Looking for 1 or 2 star up and coming place.

[talker32]

My wife and I will be in Paris in May and I am looking for some recommendations for a 1 or 2 star place that is up and coming, not too pretentious and is fantastic food. Any recommendations on a future Ducasse or Gagnaire?

[talker32]

Thanks for the replies so far - John you make a very good point, I am not really that interested in a fancy place or a place that is striving to be a 3 star. What I am most interested in is something very special in terms of food. A place where the chef is in the kitchen, a place where the food is good, honest and wonderful Thanks again.

[Nancy S.]

I'm a huge fan of Passage 53 -- every dinner I have had there has been superb, and I love the service as well.

[John Talbott]

Aren't we all?

[souphie]

I'm not. I prefer to avoid Ducasse and Gagnaire while they're here. I don't understand why people think restaurants are better when their friends haven't been yet.

[Ptipois]

You're forgetting about the entropy phenomenon.

[souphie]

Obviously

[John Talbott]

OK guys; enough showing off your classical French educations to we (or is it us?) barely literate Amuricans; who took little Latin and less Greek, the OP asked;
" looking for some recommendations for a 1 or 2 star place that is up and coming, not too pretentious and is fantastic food. Any recommendations on a future Ducasse or Gagnaire?

Let me start by suggesting we split the motion into two parts, first limiting the answers to one or two star places that are "not too pretentious and [have] fantastic food" - Bigarrade, Yam'Tcha, Passage 53, Ze, L'Arome & Lancaster.

"a future Ducasse or Gagnaire." Really? Who cares? You're dealing with preciousness, flowers and overfeeding here. Some would say Pascal Barbot, some Dominique Bouchet and some Frederic Anton. Give me Daniel Rose and William Ledeuil any day; just good grub.