Cool Paris

That was the headline of last Fodor’s travel news. Oysters are the perfect fast food ever. France is Europe’s top producer and mid-winter is the prime oyster-eating season, so here we go :

1/ Atao
Fashion stylist Laurence Mahéo took over her family’s oyster beds in Brittany after her father’s death and sold this succulent shellfish—rare plats, or flat, oysters to such famous chefs as Yannick Alleno at Le Meurice. Now she’s opened Atao, a hip little seafood house (86 rue Lemercier, 17e, 01-46-27-81-12), with a Japanese chef in the trendy Batignolles neighborhood. If oysters star, the menu also offers clams sautéed in sake, langoustines, fresh fish, and crepes for dessert.

2/Le Bar à Huitres
This mini-chain with four branches around the city (112 boulevard du Montparnasse, 14e, 01-43-20- 71-01; 33 boulevard Beaumarchais, 3e, 01-48-87-98-92; 33 rue Saint-Jacques, 5e, 01-44-07-27- 37; 69 avenue de Wagram, 17e, 01-43-80-63-54) was recently relaunched with stylish interiors and a terrific selection of pedigreed oysters, including Prat ar Coum from ostreiculteur Yvon Madec in Brittany and very rare oysters from the Etang de Diana in Corsica. Other good eats include cod with aioli and scallops cooked in their shells with pink Himalayan salt.

3/ L’Ecailler du Bistrot
It’s no surprise that the seafood sibling (22 Rue Paul Bert, 11e, 01-43-72-76-77) of the popular Le Paul Bert Bistro next door serves superb oysters, because the proprietor is Gwenaëlle Cadoret, the daughter of a famous oyster grower from Riec-sur-Belon in Brittany. The sole meunière is first-rate, too.

3/Garnier
Just across the street from Gare Saint Lazare and around the corner from the big department stores Printemps and Galeries Lafayette, this popular seafood brasserie (111 Rue St Lazare, 8e, 01-43-87-50-40) has a small, circular sit-down oyster bar just inside the front door that’s perfect for solo dining or a quick shopping-break lunch.

4/L’ Huîtrier
Friendly Francisco Pires, the ecailleur (oyster shucker) who mans the stand at the excellent seafood house L’ Huîtrier (16 Rue Saussier-Leroy, 17e, 01-40-54-83-44) won the annual competition for France’s best oyster shucker last year, so watch him at work before you settle down for an oyster feast. Other good dishes here include the stuffed clams and grilled sole.

5/ Huîtrerie Régis
It’s all about oysters at this chic elbow-to-elbow shop-front restaurant (3 Rue Montfaucon, 6e, 01-44-41-10-07) in Saint-Germain-des-Pres, where the bivalves come from the Marennes-Oléron and the only other edibles are boiled shrimp, fresh sea urchins, and clams. They pour a great list of Loire Valley white wines, and this place attracts a fashionable local crowd.