The great new hope among creative French chefs is at L'Astrance: Pascal Barbot, former assistant to Alain Passard (4 rue Beethoven, 16th arr.; 40-50-84-40; main courses, $21-$42). Vying with L'Astrance as the hardest place in town for gourmets to reserve a table is Hiramatsu, where a Japanese chef of that name outdoes most creative Frenchmen at their own game (7 quai de Bourbon, 4th arr.; 56-81-08-80; main courses, $40-$68).

In the grand tradition, two generations of the Vrinat family have made Taillevent the most reliable gourmet haven in Paris. Diners can expect suave comfort in a clubby environment and food that is state-of-the-art classic. The rack of lamb and the braised veal are rarely better anywhere (15 rue Lamennais, 8th arr.; 44-95-15-01; prix fixe, $130-$180). Laurent is the Paris power lunch venue. Try the veal tournedos with girolles, or the pot-roasted turbotin. In good weather, dine in the sheltered garden (41 ave. Gabriel, 8th arr.; 42-25-00-39; prix fixe, $130).

Besides its extraordinary Belle Epoque ambience and decor, Lucas Carton has three-Michelin-star food and service, with creative cooking by Alain Senderens (9 Place de la Madeleine, 8th arr.; 42-65-22-90; main courses, $68-$180). At Le Grand V??four, where chef Guy Martin achieves such bold splendors as foie gras ravioli with truffle cream, the romantic decor goes back to the age of Louis-Philippe (17 rue de Beaujolais, 1st arr.; 42-96-56-27; main courses, $25-$35).

Gallopin delivers good-value classic food in a wood-paneled environment that dates to 1876 (40 rue Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, 2nd arr.; 42-36-45-38; main courses, $25-$30; u). Less formal and with heartier food is the old Hemingway haunt, Brasserie Lipp (151 blvd. St-Germain, 6th arr.; 45-48-72-93; main courses, $15-$26). Jos??phine is a plain bistro with the best boeuf bourguignon in town and one of the best cassoulets. Everything else is just about as good (117 rue du Cherche-Midi, 6th arr.; 45-48-52-40; main courses, $12-$25).

The decor at Paul Chone could not embody plainer comfort, and the cooking, simple but totally controlled, brings out the best in the first-rate ingredients. Poule au pot is a house specialty. Robert De Niro eats here, as does Mick Jagger (123 rue Lauriston, 16th arr.; 47-27-63-17; main courses, $35-$45). Luxe, calm, and with a faint touch of voluptuousness, Le Petit Colombier is the haunt of discerning trenchermen with a weakness for game, roast beef, leg of lamb, and pot-au-feu au foie gras de canard. Politicians who want to eat better than they usually do chez Lipp dine here (42 rue des Acacias, 17th arr.; 43-80-28-54; prix fixe, $29-$55).

A focal point of high-end Left Bank life, Le Voltaire, a caf?? cum opulent restaurant, has always been a lunch spot for art dealers and book publishers and a dinner favorite for fashionables of all sorts. It does a good job on straightforward dishes such as veal kidneys, grilled sole, and rib steak with some of the best pommes frites in town (27 quai Voltaire, 7th arr.; 42-61-17-49; main courses, $60-$80). In the 30 years that chef Robert Chassat has been doing the same food at Le R??camier, you would think he'd have gotten bored. Instead, he gets closer and closer to perfection, as with the mousse de brochet and the calf's liver ?? l'auvergnate. This is the gourmet restaurant of the literary set, and of Karl Lagerfeld (4 rue R??camier, 7th arr.; 45-48-86-58; main courses, $27-$42).