To honor my Vietnamese grandfather’s memory, I owe it to myself to write an article about the best spots for Asian food (he owned a very bad one). Paris is packed with Asian restaurants. During the early 2000’s, hundreds of terrible Japanese restaurants appeared, most of the time owned by Chinese guys, who tried to make us believe that the Japanese used to eat dishes of beef and comté (???). But lost in this ocean of faux-Thai and bad sushi, you can find some hidden gems! Here is our selection:

DAVE
When people arrive at the front of Dave for the first time, they are frequently convinced that it is a cheap Chinese brothel.
Very clandestine, hidden behind large, cheap, red velvet curtains, Dave is in fact a very good Vietnamese/Chinese restaurant. Furthermore, it’s a star and model hot spot…
Mostly frequented by regular customer  (there’s no chance you could go inside by curiosity unless you have suspect morals); if you want to blend with them, don’t be surprised if the waiter doesn’t give you menus. Just order casually something like ” a bit of shrimp, Peking duck and rice for two”(20 euros a dish). You could ask for the wine card, which is more or less just a handwritten sheet of paper, and you ‘ll notice that for the first time in your life at a Chinese restaurant you can order a 400 euro bottle of wine or a bottle of Crystal Roederer champagne  (though we usually pick the 30 euro one). Around 40-50 euros pp.

Dave
12 Rue de Richelieu,
75001 Paris
01 42 61 49 48
metro: palais royal-musée du louvre

Dave (photo: Purple Diary)

PHO 14

Our favorite Vietnamese canteen! Located in 13th district (Paris’s “Chinatown”), this place is mostly frequented by native Vietnamese. There’s almost always a quick-moving line of 10 people waiting for tables. Choose a to sit on the terrace (so as not to be sardined with the other customers inside) and order big beef pho (the typical Vietnamese soup) with a refreshing Saigon beer. Pretty cheap, around 15-20 euros pp.

Pho 14
129, ave de Choisy,
Paris,75013
01 45 83 61 15
metro: Tolbiac

Pho 14

Taeko
Located in the crazy cute Marché des enfants rouges, in this authentic Japanese kyushu island canteen, your dishes will be prepared right in front of you by three young Japanese girls. Typical fish, fried chicken or soup that you ‘ll either eat in the noisy, packed, charming market, or take away to enjoy elsewhere.

Taeko
38 rue de Bretagne
75003
metro: filles du calvaire

Taeko

Le petit Usagi
Recently opened by Shinsuké Kawahara, this place proposes Thai/Japanese pop food. Located in a design hotel (Citizen Hotel) on the Canal Saint-Martin, you’ll find the best crazily-named, healthy food that you could to take away (or not), to enjoy your curry bentô and your miso-matcha cake on the sunny (these days) canal dock…

Le petit Usagi
96, quai de Jemmapes
75010 Tél. : 01 83 62 55 50
Métro : Jacques-Bonsergent
noon-16pm, Tues-Sun

le Petit Usagi

Nanashi

This place is a Japanese/European fusion restaurant. Successfully opened a few months ago by Lionel (Baron, Fidélité etc), another has also just opened in le Marais. When we have a few pounds to loose (which never happens), we choose this place to eat some healthy bentos or the soup of the day in the friendly canteen atmosphere. Ideal for a quick lunch. Around 25 euros pp.
The new one has recently opened in the north Marais rue Charlot 75003 .

Nanashi
31 Rue de Paradis
75010 Paris
– 01 40 22 05 55
metro: Poissonière

Nanashi

other suggestions:
mirama (Peking duck) 17 rue saint-jacques/ 75005/ metro: cluny la sorbonne
krung tep (Thai)  93 rue Julien Lacroix/ 75020/ metro: la belleville
higuma (lamen and gyozas) 32 bis rue saint-anne/ 75001 /metro: pyramides