Opening a restaurant in France in 2026: the complete guide (steps, licences, budget)

Opening a restaurant is not just finding premises and a good menu idea. It is a dense regulatory and financial journey, where every skipped step is costly: a badly negotiated lease, a missing licence, a non-compliant till or an underestimated start-up cash position can sink the business before the first service. This guide sets out, in order, every step to open a restaurant in France in 2026 — from the business plan to the first cover.

Before any investment, three questions decide viability: who are your customers, where is the right location, and at what price is your model profitable. The market study (catchment area, competition, footfall) always precedes signing a lease. The costed business plan turns the concept into assumptions: average ticket, covers, target food cost (28-32% in traditional dining), payroll, rent and break-even. It is the tool the bank will ask for — see our article on the restaurant business plan and forecast.

The micro-enterprise rarely suits a restaurant: turnover ceiling, no VAT recovery on purchases and works, no deduction of real costs while food cost and payroll are high. Most restaurateurs set up a company:

• SASU / SAS: director treated as an employee, great statutory flexibility, easy entry of partners or investors;
• SARL / EURL: majority manager as a self-employed worker (TNS), often lighter social charges on pay.

The choice depends on your target pay, the presence of partners and your social regime. Our SAS / SASU / SARL / EURL comparison details the trade-offs.

The financing plan combines the personal contribution (banks often expect 20-30%), the bank loan, possible zero-rate honour loans, leasing for kitchen equipment, and available aid. A point too often neglected: start-up cash. A restaurant takes several months to reach its cruising rhythm; plan enough to cover 3 to 6 months of costs (rent, wages, social charges, suppliers) before break-even.

The 3-6-9 commercial lease is a heavy commitment. Depending on the premises, you will pay leasehold right (buying the lease from the outgoing tenant) or key money (paid to the owner). Check the permitted use (authorisation to run catering, fume extraction), ERP compliance (public-receiving establishment) and accessibility for people with reduced mobility. Before signing, check with the prefecture that the premises are not in a protected zone (near schools, hospitals or places of worship), which would bar an alcohol licence.

To serve alcohol, the operator must hold the operating permit, obtained after 20 hours of training (over at least 3 days) from a body approved by the Ministry of the Interior; the certificate is valid 10 years. Depending on your offer:

• small restaurant licence: drinks up to 18° (wine, beer, cider), served with meals;
• restaurant licence: all authorised drink groups, with meals;
• licence IV: needed to serve spirits outside meals (bar activity).

A prior declaration to the town hall (police prefecture in Paris) must be filed at least 15 days before opening; the receipt is legally your licence.

At least one staff member must have completed the 14-hour food-hygiene training, and the venue must declare to the DDPP before opening. You must keep a living Food Safety Management Plan and inform customers about allergens (INCO regulation). Everything is detailed in our article HACCP & hygiene: obligations and training.

Kitchen, furniture, tableware: durable equipment is capitalised and depreciated; small equipment is expensed. On payments, the till software must be NF525-certified (or covered by a publisher's attestation) under article 286-I-3° bis of the CGI, on pain of a €7,500 fine per software. Choose it and set up multi-rate VAT from the start — see our NF525 till comparison.

From the first employee, you fall under the HCR collective agreement (IDCC 1979): salary grid by level and step, in-kind meal benefit, casual fixed-term "extras", branch insurance, Sunday/holiday premiums. Before hiring: DPAE, a compliant contract, affiliation. HCR payroll is technical; if poorly run it exposes you to social-security reassessments and distorts your profitability reading.

Take out at least professional civil liability and a multi-risk policy for the premises (and ten-year cover if you carry out works). Prepare the mandatory displays: prices, meat origin, presence of allergens, no-smoking and no-vaping, the licence. If you play music, plan the SACEM / SPRE royalties.

Opening is not the end of the journey: it is the start of management. From the first month, track food cost, the VAT split (10 / 5.5 / 20%) at the till, and cash weekly. Anticipate e-invoicing (receipt mandatory from 1 September 2026 for all businesses). To sustain this over time, rely on a restaurant accountant and our complete restaurant accounting guide.

These ranges are indicative: only a tailored forecast gives a reliable figure. Preparing an opening? Let's talk about your project.