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Steak on a white serving plate with a glass of Champagne in the foreground.
A steak at Marseille, the newest spot from one of Boston’s excellent French restaurant groups that also runs Petit Robert Bistro, Batifol, and PRB Boulangerie.
Brian Pu Ruiz/Marseille

Boston’s Best French Restaurants

From Paris to Provence, eat like a French person without leaving Boston

by Celina Colby and Eater Staff Updated
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A steak at Marseille, the newest spot from one of Boston’s excellent French restaurant groups that also runs Petit Robert Bistro, Batifol, and PRB Boulangerie.
| Brian Pu Ruiz/Marseille
by Celina Colby and Eater Staff Updated

French food is a treat, and there’s always an occasion to treat yourself to a little continental magic from time to time. Who doesn’t love a crock of bouillabaisse, a light and airy crepe, or beef bourguignon? Scroll below for where to eat like the French without leaving the Boston area.

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The Little Crepe Cafe

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Crepes are the name of the game here and they come in all stripes, from savory smoked salmon and steak bomb crepes to sweet s’mores and cinnamon bun renditions. However, if you’re just looking for the classic — butter, sugar, and a little squeeze of lemon and lime — they’ve got you covered in that department, too.

102 Oxford St, Cambridge, MA 02138
(857) 326-3184
(857) 326-3184

Ma Maison

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Chef Jacky Robert’s Cambridge Street joint, located on the edge of Beacon Hill and the West End, offers French classics like coq au vin and Provençal-style frog’s legs. Ma Maison also doesn’t shy away from organ meats, serving calf’s liver on the regular menu as well as a few weekly specials, such as sweetbreads on Wednesdays.

272 Cambridge St, Boston, MA 02114
(617) 725-8855
(617) 725-8855

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Troquet on South

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Troquet serves some damn good roasted fish, and it has a damn good wine list too. Don’t want to make decisions? There’s a delightful five- or seven-course chef’s tasting menu available nightly for $130 or $155 per person.

107 South St, Boston, MA 02111
(617) 695-9463
(617) 695-9463

Cafe Sauvage

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This all-day French bistro serves up a serious weekday breakfast and weekend brunch in the morning and French wines and entrees for dinner. The menu fuses French flavors with other cuisines, including mussels bathed in curry and coconut milk, and eggplant doused in chimichurri. Looking to work on your French? On the last Wednesday of every month they do a prix fixe dinner where the only language spoken is French.

25 Massachusetts Ave, Boston, MA 02115
(857) 226-4799
(857) 226-4799

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La Voile

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This Cannes-inspired bistro offers great lunchtime meals like a croque monsieur, quiche, or risotto, as well as dinner entrees like Dover sole meunière and beef tenderloin. There’s a Brookline location, too.

261 Newbury St, Boston, MA 02116
(617) 587-4200
(617) 587-4200
An overhead shot of a mini Staub dutch oven filled with cooked mussels.
Mussels at La Voile.
Erika Adams/Eater Boston

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Deuxave

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Back Bay’s Deuxave is very suitable for special-occasion dining, and the crispy duck confit is hard to beat. Don’t miss the cocktail list, and definitely save room for dessert.

371 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02115
(617) 517-5915
(617) 517-5915

Also featured in:

Rochambeau

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Rochambeau is known for decadent brunches filled with oysters and other raw bar snacks (and bubbly). The brioche French toast and crepes are also worth ordering. The multi-level restaurant — located right by Eataly at the Prudential Center — also has an all-day cafe attached.

900 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02115
(617) 247-0400
(617) 247-0400
Raised steps leading to the exterior of the restaurant with the title of the restaurant in neon red lights above a dark wooden door.
Rochambeau in Back Bay.
Erika Adams/Eater Boston

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Mistral

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This longstanding French-inspired restaurant in the South End offers excellent versions of classics like sole meunière, as well as fresh takes on other classics, like tuna tartare.

223 Columbus Ave, Boston, MA 02116
(617) 867-9300
(617) 867-9300

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Aquitaine

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From the aluminum bar top to the hexagonal black and white tiles to the big blackboard special menus to the crimson booths, Aquitaine looks the part of a Parisian brasserie. The steak frites are exceptional, which also helps.

569 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02118
(617) 424-8577
(617) 424-8577

Frenchie

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Sure, it’s a bit literal, but we still love it. For brunch? By all means order the white truffle croque madame in all its runny yolk glory. For dinner? A salt-encrusted branzino, perhaps.

560 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02118
(857) 233-5941
(857) 233-5941
A whole roasted branzino in a pan, with a hand sprinkling salt over it, at Boston’s Frenchie
Branzino at Frenchie.
Brian Samuels/Frenchie

Petit Robert Bistro

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Petit Robert Bistro has been dishing out French food on Columbus Avenue for nearly 20 years now. Go full French and try the coq au vin. The restaurant group’s French dynasty also includes Batifol in Kendall Square, Marseille in the South End, and the very good bakery PRB Boulangerie in multiple locations.

02118, 480 Columbus Ave, Boston, MA 02118
(617) 867-0600
(617) 867-0600

The Elephant Walk

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The Elephant Walk fuses classic French dishes with Cambodian flavors to create dishes like poulet a la citronnelle, chicken thighs marinated in lemongrass sauce with peanut, onion, bell pepper and scallion or beef tenderloin caramelized in black pepper, garlic and mushroom soy and served with a lime-garlic dipping sauce.

1415 Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02118
(617) 247-1500
(617) 247-1500

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The Little Crepe Cafe

102 Oxford St, Cambridge, MA 02138

Crepes are the name of the game here and they come in all stripes, from savory smoked salmon and steak bomb crepes to sweet s’mores and cinnamon bun renditions. However, if you’re just looking for the classic — butter, sugar, and a little squeeze of lemon and lime — they’ve got you covered in that department, too.

102 Oxford St, Cambridge, MA 02138
(857) 326-3184
(857) 326-3184

Ma Maison

272 Cambridge St, Boston, MA 02114

Chef Jacky Robert’s Cambridge Street joint, located on the edge of Beacon Hill and the West End, offers French classics like coq au vin and Provençal-style frog’s legs. Ma Maison also doesn’t shy away from organ meats, serving calf’s liver on the regular menu as well as a few weekly specials, such as sweetbreads on Wednesdays.

272 Cambridge St, Boston, MA 02114
(617) 725-8855
(617) 725-8855

Troquet on South

107 South St, Boston, MA 02111

Troquet serves some damn good roasted fish, and it has a damn good wine list too. Don’t want to make decisions? There’s a delightful five- or seven-course chef’s tasting menu available nightly for $130 or $155 per person.

107 South St, Boston, MA 02111
(617) 695-9463
(617) 695-9463

Cafe Sauvage

25 Massachusetts Ave, Boston, MA 02115

This all-day French bistro serves up a serious weekday breakfast and weekend brunch in the morning and French wines and entrees for dinner. The menu fuses French flavors with other cuisines, including mussels bathed in curry and coconut milk, and eggplant doused in chimichurri. Looking to work on your French? On the last Wednesday of every month they do a prix fixe dinner where the only language spoken is French.

25 Massachusetts Ave, Boston, MA 02115
(857) 226-4799
(857) 226-4799

La Voile

261 Newbury St, Boston, MA 02116

This Cannes-inspired bistro offers great lunchtime meals like a croque monsieur, quiche, or risotto, as well as dinner entrees like Dover sole meunière and beef tenderloin. There’s a Brookline location, too.

261 Newbury St, Boston, MA 02116
(617) 587-4200
(617) 587-4200
An overhead shot of a mini Staub dutch oven filled with cooked mussels.
Mussels at La Voile.
Erika Adams/Eater Boston

Deuxave

371 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02115

Back Bay’s Deuxave is very suitable for special-occasion dining, and the crispy duck confit is hard to beat. Don’t miss the cocktail list, and definitely save room for dessert.

371 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02115
(617) 517-5915
(617) 517-5915

Rochambeau

900 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02115

Rochambeau is known for decadent brunches filled with oysters and other raw bar snacks (and bubbly). The brioche French toast and crepes are also worth ordering. The multi-level restaurant — located right by Eataly at the Prudential Center — also has an all-day cafe attached.

900 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02115
(617) 247-0400
(617) 247-0400
Raised steps leading to the exterior of the restaurant with the title of the restaurant in neon red lights above a dark wooden door.
Rochambeau in Back Bay.
Erika Adams/Eater Boston

Mistral

223 Columbus Ave, Boston, MA 02116

This longstanding French-inspired restaurant in the South End offers excellent versions of classics like sole meunière, as well as fresh takes on other classics, like tuna tartare.

223 Columbus Ave, Boston, MA 02116
(617) 867-9300
(617) 867-9300

Aquitaine

569 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02118

From the aluminum bar top to the hexagonal black and white tiles to the big blackboard special menus to the crimson booths, Aquitaine looks the part of a Parisian brasserie. The steak frites are exceptional, which also helps.

569 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02118
(617) 424-8577
(617) 424-8577

Frenchie

560 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02118

Sure, it’s a bit literal, but we still love it. For brunch? By all means order the white truffle croque madame in all its runny yolk glory. For dinner? A salt-encrusted branzino, perhaps.

560 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02118
(857) 233-5941
(857) 233-5941
A whole roasted branzino in a pan, with a hand sprinkling salt over it, at Boston’s Frenchie
Branzino at Frenchie.
Brian Samuels/Frenchie

Petit Robert Bistro

02118, 480 Columbus Ave, Boston, MA 02118

Petit Robert Bistro has been dishing out French food on Columbus Avenue for nearly 20 years now. Go full French and try the coq au vin. The restaurant group’s French dynasty also includes Batifol in Kendall Square, Marseille in the South End, and the very good bakery PRB Boulangerie in multiple locations.

02118, 480 Columbus Ave, Boston, MA 02118
(617) 867-0600
(617) 867-0600

The Elephant Walk

1415 Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02118

The Elephant Walk fuses classic French dishes with Cambodian flavors to create dishes like poulet a la citronnelle, chicken thighs marinated in lemongrass sauce with peanut, onion, bell pepper and scallion or beef tenderloin caramelized in black pepper, garlic and mushroom soy and served with a lime-garlic dipping sauce.

1415 Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02118
(617) 247-1500
(617) 247-1500

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