Best Burgers in Paris: Marais to Oberkampf

The best burgers in Paris are concentrated in the Marais (3rd and 4th arrondissements), around Oberkampf and République in the 11th, along the Canal Saint-Martin in the 10th, and in South Pigalle in the 9th. Expect two families: American-style smash burgers and cheeseburgers, and the bistro burger, served with fries and topped with a French cheese such as Comté, Reblochon or Fourme d’Ambert.

Paris adopted the burger late and then fast. The gourmet food trucks that reached the city’s streets in late 2011 helped turn a fast-food item into a chef’s dish, and within a few years the burger had become a fixture on brasserie and bistro menus. Today it is a standard lunch order, often within a set-price “formule” of main course plus drink or dessert. Parisians dine later than Londoners or New Yorkers, rarely before 8 pm.

Burgers in Paris: key facts

• Neighbourhoods to explore: Le Marais, Oberkampf and République, Canal Saint-Martin, South Pigalle, Batignolles and the Latin Quarter.
• Local style: the bistro burger, with French cheese and fries (“frites”).
• Cheeses to look for: Comté, Reblochon, Cantal and Fourme d’Ambert.
• When locals eat: lunch from noon, dinner from about 8 pm.
• Currency and service: prices are in euros (EUR), and French law requires menu prices to include service.
• Getting around: the Métro reaches every arrondissement.

Every guide we publish on Paris is dated and lists only venues, addresses, prices and ratings we could verify. For the rest of France and beyond, see our burger restaurant guides.