French food has had it rough in recent years. Once upon a time, it was considered the world’s finest, with maybe only Chinese as its nearest competitor. Having a French chef was a sign that a restaurant (or a wealthy individual) knew what fine food was and how to get it.
How times have changed…. Many of the best chefs cooking in U.S. restaurants today have had French training, either in formal cooking schools like the Cordon Bleu or through stints at restaurants in France, but the food they’re cooking might well incorporate flavors from Japan, India, Vietnam, Peru, or Spain, or be just plain old- or new-style American. And the restaurants everybody seems to want to go to, especially in the big coastal capitals, are more likely to be Italian, Mexican, or Korean, than French.
There’s still something about la cuisine française, however. Whether it’s bistro fare like pâté or onion soup or intricate contemporary masterpieces of the kind that might be served at such Michelin three-star places as the French Laundry in Napa Valley or Le Bernardin in Manhattan – or anything in-between – French cooking at its best offers a complexity and subtlety that still pleases our palates, however much we might also enjoy spaghetti alla carbonara, tacos de birria, or bibimbap. (These are the best Michelin three-star restaurants in the world.)
To compile a list of the best French restaurant in every state, 24/7 Tempo consulted reviews and ratings on sites including Gayot, Michelin, Tasting Table, Time Out, Culture Trip, Business Insider, and Yelp, as well as numerous local and regional sources.
In making our final choices, we considered not only various markers of quality (star ratings, effusive critical praise, etc.) but also, insofar as it could be determined, the fidelity each establishment pays to authentic French culinary traditions, whether classical or contemporary.
Sometimes the competition was stiff – as in California, Illinois, New York, Texas, or Nevada, all of which have a wealth of French restaurants to choose from. In other cases (Wyoming, West Virginia, the Dakotas), it was more difficult to find a well-regarded restaurant that served French food exclusively or even primarily, but we eventually came up with credible representatives of the genre for those states too. (If French food just isn’t your thing, however, consider this list of the best Italian restaurant in every state.)
Click here to see the best French restaurant in every state
Alabama: Chez Fonfon
> Location: Birmingham
> Sample dishes: Provençal stuffed zucchini, trout with capers and brown butter, Basque cake with Chantilly cream
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Alaska: Crow’s Nest
> Location: Anchorage
> Sample dishes: Pork belly rillettes, black cod with sauce Choron, certified Black Angus beef ribeye bordelaise
Arizona: Le Sans Souci
> Location: Cave Creek
> Sample dishes: Coquilles St. Jacques, mixed grill à l’anglaise, peach Melba
Arkansas: Bienvenue
> Location:Springdale
> Sample dishes:Escargots en croûte, rabbit pithiviers, roasted Cornish hen with Parisian potatoes
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California: The French Laundry
> Location:Yountville
> Sample dishes:Rouelle of Dover sole, “prime rib” of Elysian Fields Farm lamb, gougère of cave-aged Comté and black winter truffle “fondue”
Colorado: French Alpine Bistro
> Location:Aspen
> Sample dishes:Steak tartare, cheese fondue, coq au vin
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Connecticut: Luc’s Café
> Location:Ridgefield
> Sample dishes:Oeufs mayonnaise, pâté de campagne, Hudson Valley duck confit
Delaware: Le Cavalier
> Location:Wilmington
> Sample dishes:Salmon à la greque, steak frites, profiteroles
Florida: L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
> Location:Miami
> Sample dishes:Crispy langoustine with basil coulis, scallops in cilantro broth, filet mignon
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Georgia: Café Alsace
> Location:Decatur
> Sample dishes:Tarte flambée, ratatouille en croûte with merguez sausage, crème brûlée
Hawaii: Michel’s at the Colony Surf
> Location:Honolulu (O’ahu)
> Sample dishes:Lobster bisque à la Michel’s, chateaubriand for two, Michel’s chocolate soufflé
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Idaho: Bacquet’s
> Location:Eagle
> Sample dishes:Baked Camembert, salmon champenoise, médaillon de veau chasseur
Illinois: Les Nomades
> Location:Chicago
> Sample dishes:Wild mushroom soup with truffle foam, duo of braised lamb and grilled veal tenderloin with cassoulet beans, warm cherry clafoutis with lemon verbena ice cream
Indiana: Petite Chou Bistro & Champagne Bar
> Location:Indianapolis
> Sample dishes:Duck rillettes, chicken paillard, lobster frites
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Iowa: Chez Grace
> Location:Coralville
> Sample dishes:Mesclun salad with goat cheese, pan-seared Hudson Valley foie gras with caramelized pear, steak au poivre
Kansas: Georges French Bistro
> Location:Wichita
> Sample dishes:Smoked salmon crêpe, duck à l’orange, chocolate mousse cake
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Kentucky: La Folie
> Location:Lexington
> Sample dishes:Salade lyonnaise, rosemary chicken, bombe au chocolate
Louisiana: Ciro’s Côte Sud
> Location:New Orleans
> Sample dishes:Moules frites, côtes d’agneau grillées aux herbes de Provence, tarte tatin à la mode
Maine: Petite Jacqueline
> Location:Portland
> Sample dishes:Vichyssoise, trout amandine, pot de crème
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Maryland: La Ferme
> Location:Chevy Chase
> Sample dishes:Crème brûlée au foie gras, grilled Dover sole, sweetbreads in lemon-caper butter sauce
Massachusetts: Ma Maison
> Location:Boston
> Sample dishes:Uncle Lucien’s country pâté, frogs’ legs provençale, magret of duck with red cherries
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Michigan: The French Lady
> Location:Detroit
> Sample dishes:Quiche forestière, chicken basquaise, madeleines
Minnesota: Meritage
> Location:St. Paul
> Sample dishes:Billi-bi saffron-mussel soup, pommes frites with béarnaise sauce, cherry-glazed magret of duck
Mississippi: Anjou Restaurant
> Location:Ridgeland
> Sample dishes:Savory zucchini beignets, crawfish crêpe, Angus center cut filet with maître d’hôtel butter
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Missouri: Café Provençal
> Location:Kirkwood
> Sample dishes:Grated celery root salad, daube de boeuf, tarte au chocolat
Montana: 2nd Street Bistro
> Location:Livingston
> Sample dishes:Artichoke barigoule, rabbit fricasée, lamb ragoût
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Nebraska: Le Voltaire
> Location:Omaha
> Sample dishes:Assiette de charcuterie, côte du porc en croûte de pistache, lemon and lavender gâteau
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Nevada: Guy Savoy
> Location:Las Vegas
> Sample dishes:Artichoke and black truffle soup, quail stuffed with foie gras, chocolate fondant
New Hampshire: Bridge Street Bistrot & Wine Bar
> Location:Manchester
> Sample dishes:Wild mushroom crêpe, swordfish provençal, apple clafoutis
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New Jersey: Brasserie Mémère
> Location:
> Sample dishes:Soupe aux carottes, loup de mer à la vapeur, kouign-amann
New Mexico: Le Troquet
> Location:Albuquerque
> Sample dishes:Escargots à la bourguignonne, filet de saumon dijonnaise, poulet Cordon Bleu
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New York: Le Bernardin
> Location:New York City
> Sample dishes:Warm scallop “tartare” with caviar, poached lobster with truffled gnocchi, pistachio praliné
North Carolina: Bouchon
> Location:Asheville
> Sample dishes:Assiette de deux pâtés maison, poulet rôti au thym, pain perdu à la mode
North Dakota: Maxwell’s Restaurant & Bar
> Location:Fargo
> Sample dishes:Red wine/tomato/basil bisque, bison meatballs with vermouth cream sauce, grilled New Zealand lamb rack
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Ohio: L’Albatros Brasserie
> Location:Cleveland
> Sample dishes:Chicken liver and foie gras mousseline, bouillabaisse for two, pig’s feet with sauce béarnaise
Oklahoma: Fait Maison French Restaurant
> Location:Edmond
> Sample dishes:Provençal fish stew, organic chicken breast with sauce Albuféra, signature millefeuille with pistachio cream and raspberries
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Oregon: St. Jack
> Location:Portland
> Sample dishes:Pâté en croûte, moules marinière, peach blancmange
Pennsylvania: Forsythia
> Location:Philadelphia
> Sample dishes:Duck confit omelette, salt meadow lamb crépinette, brown butter financier
Rhode Island: Pot au Feu
> Location:Providence
> Sample dishes:Truffle-scented wild mushroom pâté, marinated chicken livers lyonnaise, pot au feu
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South Carolina: Ville Sainte Bistro
> Location:Mount Pleasant
> Sample dishes:Frogs’ legs in white wine garlic sauce, ravioli dauphinoise, pan-seared flounder with brown butter lemon sauce
South Dakota: Enigma Restaurant
> Location:Rapid City
> Sample dishes:Mushrooms Avignon, steak frites with sauce Madagascar, chocolate lava cake
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Tennessee: Once Upon a Time in France
> Location:Nashville
> Sample dishes:Velouté of lobster with truffles, steak tartare, jumbo shrimp à la Marseillaise
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Texas: Chez Nous
> Location:Humble
> Sample dishes:Soupe à l’oignon, roasted rack of young New Zealand lamb with Dijon-rosemary crust, passion fruit-raspberry soufflé
Utah: Courchevel Bistro
> Location:Park City
> Sample dishes:Smoked trout rillettes, Mary’s chicken ballotine, chocolate tart with Chartreuse ice cream
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Vermont: Bistro de Margot
> Location:Burlington
> Sample dishes:Foie gras and lobster crème brûlée, medallions of monkfish with chanterelles, Paris-Brest
Virginia: L’Auberge Chez François
> Location:Great Falls
> Sample dishes:Warm oysters with béarnaise, vegetable Napoléon, grilled duck breast with Grand Marnier sauce
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Washington: Le Pichet
> Location:Seattle
> Sample dishes:Assiette of Bayonne ham, brandade de morue nîmoise, roast chicken with favas and fennel for two
West Virginia: The French Goat
> Location:Lewisburg
> Sample dishes:Endive salad, pan-roasted chicken with Mediterranean spices, buttermilk blancmange
Wisconsin: Cadre
> Location:Madison
> Sample dishes:Escargots, daube de boeuf, gâteau Basque
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Wyoming: The Bistro
> Location:Jackson Hole
> Sample dishes:Frisée aux lardons, coq au vin, venison filet with wild mushrooms and blackberry jus
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