If you don't like waiting for a table -- well, swallow your pride and stand in line, because L'Atelier is the most exciting restaurant to open in Paris in a long time. Famed chef Joël Robuchon had retired from the restaurant business for several years before opening this red-and-black-lacquered space with a bento-box-meets-tapas aesthetic. Seats line up around U-shape bars; this novel plan nudges neighbors to share recommendations and opinions. Robuchon and his devoted kitchen staff (including Eric Lecerf, former chef of L'Astor) whip up "small plates" for grazing (EUR7-EUR25) as well as full-size dishes. The menu changes frequently, but highlights have included an intense tomato jelly topped with avocado purée, thin-crusted mackerel tart, and his (inauthentic, but who's complaining?) take on carbonara with cream and bacon from Alsace. L'Atelier takes reservations only for 11:30 AM and 6:30 PM, and showing up loaded down with Hermès shopping bags won't impress the immovable door staff -- they've seen it all before. As if the reservation policy weren't shocking enough, the entire restaurant is smoke-free. Métro: Rue du Bac.