Table for One: Paris

Seth Sherwood, Portfolio.com: Business Travel, 2/28/2008

The City of Light is more welcoming than ever to solo business travelers. Where to get the crème de la crème brûlée when eating alone.

Since 1765, when a Parisian known as Monsieur Boulanger opened the world's first restaurant—a tavern on the Rue du Louvre that served only sheep's feet—the French capital has been the culinary center of the world. Bistro and brasserie, entrée and soup du jour: It's almost impossible to describe dining out without using a French word.  
 
Yet the City of Light's restaurant scene long had a dark underbelly for travelers, especially those on their own. Most servers were averse, or simply unable, to communicate in any language other than French. The thick haze of Gitane and Gauloise smoke coated your confit de canard and crème brûlée. Moreover, a dinner reservation before 8 p.m. was unheard-of, and nearly all tables were filled with boisterous groups of friends, families, or canoodling couples. Dining alone often meant risking miscommunication, lung cancer, and loneliness.
 
No more. Twenty-first century Paris is more fluent than ever in the international language. Better still, more eateries are offering continuous service between lunch and dinner—eliminating the need to hold out until late for a table—and the French government has finally said au revoir to smoking in restaurants and bars. With a trend toward countertop dining sweeping the capital's best new restaurants, dinner for one has never been more inviting.

Saint Germain: L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon
5, rue de Montalembert (Metro: Rue du Bac)
+33-1-42-22-56-56

Celebrity chef Joël Robuchon is the best thing to happen to solo travelers in Paris since English-language bookstores. His namesake gastronomic temple, a study in sleek angularity that opened in 2003, seats every diner at one of the large U-shaped counters surrounding the open kitchen. The result is an elbow-to-elbow conviviality that makes everyone an equal part of the communal dining experience. Most dishes come in small portions that allow you to sample multiple specialties, such as marinated anchovies with red-pepper paste or langoustine-truffle ravioli. The tender scallops are given a tart kick from seaweed and lemon. The morsels of suckling pig, meanwhile, elevate pork to succulent heights.

Dress: Business smart
Prices: Expensive
Reservations: Highly recommended (only taken for the 6:30 seating; afterward is first-come, first-served)
Close to: Hotel Montalembert, Hotel Pont Royal

Bourse: Bistrot Vivienne
4, rue des Petits-Champs (Metro: Bourse)
+33-1-49-27-00-50

A coin's throw from the Banque de France and the stock exchange, this atmospheric bistro offers an array of seating options—plush indoor banquettes, recessed nooks, a small back room, and many outdoor tables. Lone travelers can sit at a slight remove and easily work, read, or observe the professionals, hipsters, and couples who frequent the place. Amid the wide-plank floors and large mirrors, waitresses deliver jazzed-up bistro classics that range from a creamy slab of foie gras (served with mango chutney) to a lightly cooked veal tartare (laced with spicy chorizo and drizzled with tomato sauce). For dessert, try the cashmere-smooth panacotta.

Dress: Anything goes
Prices: Moderate
Reservations: Recommended
Close to: Golden Tulip Opéra De Noailles, Timhotel Palais-Royal-Louvre

Louvre: Café Marly
93, rue de Rivoli, Napoleon courtyard of the Louvre (Metro: Palais-Royal)
+33-1-49-26-06-60

Created by the Costes brothers, best-known for the see-and-be-seen Hotel Costes, Café Marly is all about spectacle, and the distractions for the single diner are many. The main dining room, done up in cool neo-Napoleonic decor, looks out on the majestic courtyard and glass pyramids of the Louvre. (The small tables on the outdoor terrace offer an even better view in warm months.) The banquettes of the alcove areas overlook one of the museum's sculpture galleries. Fashion insiders, models, international dealmakers, and self-styled People About Town mingle with the tourists over tuna tartare (not bad) and sliced chicken breast with chutney and curry (surprisingly good) from 8 a.m. until closing time at 2 a.m.

Dress: casual to suits to Jean-Paul Gaultier
Prices: Expensive
Reservations: Recommended
Close to: Hotel du Louvre, Hotel Regina

Saint Germain: Tsukiji
2 bis, rue des Ciseaux (Metro: Saint Germain des-Prés)
+33-1-43-54-65-19

The world has developed an almost religious fanaticism for Japanese cuisine, and this tiny eatery is where Parisian fundamentalists come to worship. It's a stark and puritanical place, without music or decorations. And no yakitori, sukiyaki, or other hot foods; Tsukiji does only a few things—sushi, sashimi, and a handful of rolls—but it does them very well. When you want to sit quietly and contemplate the subtle tastes of fresh sea eel, fatty tuna, octopus, squid, herring roe, mackerel, and salmon, sidle up next to the other in-the-know diners at the 12-person sushi bar.

Dress: Anything
Prices: Moderate to expensive
Reservations: Recommended on weekends
Close to: Hotel Madison, Artus Hotel

Champs-Élysées: Maison d'Aubrac
37, rue Marbeuf (Metro: Franklin D. Roosevelt)
+33-1-43-59-05-14

A lot of business is conducted around the Champs-Élysées, yet you can hardly swing a baguette without hitting an overpriced tourist trap or obnoxiously trendy cocktail lounge. Follow the clued-in to the laid-back and unpretentious Maison d'Aubrac. With its backcountry French decor—distressed wood, livestock photos—and beef shipped from the noted Aubrac region, the eatery is Paris' answer to the Texas steak house. A thick wine list complements a menu featuring hearty beef salad, beef carpaccio, beef tartare, filet mignon, and an entrecôte that proves that not all steak frites are created equal. Go native and order your meat saignant—rare—while taking in the Paris Saint-Germain soccer matches on the flat-screen TVs.

Dress: Casual to suits
Prices: Moderate to expensive
Reservations: Recommended at peak hours
Close to: Hotel Claridge Bellman, Paris Marriott Champs Élysées

Concorde: Pinxo
9, rue d'Alger (Metro: Tuileries)
+33-1-40-20-20-00

Located in the Asian-chic Renaissance Paris Vendome hotel, this modern restaurant comes courtesy of Michelin-starred chef Alain Dutournier. A long dining counter overlooks the open kitchen, allowing solo diners to watch the chefs in action as they concoct Southwestern French specialties. The beef carpaccio is brushed with olive oil and lemon juice and then topped with capers and sliced artichoke. The slices of Pyrenees lamb are cooked cotton-candy soft and loaded onto platforms of grilled eggplant and carrots. The impressive wine list features scores of vintages, including a robust and slightly spicy Faugeres (Domaine du Fraisse 2004) for a reasonable 6 euros. Afterward, the hotel's Chinese-themed Bar Chinois is a cozy spot for a newspaper and disgestif.

Dress: Trendy to suits
Prices: Expensive
Reservations: Recommended
Close to: Le Meurice hotel, Westin Paris