"Jean-Paul Gaultier's old atelier turned the 2nd arrondissement's best pizza room, Fooding's 2017 décor winner. Book it for a buzzy group dinner."
Federico Schiavon rolls the pici by hand at 6 Rue Vivienne, in the couture workshops Jean-Paul Gaultier left behind. The room won the Fooding prize for Best Decor in 2017 and has not lost a step since: a glass-roofed former atelier opposite the old Bibliothèque nationale, full most nights by 8pm. The kitchen is open, the antipasti counter is stacked, and the pici cacio e pepe is the dish to order first. See where it ranks on the best Italian rooms worldwide.
Federico Schiavon runs a short, confident menu built on pasta made on site each morning. The pici cacio e pepe is thick, hand-rolled and properly al dente, bound in a sharp pecorino and black-pepper sauce that does not break. The Margherita comes off a wood fire with a blistered cornicione, and in season Schiavon adds a truffle pizza at €38 for black, €48 for white.
This is a trattoria, not a tasting-menu room, and the pricing reflects it: a two-course lunch of antipasto plus pasta or pizza runs €27, three courses €33, and à la carte mains such as the filet de boeuf reach €39. The Fooding jury gave the dining room its 2017 Best Decor award for the Gaultier-atelier conversion, and the address, 6 Rue Vivienne in the 2nd, keeps it a short walk from the Palais Royal. Reserve through the Paris dining guide links or direct.
Loud, and unapologetic about it. The glass roof bounces conversation into a steady hum that climbs after 8pm, so this is a room for a table that wants energy, not a quiet tête-à-tête. Lighting is warm and low, tables sit close, and the central antipasti bar anchors the space. Around 120 covers across the main hall and mezzanine. Dress is smart-casual; Parisians arrive in tailoring and trainers in equal measure. Service is quick and unfussy, geared to turning tables twice on a Friday.
Book Daroco for a business lunch because the €27 two-course formula lands fast, the room reads impressive without trying, and the central location off the Bourse suits colleagues coming from the financial district. The pici cacio e pepe is a reliable order that needs no explanation across the table. For a larger group dinner, the mezzanine takes parties of eight to twelve under the glass roof, and the buzz carries the night.
Skip Daroco for a quiet first date or a serious conversation. The glass-roofed room runs loud from 8pm, and tables are close enough to hear your neighbour's order.
Yes, for the pizza and pasta and the room it is served in. Daroco's pici cacio e pepe and wood-fired Margherita are among the best Italian plates in central Paris, and the Jean-Paul Gaultier atelier setting earned the Fooding Best Decor prize in 2017. It is a trattoria rather than a destination tasting room, so judge it on a fair bar: lively, well-priced, consistently good.
Weekend dinner books up roughly a week ahead, so reserve online or by phone for Friday and Saturday. Weekday lunch and early-evening seatings are easier, and the bar takes walk-ins for pizza if you arrive before the 8pm rush. The 6 Rue Vivienne address near the Bourse fills fastest at 8:30pm and 9pm.
Start with the pici cacio e pepe, the dish that made the room's name. Add the wood-fired Margherita for the blistered crust, and in truffle season the seasonal truffle pizza at €38 to €48. The antipasti counter is worth a shared plate to open. Mains such as the €39 filet de boeuf suit a bigger appetite.
Smart-casual, with no jacket requirement. The crowd skews fashion-industry, so tailoring with trainers is as common as a blazer. The room is a converted couture atelier, so people do dress with intent, but you will not be turned away in jeans and a clean shirt.
Bar takes walk-ins for pizza; reserve a table for weekend dinner.
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Where Daroco's hand-rolled pici and wood-fired pizza rank against the best Italian rooms on the RFK list.
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