As the Olympic Games start streaming into our lives, we might as well accept we’ll all be craving French food for the next two weeks. If you’re lucky enough to be in Paris right now, we’ve rounded up the top picks from five Francophile foodies. But if France is an ocean too far, we’ve got the Aussie hit list covered, too. Grab some cheese and go for gold.

Kate Reid

Founder and co-owner Lune Croissanterie

Conquering the world one croissant at a time, Kate Reid’s entrepreneurial smarts have taken her from founding a one-person croissanterie in Melbourne to owning six stores, with two more opening in Sydney later this year. Reid trained under French pastry chef Christophe Vasseur, lived in Paris, and visits whenever she can.

Top pick: “For the best pastries, I go to The French Bastards,” says Reid, of the trailblazing boulangerie with stores scattered around Paris. Cruffins, cronuts – if these anarchic pastry chefs can crossbreed croissants with another baked treat, they will. The latest? A one-off creation to launch their Lille outlet, featuring croissant dough cooked in a waffle machine – the raffle?

There are plumpilicious sandwiches, hazelnut-filled brioche topped with cookie crumble, and fruity creations such as strawberry tiramisu. But don’t ask for strawberries in winter because ingredients here run strictly with the seasons.

Go for: Inventive, fun, top-notch creations made from locally sourced ingredients.

Order this: “Go straight for the pistachio dark chocolate escargot,” says Reid. “The actual croissant pastry is so buttery it even stands up to the typically dominant flavours of pistachio and chocolate.” And there’s no essence of pistachio, she says. “One bite tells you it’s 100 per cent nut. The combination of buttery pastry, savoury pistachio, and beautiful, rich, bitter dark chocolate is my definition of pastry perfection.”

Various locations, thefrenchbastards.fr/fr

Also try: “The one place I always eat when I visit Paris is Clamato,” says Reid, and she’s not alone. This no-bookings seafood specialist, with Maldon oysters and daily drop-offs from French fishing trawlers, is included in the World’s 50 Best Discovery.

80 Rue de Charonne, 11th arrondissement, Paris, clamato-charonne.fr/en

Aussie fave: “I could say France-Soir [in Melbourne], and its steak tartare is my death-row meal,” says Reid, “but my other sneaky French favourite is Gimlet.” The restaurant, in Melbourne’s CBD, “hits all the obligatory markers for a perfect French bistro”. Reid loves the long champagne list and rarely goes past the Ruinart Blanc de Blanc, along with briny in-season oysters and steak tartare prepped tableside.

33 Russell Street, Melbourne, gimlet.melbourne

Sam Studd

Cheese master

Certified cheese professional Sam Studd is a “Paris slut”, according to his sister Ellie Studd, the siblings who put the funk in fromage. Sam regularly travels the country on official quests for the family’s cheese business, Selected by Will Studd. He lived in Paris for 18 months while he studied French and co-wrote The Best Things in Life are Cheese, a how-to guide, with his sister, Ellie. “It taught me a lot about the Parisian way of life and gave me a true connection with the beauty and chaos of the city.”

Top pick: “Chambre Noire is my all-time favourite spot,” says Studd. “It’s like punk rock meets natural wines but done in a sexy Parisian way. All the cool kids go here.” Dubbed a “vinegar bar” by trad French quaffers when it opened in 2016, Chambre Noire pulls a younger crew of vignerons with its pioneering list of Europe’s best natural wines. “It ‘dewankerfies’ the world of natural wines in Paris,” says Studd, “and I really like its free-pour attitude.”

Go for: Cool vibes, people-watching, and speciality German natural wines.

Order this: Whatever they tell you to. “Let them take you on a journey,” says Studd. “I don’t even look at the menu scribbled on the wall.”

4 Boulevard Jules Ferry, 11th arrondissement, Paris

Also try: Chez Virginie an amazing cheese shop. Virginie is a beautiful passionate character, a master affineur and matures her cheeses ‘to peak taste’. The cheese selection in the shop is abundant and brimming with choice and very Parisian. Be prepared for some mature and full flavours and smells as her palate is bold and at times wild! We also love A La Banane Ivoirienne, a tiny, incredibly friendly restaurant dishing up authentic, “unapologetically West African food but still with that French waiter attitude where they kind of throw the meals at you,” Studd says. For the best bread in town – massive call! – he gives the gong to artisan sourdough bakers Poilane. “Our dad even ships frozen loaves to Australia, it’s that unbeatable.”

Fromagerie Chez Virginie, 54 Rue Damrémont, Paris

A La Banane Ivoirienne, 10 Rue de la Forge Royale, 11th arrondissement, Paris

Poilane, 8 Rue du Cherche-Midi, 6th arrondissement, Paris, poilane.com/en

Aussie fave: Subterranean Restaurant Hubert is Studd’s pick. “What I like is that when you step into it, you feel like you’re out of Sydney,” he says, “The waiters are pretty hustley but I like that. You get young trendy kids, finance bros, old people, a real mix.”

15 Bligh Street, Sydney, swillhouse.com/venues/restaurant-hubert

Jean-Christophe Novelli

French chef, restaurateur, MasterChef Australia judge

Best-known in Australia as a 2024 judge on MasterChef, Frenchman Jean-Christophe Novelli arrived in Paris from Arras, in northern France, ready to embrace the world, and so he has, with a raft of restaurant awards, his own cookery school and multiple TV appearances.

Top pick: Cut to 1980, when a young Novelli moved to Paris with his possessions packed into a single bag. Even though he couldn’t afford to go inside, he’d look longingly through the window of La Coupole, mesmerised by tableside waiters shucking oysters at lightning speed. He vowed to visit, finally dining solo at the art deco Montparnasse institution months later. “It was the longest, most exciting lunch ever,” says Novelli. “It was retro, authentic and very French. This place allowed me to fulfil my dream, and not just simply be a dreamer. This is one of the many places that reminds me that I am actually French. It’s priceless.”

Go for: Rambunctious Parisian dining in a grand 1937 building.

Order this: Novelli recommends the brasserie’s choucroute royale la mer aka “seafood sauerkraut”, a complex, traditional dish of three fish, mussels and pickled cabbage, finished with a creamy, buttery sauce.

102 Boulevard du Montparnasse, 14th Arrondissement, Paris, lacoupole-paris.com/en

Also try: Novelli also loves Bonvivant, a neighbourhood bistro with the mantra “being alive has never felt so good”. It runs flat chat from 9am to 2pm daily, dishing up French faves such as charcuterie, fromage and steak frites.

7 Rue des Ecoles, 5th arrondissement, Paris, bonvivant.paris

Aussie fave: “I closed my eyes and felt like I was in Paris,” says Novelli of Smith St Bistrot, Scott Pickett’s Melbourne take on a classic bistrot. “The smell, the decor, the ambience, it was superbly Frenchified.” He says it’s 99.9 per cent French. “The only thing missing was the metro Parisian aroma.” Perhaps a good thing?

360 Smith Street, Collingwood, Melbourne, smithstbistrot.com.au

Di Kesar

Owner Hardware Societe cafes

Breakfast queen Di Kesar is known in Melbourne for her award-winning cafe Hardware Societe. She’s exported the beloved brand to Barcelona and Paris’ Sacre-Coeur, and now spends a good chunk of time dining and wining in the French capital.

Top pick: If brekkie’s your jam, “there’s something incredibly special about breakfast at the Ritz,” says Kesar, who loves the hotel dining room’s quiet grandeur, and besuited waiters dishing up expert silver service. “Nothing is too difficult, and they’ll cook you whatever you want. Egg-white omelette, poached eggs florentine. It’s an elevated breakfast experience like no other,” says Kesar. The hotel stipulates a “smart” dress code and is one of the few places in Paris where pets are not accepted.

Go for: Le Grand Brunch on Sunday but be sure to book ahead.

Order this: Whatever you like. It’s cooked to order, or browse the buffet like a boss.

15 Place Vendome, 1st arrondissement, Paris, ritzparis.com

Also try: Cedric Grolet has been dubbed the “world’s best pastry chef”. On any given day, “there are literally hundreds of people taking photos of his super Instagrammable creations” at Cedric Grolet Cafe, says Kesar. But if you want to get your hands on his famed fruity pastry “sculptures” without the queues, her hot tip is to book afternoon tea at Grolet’s patisserie at luxury hotel Le Meurice, or to click and collect from the shop adjoining his cafe.

Cedric Grolet Cafe, 6 Rue Danielle Casanova, 2nd arrondissement, Paris, cedric-grolet.com/cafe

Le Meurice, 228 Rue de Rivoli, 1st arrondissement, Paris, dorchestercollection.com/paris/le-meurice/dining/restaurant-le-meurice-alain-ducasse

Aussie fave: “For me, Bistro Gitan knocks it out of the park,” says Kesar of the welcoming neighbourhood restaurant run by the Reymond family in Melbourne. “I love the theatrics of the experience, the great wine and excellent service, and the quality of food speaks for itself.” Her favourite dish is the classic tartare, and on the cocktail list, “without a doubt, a Gimlet.”

52 Toorak Road West, South Yarra, bistrogitan.com.au

Philippe Mouchel

French chef & restaurateur

Normandy-born Philippe Mouchel learnt his craft under legendary French chef Paul Bocuse, revered as “the pope of gastronomy”. Since moving to Melbourne in 1991 to head the Paul Bocuse Restaurant kitchen (it closed in 1997), Mouchel has made his mark on the Australian dining scene and won umpteen accolades with his own restaurants, but he is regularly back and forth from Paris.

Top pick: Mouchel celebrated a “special birthday” in Paris recently with dinner at the lauded Chez l’Ami Louis, a bucket-list bistro specialising in traditional French cuisine. It’s a place to splash some cash, soak up the insouciance of the waiters, and feast on foie gras and charcuterie. “Foie gras is something we struggle to find here in Australia,” says Mouchel, who also took the chance to eat jambon de Bayonne, a dry-cured ham from the Pyrenees that’s like a sweeter version of Italian prosciutto.

Go for: A seat at the world’s most famous bistro, which has fed celebs including David Beckham, Bill Clinton and Brad Pitt.

Order this: Charcuterie and foie gras, obviously.

32 Rue du Vertbois, 3rd arrondissement, Paris

Also try: “We don’t say ‘tapas’ in Paris; we say ‘hors d’oeuvres’, but it’s the same thing,” says Mouchel of Le Dauphin, an oh-so-French “not tapas” and wine bar decked with designer marble. He loves the boozy, casual vibe and simple treatment of ingredients, which change daily, from grilled meats to slow-cooked braises.

131 Avenue Parmentier, 11the arrondissement, Paris, restaurantledauphin.net

Aussie fave: When homesick for a Gallic experience, “I go see my friend Jean-Paul [Prunetti] at France-Soir,” Mouchel says. The Melbourne restaurant is as close as it gets to an old-school Paris brasserie. Mouchel speaks French to the waiters, drinks fine wine, and orders the classics: steak tartare, entrecote (scotch fillet) with fries and salad, and chocolate mousse for dessert. “I always say I won’t eat the fries, but I always eat them,” says Mouchel. “Fries are healthy if you drain them.” And we shall choose to believe him.

11 Toorak Road, South Yarra, france-soir.com.au