remain reference points. For planning accommodation and bars around your visit, our full Paris hotels guide and our full Paris bars guide are the right starting points.
Frenchie is worth booking if you are serious about ingredient-led cooking and willing to plan ahead. The Michelin star and three consecutive years of OAD recognition are not accidental , they reflect a kitchen that has maintained its quality and continued to sharpen its focus. At €€€€ for a weekday dinner on Rue du Nil, you are paying for sourcing integrity, technical precision, and a room that feels earned rather than designed. For a returning visitor, the seasonal rotation gives you a genuine reason to go back. For a first-timer, the question is not whether it delivers , it does , but whether you can get the booking.
The kitchen is built around what is in season from Terroirs d'Avenir directly opposite, so the strongest order is always the tasting menu rather than attempting to pick across it. Michelin's citation calls out the ingredient-led flavour combinations , summer brings tomato and crab combinations; autumn produces mushroom and stone fruit pairings. The desserts are a particular strength, carrying an Anglo-American lightness that differs from classic French pastry. If you are returning, trust the kitchen to have changed the menu meaningfully since your last visit.
Yes, for this style of cooking. The format works because Marchand's menus are built around a seasonal logic that plays out across multiple courses , the progression matters. A single-course visit does not give you the full picture of how the kitchen thinks. With a Michelin star and a 2025 OAD ranking of #145 in Europe, the tasting menu is priced against that level of competition, and it holds up. If you are comparing it to Kei, Frenchie is less formal and more ingredient-focused; if you are comparing it to a classic grand restaurant, the room is smaller and the service less ceremonial, which is either a plus or a minus depending on what you want.
At €€€€, Frenchie sits at the same price tier as Paris's grand establishments, but it delivers something structurally different: a compact room, direct sourcing, and a kitchen focused on seasonal ingredients over luxury produce for its own sake. Whether that is worth it depends on your preference. If you value ceremony, a large brigade, and a grand dining room, Le Cinq or L'Ambroisie will suit you better. If you want precise, ingredient-led cooking in an atmosphere that does not require you to dress for the opera, Frenchie is the stronger choice at this price point.
No formal dress code is listed, but the combination of a Michelin star, €€€€ pricing, and a room that fills with a self-selecting crowd of serious diners means smart casual is the practical floor. Jeans are fine; trainers in good condition are fine. Full formal wear would be overdressed for the room , the exposed brick and beams set a deliberate tone. Think of it as the standard for a serious contemporary Paris restaurant: put-together but not ceremonial.
The main restaurant does not have a bar counter seating option in the traditional sense , it is a sit-down dining room with a fixed format. However, the Frenchie Wine Bar operates separately on the same street and is a legitimate alternative for a more informal visit. Michelin describes it as a place of genuine pleasure, with a strong selection of wines by the glass (including organic, natural, and biodynamic options) and dishes that stand on their own. If the main restaurant is fully booked, the wine bar is the right next move rather than a consolation prize.
No specific dietary restriction policy is available in our data. Given the tasting menu format and the kitchen's reliance on daily seasonal produce, dietary requirements need to be communicated clearly at the time of booking, not on arrival. The kitchen's sourcing-driven approach means substitutions may be more constrained than at a larger restaurant with a broader pantry. Contact the restaurant directly when you book , the earlier you flag requirements, the more the kitchen can work around them.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frenchie | €€€€ | Hard | — |
| Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Kei | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| L'Ambroisie | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Le Cinq - Four Seasons Hôtel George V | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Pierre Gagnaire | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Frenchie and alternatives.
The menu is tasting-format and changes with the season, so there is no fixed dish to chase. What the kitchen consistently delivers, according to Michelin and OAD reviewers, is ingredient-led plates with Anglo-American inflections — most noticeably in the desserts. Autumn visits tend to align best with the kitchen's strengths, when stone fruit overlaps with the start of root vegetables. Trust the menu as written rather than trying to steer it.
At €€€€ per head with a 2025 Michelin star and a #145 OAD ranking across Europe, the tasting menu is priced at the level where it has to perform — and the evidence suggests it does. Chef Greg Marchand trained at Gramercy Tavern, Jamie Oliver's Fifteen, and the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, and the sourcing is meticulous (produce from Terroirs d'Avenir, directly opposite on Rue du Nil). If tasting menus are your format, this one is justified. If you prefer à la carte flexibility, Frenchie is not the right fit.
Yes, with the right expectations. At €€€€ with a Michelin star and three consecutive OAD Top Restaurants in Europe placements (#178 in 2024, #145 in 2025), Frenchie is priced in line with its peer set and delivering at that level. It is not the cheapest Michelin meal in Paris, but the sourcing credentials and consistent critical recognition make the spend defensible. If the price is the primary concern, the Frenchie Wine Bar on the same street offers a lower-commitment alternative.
The room has exposed brick, beams, and stonework in a compact Sentier space — the setting is polished but not formal. Dress tidily; this is not a white-tablecloth-and-jacket room, but it is not casual either. Think considered evening dress rather than business formal.
The Frenchie Wine Bar, a separate venue on the same street, is the walk-in option on Rue du Nil — the OAD notes it as a place of pleasure with serious wine and food pairings. The main restaurant at 5 Rue du Nil operates on two seatings (around 6:30–7pm and 9:30pm) and fills quickly; bar seating at the restaurant itself is not documented as a separate format.
The venue database does not include specific documentation on dietary restriction policies. Given the tasting-menu format and the kitchen's focus on precise, ingredient-led cooking, check the venue's official channels before booking if dietary needs are a factor — a menu built around specific seasonal sourcing has less flexibility than an à la carte format.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
