Au Petit Tonneau

We have been dining at Au Petit Tonneau for over 20 years. With each visit we feel as though we are being welcomed into a friend's home. Every meal has been delightful - reflecting authentic French Cuisine in a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere. We are always warmly greeted by the owner Arlette and recently enjoyed being served by her daughter Carla. The quality of the food and attentive service is underscored by the local Parisian diners who frequent the restaurant on a nightly basis. During our last visit in December 2025 we enjoyed the escargot starter, the rabbit stuffed with Foie Gras, the veal loin with a hazelnut crust, and their fabulous Tarte Tatin for dessert. Arlette and Carla provided excellent advice on the wine pairings with each dish including a delightful calvados to enjoy with dessert. If you are seeking classic French cooking in an intimate setting on a quiet street in Paris just a 20-minute walk from the Eiffel Tower, Au Petit Tonneau is the restaurant for you!

Highly recommended. Best Nougat Glacé I have ever tasted - including in this comparison some Michelin stared restaurants (see my reviews if interested). Had very good, 4/5, meat. Wine was as good as expected. Kind, respectful and nice service.

The food is great, but the service is really slow and poor. We were asked if we needed water and said yes, but didn’t receive any until the end despite asking again later. We ordered Coke Zero but were given regular Coke instead. Pretty pricey for this level of food and service.

Lovely spot for lunch. Classic French with excellent wine selections. Blanquette de veau was amazing

It was absolutely fantastic experience. We ordered starter, mains and dessert, and after all food we didn’t feel heavy. Food was very tasty, delicious. Soft, juicy, not oily, just divine. Highly recommend to try even if not staying in the area around. And we will definitely be back next time in Paris. Merci

This place was quite the turn of events. We didn’t have a reservation so had to wait a bit to get a table, which is understandable. However, once we were seated and given menus, no one was serving us after more than 20 min, which made me unhappy and was thinking to leave. Finally, they came to our table and informed us that they were out of few of the main dishes which didn’t leave us that many options. We decided to get a main dish and two appetizers and see how it goes. Meanwhile, the dishes at tables around us didn’t look like anything especial and a bit plain, so I was getting worried and was looking for the next restaurant to go after to get “more proper”food. Once they brought our food, it was a turning point. As simple as it looked, it was all made to perfection and absolutely delicious. To the point that I decided to stay longer and have dessert. I’m so glad that we did. It was spectacular. Again, super simple green apple tart (or more like a green apple upside down), but wow. I never had apple tart this good and I’m not an apple dessert person. I’ll be back and hopefully can get a table again. Well done. 👍 PS: the Chateaubriand steak with potato gratin is an absolute must have.

Recommendations: get the lamb dish and the gratin potatoes side. The tart was lovely for dessert. The good: The place is nice and staff is very polite. The dishes are a fairly good size and quality. The not too good: it's a bit expensive for what it is. Specially the starters. Location is the reason so no big deal. You can enjoy a nice meal here. Here's the menu:

Everything you want from a Paris Bistrot - not too big, relaxing atmosphere, excellent food featuring many classics, a good but not pretentious wine list. Extremely friendly and helpful service. We went on a quiet Sunday so it was a little quiet, but I'm sure on a busier day it would have a little more bustle.

About 12 years ago, we were in Paris to visit our daughter who was studying in France. We stayed in a hotel in the 7th and looked for a restaurant nearby for Easter dinner. I don't recall how we found Le Petit Tonneau, but how fortunate we were. The food was excellent and the service was so friendly - like we stumbled into someone's home who was glad to welcome us. At the end of the meal, the maitre'd brought us glasses of calvados to cheer the day. We made another trip to Paris just before the pandemic and stopped here again - just as warm and inviting as our first visit. Please go - a meal here will make you,feel that, at least inside Le Petit Tonneau, the world is a wonderful place and you are blessed to enjoy it! Bon

This small restaurant is an excellent choice for dinner in the 7th near Blvd de la Tour Maubourg and the Eiffel Tower. Superb service and the dishes are amazing. Best was the chateaubriand with cheese potatoes followed closely by the escargot and veal. Reservations recommended but not required.

It was closed but no one knew this! They need to update their communication methods! It really ruined the evening...

Truly one of my FAVORITE meals on my whole month in Paris. I sat outside and opted for the pre-fixe lunch special. Was truly to die for and cooked to perfection. Will make it a priority to return and recommend to others.

This restaurant is really pleasant. It's our second visit here. We ordered two different beef dishes, and both were delicious. Moreover, everyone is friendly and speaks English very well. It is a bit higher priced than last year, but I think it's worth it. I highly recommend this place.

We came here bc it was recommended in Rick Steve's Paris guidebook and it was amazing. We loved the mushrooms and tuna tartar. The steak was amazing as were the potatoes. I was having trouble picking a wine and the owner joked she had no bad bottles of wine. Both of the wines we had were delicious. The restaurant felt classic, beautiful, and a little understated. The service was slower than the American standard but very attentive and warm. I'd recommend making a reservation and coming hungry. Bon appetite!

We ate a delicious dinner here last night . The waitstaff was absolutely lovely and the food was delicious. We did not have a reservation but were able to be seated even though a large party was coming in at 8:30. We left around 8:45 and the restaurant was packed! We had the escargot, the John Dory, and the veal and all were delicious. We sat near another American couple and had a nice chat with them. A wonderful experience!

Had an amazing meal with my wife on our way from Barcelona to London. Started with mushrooms sautéed, and she had chateaubriand and I had pigeon- both were amazing and the bottle of Chateau Roylland was fantastic. Service was excellent and made the small restaurant feel like a castle. Merci beaucoup!

We came here after some friends recommend it and are happy we did. Close to the Eiffel Tower this restaurant is perfect because it has a local feel and amazing family oriented customer service. We have never felt so welcomed. For starters the waitress brought over some complimentary Radishes with sea salt and some fresh bread. We then ordered the escargot which were served deliciously in the shell in the traditional garlic and basil sauce. For entrees we had the beef and the chicken. The beef was a chateaubriand and had a delicious green peppercorn sauce. The chicken was the most tender we have ever had and was amazingly savory. Both were served with an amazing roasted (almost fried) potato which were mouth watering. Although we were too full for desert the kitchen brought out complimentary shortbread and chocolate shortbread cookies. Awesome experience that we look forward to repeating.

This was my favorite dinner over my extended weekend trip to Paris. The family who owns the restaurant was so warm and welcoming to our group of four girls from New York. It's quite nondescript and small, but not far from the Eiffel Tower. We were recommended a lovely white wine from Bordeaux which was inexpensive and most of all delicious. I was surprised because I normally gravitate towards full bodied reds but now I'm seriously questioning my loyalty. I'm still on the hunt to find it in New York! People often associate French food with rich sauces, loads of full fat, cheese, etc. but it wasn't the case here. We tried nearly all the main proteins and sides - lamb chops, veal, duck, roasted potatoes, scalloped potatoes, endives, haricot verts, and escargot. The lamb was my favorite actually! At the end I surreptitiously informed our server that it was my friends birthday, and they kindly brought out our desserts with a candle. Don't expect a song and dance tho - they classy.

Recommended by Eater that this is the one amazing local restaurant that no one heard of. And yes it was that fabulous. Low key, great food, and the French lady that ran the place spoke good English and was very hospitable. I had the veal chop which was cooked to perfection. The lamb chop with a burnt rosemary was a hit. Snails were tender and well prepared. Must try. Great break from the other Michelin tasting menus.

Don't get me wrong--I really wanted to adore this place. We spotted this restaurant on Eater's essentials list so naturally came in with high expectations. The atmosphere is charming with picnic tablecloths and the service is good, but the flavors fell short. The highlight of the meal was the garlic escargot, flavorful, hot and delicious. But the rest of the experience was less than satisfying once we received the flavorless sea bass tartar (on special) and the Chateaubriand entree (mediocre). To end on a positive note, they do provide fun little extras - complimentary salami taster, cucumber gazpacho, and tiny cookies.

Me and my boyfriend spent our anniversary dinner here. If you arrive right at opening you'll he able to get a table without a reservation, but maybe an hour or two after you'll most likely need one. The restaurant itself is on the smaller side, but that makes it so the staff is able to give you better service. The woman who I think is one of the owners was very sweet, she let us know her recommendations and any new daily dishes they offered. The pigeon and veal we had for dinner were perfect, the crème caramel was good it was kind of like a flan. Just everything from the food, to the service, and the atmosphere made this place amazing, we both highly recommend it. Thank you for making our last day in Paris a great one!

09.14.2018 For our first night in Paris, my friend and I decided we should start with a bang at a fine dining restaurant. We were staying in the 10th arr. and decided to head to the 7th arr. for a spot we made a reservation to a month in advance. This place was such a treat and Marcel (I hope I did not mess up his name) was a delight. The workers are so welcoming and helpful. Marcel explained the menu to us and provided suggestions which we followed and because of this and many more reasons I hope everyone adds this restaurant to their list of musts when in Paris. We started out with tomato soup and a plate with radish, salami, and baby pickles. The tomato soup was the perfect temperature. It was warm enough to eat without scolding the roof of your mouth or tongue. It was flavorful and a good start to what turned out to be an amazingly eventful meal for my tastebuds. Let me just add that I do not care for tomatoes at all but I would eat their tomato soup every day if I could. As a starter we had the HOT GOAT'S CHEESE ROASTED WITH THYME ON TOAST WITH SALAD. I did not care for the goat cheese but I enjoyed the salad. For the main dish, Marcel recommended that I try the steak with gratin potatoes. He based his recommendations off of the fact that I was trying to order the rib steak. I am paraphrasing loosely but he explained that the rib steak is something I may not like because of the way it is prepared. It is a french thing so to speak. I hope what I am saying makes sense. I took it as like how steak tartare is very French so I went with the suggestion. Let me just take a moment of silence to celebrate the goodness that was that steak and gratin potatoes. The steak cut was perfect. PERFECT. It was also cooked to the perfect temperature. It was tender. It held so much flavor. It was accompanied with like an au jour sauce which was also packed with flavor. The potatoes...I should have asked to meet the face behind the food. The potatoes were too good to accurately describe so just order them...ok...just order the potatoes in addition to any meal you have. I do not care if all you have is a glass of water....get the potatoes. No meal is complete in Paris without chocolate mousse! The mousse was velvety and smooth. It was rich but not so rich to where you could not finish it. I forced my friend to share my mousse because I had to make sure she was also about her mousse life. I remember taking 4 years of French in high school and being apart of French club and random days of being treated to mousse was a favorite pastime. I forgot to mention that we also enjoyed glasses of white wine while being on this euphoric dining journey but unfortunately I cannot recall the details of the wine. After we completed our dinner and getting to know Marcel, we decided to walk to the Eiffel and take night pictures and explore the area on foot since it would not be as tourist filled during the night hours. I have added Au Petit Tonneau on my list of musts when in Paris. I will be back in 2019 for another meal. Make sure to add it to your list as well.

My husband and I went here for dinner on our first night in Paris. We were emphatically welcomed. The man who was helping us explained everything thoroughly and gave great recommendations. Had the chicken special and it was the best chicken I've ever had. Not to mention the escargot, bread, pickles and radishes, and chocolate mousse. Would go back here in a heartbeat.

French restaurant serving a great variety of traditional cuisine. I had the escargot and the chicken breast, both of which were delicious. Restaurant owner, as well as the waitresses, were very warm and welcoming. Inclusive atmosphere. Reasonable pricing.

We just left this small restaurant in Paris and loved the food, the service, the ambience at a reasonable price. From start to finish this was our best meal in Paris at about 50% of the cost of a highly regarded restaurant where the food was OK, but nothing special. We tried to eat at this restaurant a few nights ago, but they had no room without a reservation. I would go back again and again.

This place is AMAZING! The food is so incredible and the service is out of this world! As are most restaurants in Paris, it is small so make sure you make reservations. This is a definite return for us when we visit Paris again. The veal stew, potatoes Au gratin and and tuna tartare are items you don't want to miss! My colleagues also said the duck and pigeon were incredibly tasty!

Lovely little French place. Close to the Eiffel Tower but not too close as to be a tourist trap. I had a three course meal. The snail (escargot) starter was absolutely delicious! The steak was good and the chocolate mousse provided the perfect finish. The staff were super helpful and friendly, and put up with me practicing my broken French. Would definitely recommend anyone to go! Price per head: €50-60 with wine.

Amazing food! We didn't have reservations, but I think we got pretty lucky, I would highly recommend making them. It's a pretty small restaurant. The staff was so friendly and gave us excellent recommendations. They had many specials in addition to their regular menu. We would 100% go back and recommend.

Wonderful, cozy, family-run restaurant in Paris! Great for a romantic dinner. The staff are friendly. The menu offers, generally, 3-4 main choices that will appeal to all. Great wine and great food.

Excellent small artisanal restaurant with a focus on seafood. The owners are also the servers. Enthusiastic people trying to leave a good impression. And it's not difficult given the delicious food and excellent wine and reasonable prices.

Escargot and Chateaubriand were great. Hospitality was even better. Already planning a return.

Very good dinner. Highly recommended if you are looking for transitional French cuisine. Staffs were very friendly and recommended what we should get for a 3 person dinner. All the dishes were yummy and we were very satisfied!

I'm not very exotic in my tastes, so it was nice they could please me and everyone in my party. I started with lentils lard (8 €) and then to chateaubriand (28 €). The chateaubriand was awesome. My companions who had gotten escalope de veau (18 €) agreed that mine was better. Definitely worth the trip and we will be going back within the month. They are English speaking and it's worth getting to know them. The chef is a bit particular, waitress understanding and it makes for a very warm and entertaining affair. By the end of the evening, we were saying goodbye like we knew them for years.

This place is by far my favorite restaurant in the whole world. We travel to France annually and we never leave without dining here. The staff are always friendly and EVERYTHING on the menu is to die for. I love love love this place.

Excellent!! My wife & I have eaten here for many years. We live in Oakland CA and know Bay Area restaurants. We love the restaurants in the 7th . We suffered the loss of Ginnat (sp) the wonderful woman who was the chef for many years at Au Petit Tonneau.However Adalide (sp) who worked there for many years has continued the wonderful menu. This is truly good & worth your time and appetite.

I found this place on Eater Paris, the service and food is absolutely outstanding. If you are lucky enough to score a table, you will not be disappointed. An authentic experience throughout.

Lovely and welcoming Parisian Bistro away from the Rue Cler tourist crowds. Delicious and authentic Parisian faire. My daughter, sister and I loved every minute this experience . From US Iowa and Washington states

Thank you so much for a wonderful evening last month. The restaurant is just a few blocks from our apartment and ideal for a quaint family French meal. Strongly recommend it, but, if your digestive system is not used to French food, ease yourself into it by watching your butter consumption. I learned it the hard way, but, still, the service, dining and experience was top notch.

Great authentic French cuisine with personal touch. Owners take care of you and ensure you enjoy every aspect of your meal (which you will). Veal stew was great for me. Reasonably priced considering all of the food and service you receive.

Excellent food. Had beautifully prepared monk fish. Vegetables fresh and perfect. Relaxed pleasant inviting ambience. Small intimate restaurant perfect for quiet relaxing evening

Highly recommended. Tucked away in lovely Paris. The duck and seafood was excellent. We finished lunch off with coffee. Go and visit while there!

Me husband and I found this place walking towards the Eiffel Tower - this place is a Gem! Only using fresh ingredients from the market that day - when they are out - they are out - everything was cooked to perfection - the staff was very friendly and welcoming. We will return here on our next trip to Paris.

This is a find of a small (about 24 diners-so reserve) local bistro with excellent not pricey food. That is why we say it is a find. Red checkered tablecloths, tiny pots of flowers, friendly service (English spoken) and a blackboard written of favorites like for starters a good green salad with lardons, escargots by the dozen, toasts of goat cheese with a salad, lentils in a mustard dressing, etc. Our main courses were super too-- chateaubriand with a pepper sauce (very tender-delious), sea bass served with a side of au gratin potatoes or green beens, a duck filet, rack of lamb or their veal stew made famous in the Georges Simenon books about Comissaire Maigret (which I read yrs ago and loved). Go. Reserve. Enjoy.

We loved this place. We had a lovely dining experience. Everything was wonderful. The standouts are the sautéed mushroom appetizer, the steak with blue cheese sauce, the duck and the chocolate mousse. The chef is obviously very talented and the entire staff made us feel welcome. They work very hard to make sure everyone in the house has a great evening. We can't wait to go back.

Wonderful little restaurant. The service was impeccable and the food was delicious and fresh. Great traditional French food in a quaint little bistro. The owner was very friendly and spoke English well and went out of his way to be accommodating. Great experience all around!

What a great place for traditional French cuisine. We were there when Madame was in charge - loved the handwritten wine list and the food was great! We have been there twice and will make it a stop on our trips to Paris!