You don't need to fly to Paris to indulge in top-notch French food. There are plenty of great restaurants in the US where you can get your fix.
Business Insider just released its annual list of the best restaurants in America, which featured several outstanding French spots.
To compile the ranking, we combined six noteworthy lists by food critics, experts, and diners to come up with a definitive ranking of the best restaurants in the country. You can read the full methodology here.
For everything from traditional dishes to French-inspired takes on other cuisines, read on to discover the 14 best French restaurants in America.
14. Everest
Chef: J. Joho
Location: Chicago, Illinois
At Everest, which holds one Michelin star, guests can choose between the seven-course degustation menu, the seven-course vegetarian menu, or three- and four-course prix-fixe menus.
Each selection treats guests to elegant French dishes, like magret duck served with marinated turnips, or slow-braised wild sea bass accompanied by artichokes and leeks.
13. Trois Mec
Chef: Ludo Lefebvre, Jon Shook, Vinny Dotolo
Location: Los Angeles, California
At Trois Mec, a collaboration among chefs Ludo Lefebvre, John Shook, and Vinny Dotolo, guests get in by tickets instead of reservations.
You'll need to be a registered user on their website to try and snag a ticket, but once you do, you'll be treated to elegant dishes like Dungeness crab ceviche and beef tenderloin with smoked peanut butter.
12. Highlands Bar and Grill
Chef: Frank and Pardis Stitt
Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Savory dishes and impeccable service has made Highlands Bar and Grill a favorite in Birmingham since it first opened its doors in 1982.
The iconic spot shifts its menu daily to incorporate fresh, seasonal ingredients — think summers filled with okra soft-shell crab and winters of root vegetables and venison — that merge French techniques with Southern flavors.
11. Café Boulud
Chef: Daniel Boulud, Aaron Bludorn (executive chef)
Location: New York, New York
Just blocks from Central Park on New York's Upper East Side, Café Boulud exhibits proprietor Daniel Boulud's culinary inspirations — seasonal ingredients, vegetables, flavors of world cuisines, and classic French technique — in a four-part menu.
Dishes range from tuna tartare topped with mint to filet mignon with pommes dauphine.
10. Sixteen
Chef: Thomas Lents
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Found on the 16th floor of the Trump International Hotel & Tower, Sixteen serves up French-inspired dishes and breathtaking views of downtown Chicago and Lake Michigan.
The two-Michelin-starred restaurant rebuilds its menu four times a year with a new theme, each of which aims to tell a story through food. Options range from cedar-roasted squash to lobster carpaccio.
9. Atelier Crenn
Chef: Dominique Crenn, Rodney Wages (chef de cuisine)
Location: San Francisco, California
Atelier Crenn serves up French cuisine with a modern twist. The menu here changes seasonally, based on the available products sourced locally in the Bay Area.
The food at the two-Michelin-starred restaurant is light and flavorful, with plates like fluke served over tarragon rice, or smoked sturgeon served with cucumber dash and pickled Asian pears.
8. Nomad
Chef: Daniel Humm, James Kent (executive chef)
Location: New York, New York
At NoMad, Chef Daniel Humm and restaurateur Will Guidara — the talent behind the acclaimed Eleven Madison Park — blend influences from Switzerland, California, and New York.
Executive Chef Janes Kent cooks up exquisite dishes such as venison with roasted butternut squash, whole roasted chicken with foie gras and black truffle, or slow-poached eggs with quinoa.
7. Coi
Chef: Matthew Kirkley
Location: San Francisco, California
Located in San Francisco's North Beach district, the two-Michelin-starred restaurant Coi is all about fresh seafood with a modern twist.
Its nightly menu features the freshest ingredients of the day, with dishes like trout served in a citrus confit or cod served with cockles and mint, at around $297 per person.
6. Gabriel Kreuther
Chef: Gabriel Kreuther
Location: New York, New York
Raised in France, James Beard Award-winning chef Gabriel Kreuther brings traditional French techniques from the Alsace region to his eponymous restaurant.
A four-course prix-fixe menu is available for $125 per guest, featuring dishes like sunchoke soup with black truffles and roasted diver scallops with a basil crumble. You could also upgrade to the chef's carte-blanche menu for $205 a head.
5. Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare
Chef: Cesar Ramirez
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Sit back and watch as Chef Cesar Ramirez and his team prepare elaborate courses in front of you at Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant.
With an intimate kitchen counter that seats 18, you can indulge in the extravagant tasting menu that focuses on seafood — including raw fish and shellfish options — and changes daily to reflect the freshest ingredients of the season.
4. Daniel
Chef: Daniel Boulud, Jean-Francois Bruel (executive chef), Eddy Leroux (chef de cuisine)
Location: New York, New York
At Daniel Boulud's namesake restaurant, Daniel, which boasts two Michelin stars, the chefs draw inspiration from the four seasons, which they translate into upscale French cuisine.
A sampling of dishes might include Long Island fluke with sea urchin and green apple, roasted duck breast topped with a dandelion-flower marmalade, or ravioli filled with braised rabbit and covered in chorizo cream.
3. Jean-Gorges
Chef: Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Mark Lapico (executive chef)
Location: New York, New York
Jean-Georges blends French, American, and Asian influences to craft an ever-changing menu that focuses on ingredients from the local farmer's market.
Inside, floor-to-ceiling windows offer stunning views of Central Park and Columbus Circle. Diners can choose between various prix-fixe menus, with the cost per person averaging about $166.
2. The French Laundry
Chef: Thomas Keller, David Breeden (chef de cuisine)
Location: Yountville, California
For $310 a head, diners at The French Laundry can choose between two prix-fixe menus — the chef's tasting menu or the vegetable-tasting menu — which change daily and don't repeat a single ingredient throughout.
The multicourse menus include everything from sweet butter-poached Alaskan king crab to charcoal-grilled Japanese Wagyu to toasted barley and cauliflower porridge.
1. Le Bernardin
Chef: Eric Ripert, Eric Gestel (executive chef)
Location: New York, New York
A New York City classic since 1986, three-Michelin-starred Le Bernardin uses French techniques to create exquisitely prepared seafood dishes.
Try the chef's tasting menu for $215 per person, or the Le Bernardin-branded tasting menu for $180 a pop, which include delicacies like yellowfin-tuna carpaccio, seared langoustine foie gras, and barely cooked scallops in a brown-butter sauce.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o8HSoqWeq6Oeu7S1w56pZ5ufonyjsdKtZJ%2BqlaOwqXnRnqqtmaWnrq%2FA0magp2WRorKztcKaZGtoYWt6dg%3D%3D