Petit Paris

My wife and I really enjoyed this restaurant. The food was excellent: well prepared, perfectly seasoned, tasty, and served professionally. So far the best meal of 8 in Edinburgh.

Had been to this place so many times and never wrote a review. Well, everything they cook tastes amazing. The service is always friendly and is truly old-​fashion French cooking. From the mussels to the house wine to the crème brulee. Always great quality.

I wouldn’t normally choose a French restaurant for dinner, but it was late, and the only other places open were pubs or pizza joints.
The waiter who greeted us at the door was super friendly, super informative, and super French (or else he was super talented at faking an accent). He told us right away which dishes they were out of (it was after 10 pm, after all), and then left us to look over the menu.
I decided to try their Coq a Vin (which I realized to my dismay that I’d pronounced incorrectly), and my husband ordered the Toulouse sausages. We also ordered a glass of the house red, which was served in a water glass. Is that normal?
While we waited, they brought out bread and our wine, which was a nice start. Our meals followed not long after, and I was immediately impressed. The dish that was set down in front of my husband was served with potatoes and had a sizeable salad included (which I’m sure he needed, at that point). They also brought out a container that had four different types of mustard for him to try. My coq a vin came out in a small pot, which our waiter then plated in front of me.
I’ve made coq a vin a couple times at home. At least, I’ve made what I thought of a coq a vin. After this meal, though, I realize that my dish is a sad imitation. Their version had a bold, rich flavor, without tasting overwhelmingly of red wine. The chicken was moist and tender, and the vegetables within the sauce were perfectly cooked, not mushy at all.
My husband, meanwhile, was so absorbed in the destruction of his meal that he had gone silent, except for the few yummy noises that escaped between chewing. I think he liked it.
We enjoyed the meal and the service very much — much more than I expected going in. The service was excellent, and the quality of the food — even at closing time — were top notch.

True French restaurant. The mussels were amazing! Had the best mackerel I’ve ever had. Tasted the French onion soup; flavor was so rich. Service throughout the meal was top notch. Even the dessert was the bomb.

Came here with my family during my wedding weekend and we were all blown away. This is a real french restaurant owned and staffed by French people who all speak English with a French accent and speak to each other in French. This particular aspect gave it more authenticity and might have contributed to my 5 star review. The food was superb and left us wanting more after each bite. We had the lamb stew, escargot, and crème brûlée. Each one was mouth watering and delicious and we all agreed that it was one of the finest meals we had ever had. Their bread was also amazing. When my wife and I return for our wedding anniversary, this restaurant will be on our itinerary. I wish I could eat this right now.

klein & fein — einfach, schnell, super Küche! typisch französisch, auch der Humor der Kellner! Sensationell!
Nicht zu empfehlen für grössere Gruppen.

«Sis! Happy birthday!»
«Bro, my birthday was in June.»
«I know. I’m taking you to Petit Paris. Woah, look at this city, it’s PERFORMING! What’s THAT building? And that one?»
This was the exchange that occurred when my excellent brother stepped off the train at the beginning of his visit last month.
Now then. There are two reasons that Petit Paris was the first place that sprang to my brother’s mind when he wanted to take me out for a meal in a city he’d only actually visited once before. The first is that he didn’t really know anywhere else. The second is that he was genuinely impressed with it when he came to Edinburgh last and he doesn’t like to give shoddy presents; he’s good that way.
Well, I see why he was impressed. The waiter who took our coats and saw us to our seats (table complete with cute gingham tablecloth) was cheery and warm, and plenty patient as we ummed and ahhed over the delicious-​looking menu. We began with snails to share — yes, folks, I do the snail thing, and if you have not done the snail thing, Petit Paris is probably the place to do the snail thing. Rich in a garlic and parsley sauce, and blissfully un-​chewy, they nestled in indentations in the special snail-​dish like happy little blobs of buttery snaily joy. That dish, by the way, makes the process great fun and also, when you’re sharing as we were, easy to ensure equitable division of the very good goods.
(I like to imagine that I am a hedgehog when I do the snail thing. That’s just an irrelevant little side note for your entertainment.)
My main was the goat’s cheese and vegetable pie — utter bliss. The number of times things get passed off as pies when they’re really just tarts is so disappointing. The difference, of course, is that a pie should have pastry on the top. This, to my delight, did, and the pastry was superb. Likewise the filling; the goat’s cheese was liberal although it could have perhaps been more evenly distributed as it took me a couple of forkfuls to find it, hiding as it was under its pastry blanket. Bro was less ecstatic about his rabbit, proclaiming it a little stringy, but generally adequate.
Having ordered, in a moment’s forgetfulness, a bottle of wine instead of a glass, Bro must have been happy enough with its quality; it was all gone by the time we left and as anyone who reads my reviews regularly will know, Sis was by no means his glamorous assistant in this vanishing act.
It’s not the cheapest place to eat in Edinburgh, but at around £20 for a starter and main it’s very reasonable indeed, especially given the undeniable quality.

I had the peppercorn steak. I ordered it rare and it came out perfectly. The waitstaff were kind and efficient. Others in the group had the fish and chicken and they approved as well. We sat outside and the atmosphere was enjoyable. The house wine was acceptable.

A cute little French restaurant on Grassmarket. Interior is small with about six tables and a nice French country décor. Lovely ambiance. Service is also good as is the wine list. On nice days plenty of outdoor seating. Unfortunately I felt the food was average at best. Somewhat bland. I would probably not return for the food.

My Dad is nothing short of obsessed with France, and for years whenever he has visited he has wanted to go to Petit Paris. However, foolishly, I did the shallow ‘judging a restaurant by its table cloths’ thing and always took him somewhere else.
Last night, I finally went here with Joe A, and oh how wrong to judge was I! I wanted to try all the starters, in particular the snails. On this occasion I wasn’t very hungry so I just had a main, but I did try some of Joe’s black pudding starter and it was delicious!
For my main I had the veggie option, a goats cheese, red pepper, courgette and tomato pie. It was served in the dish it was cooked in and was really tasty. I also tried a bit of Joe’s lamb stew and that was incredibly tender and tasty too.
The staff are all French which is nice, although the language carrier was a slight issue when asking for Jack Daniels, but of course you should just drink wine in a French restaurant anyway :) The décor inside is actually pretty cool, a relaxed atmosphere with old tin adverts on the walls.
So, next time my Dad visits I will absolutely swallow my pride, tell him he was right and I was wrong, and take him here! Oh and I will make sure I’m hungry so I can have the snails!!!

Part of me thinks that anywhere on the Grassmarket can’t be this good as it presumably gets loads of tourists, but I’ve never had a meal here that was anything less than excellent. Real French staff (so feel free to bust out your high school French class chops), real French food.
They occasionally have special mid-​week nights on for things like fondue which offers a good deal, but the menu is stuffed with classics so if you want to recreate your last French holiday, this is where to come. Their wine list is reasonably priced and they have a house wine which is good enough for me so you needn’t spend a fortune on booze. Everything here is delicious: boudin noir with mustardy French salad, terrine, bouillabaisse, cassoulet, coq au vin, all the classics done well. The other night I had a lamb stew. The waiter brought it out in a little one pot serving that he then spooned onto my plate. The meat was so tender that it just fell apart under my fork.
The service is very friendly and attentive but not pushy, and the place has a nice atmosphere as well, cosy without being cramped. Upstairs is probably nicer but even being in the downstairs bit with no windows is quite snug and atmospheric. Although to be honest I haven’t been in the downstairs bit in ages so I may be looking back with rose tinted lunettes. There’s also outside seating for those three days a year when the weather obliges. But upstairs or downstairs, inside or out, this place delivers every time.

We had a truly wonderful evening here. They had prime rib on special that night as a sharing menu. The biggest piece of beef I have ever seen arrived, cooked perfectly. It was spectacular!

I enjoyed their lunch/​pre-​theatre menu there. Price was right for my budget when I was a uni student and wanted to treat myself once in a while.

The best French restaurant in Edinburgh.

Tiny little place on the Grassmarket! The food was okay but nothing special it has to be said. Prices were reasonable & portion sizes okay! We had a glass of wine with lunch, it was an unexciting French variety but inoffensive. The one thing that stood out was the Crème Brulee! It was heaven on a plate! Staff were friendly enough but we did have a problem getting the waitress to understand we wanted white wine & not red!
Mashed potato seemed to feature high on the menu!

Petit Paris is an excellent French restaurant in the Grassmarket which offers delicious food and speedy service. The prices are painfully expensive, however, and it’s literally jaw-​dropping to scan the menu once they’ve sat you down. The starters are all reasonably priced and I went for the fish soup which was rich and tasty. The mains are all about £15 each! You’ll be hard pushed to find something which takes your fancy for under this price and it means that you spend double what you would in any other restaurant. I opted for the roast chicken supreme which tasted amazing (thankfully) and had some nice cheese and bacon to accompany it.
We each spent about £20 each in here and, although it was a great meal, we’ll check the finances before coming again.

I had the fish soup when I came here (thinking along the lines of Cullen Skink… seafood showder… etc etc) but it was DISGUSTING. It tasted like a fish had gone into the blender, skin, bones, eyes and all, and put into a bowl. I had about 3 sips and couldn’t eat any more. My friends also didn’t enjoy their food either, one had venison (which was chewy) and the other had duck (which was rubbery). I’m just back from Paris, and can say with total confidence that this is nothing like it!

I was lured into Petit Paris one evening last summer after the promise of two courses for £7 or something along those lines, needless to say I didn’t end up ordering anything off the cheap menu so the bill came to three times that amount. I enjoyed my evening of Franco delights though and the combination of sitting outside eating snails, smoking between courses and being doted on by genuine French waiters temporarily transported me to France.
Although I can’t say I particularly enjoyed my escargot (they seemed to be a bit gritty and I’m not sure how good they would have tasted had it not been for the oodles of garlic butter), the rest of the food was lovely and, seeing as I won’t be going on holiday this year, I may just have to spend a good few evenings at Petit Paris instead.

Aaah, Paris… One of my favourate cities in the world… After Edinburgh of course.
Petit Paris, despite being in Edinburghs Grass Market, has all of the charm and flavour of a real Parisian side street bistro. Effortlessly cool and sophisticated, the atmosphere of Petit Paris is almost addictive — chilled, friendly, bustling and exciting.
Petit Paris isnt cheap however, but this can easily be justified once you set eyes on your meal. The menu has two dsitinct characters — modern french food and snacks as well as more traditional and special French delicacies. The French onion soup is beaten only by places I have eaten it in Paris myself — not that you would be able to tell you were in Edinburgh as the whole staff team are French and very friendly.
Petit Paris is a fabulous find, and I am already looking forward to my next trip to France — without ever leaving the country.

Mais oui, nous sommes maintenant a Paris, non?
Petit Paris is the most authentic French restaurant I’ve ever visited in Edinburgh! From the tiny restaurant space, which feels intimate (and occasionally far too hot when it’s busy) to the French waiters to the truly authentic menu, it really is like visiting a mini Paris in the inauspicious looking Grassmarket.
The food is excellent: for main course, I had the coq au vin, my companion had the sausage, and for appetiser the terrine and the escargots. We were blown away by the food — although it is heavy so definitely go hungry! The wine was also great — recommended by our waiter, whose service was attentive but not overbearing.
In general, highly recommend. Just be prepared for the heat and intimacy — I promise, the food and service will be well worth it.

I ate here with a small group of friends and generally found this small restaurant to be reasonable. The staff are perfectly polite and reasonably quick to satisfy your requests.
As someone who’s both lived and worked in France, it’s worth mentioning that the staff do indeed speak French — so if you’re interested in making use of the French language, it’s not a problem.
With regards to price, I found Petite Paris to be slightly on the more expensive side of affairs. However, I managed to have a nice meal with a glass of wine (no starters,) for around twenty pounds. So if you’re a student it’s certainly not out of your depth financially, but at the same time I suspect this is somewhere you don’t want to eat on a regular basis.
My only real criticism is that the name Petite Paris should perhaps be taken literally. As at times, you may very well find yourself quite pushed for space and it can be hard to maneuver around staff, tables and other customers when busy.
All in all, a nice if slightly cramped restaurant, which has something to offer for at least a one time dining experience.