[Paris] Cafe Oberkampf

Cafe Oberkampf

Add: 3 rue Neuve Popincourt, 75012 Paris
Tel: 01 43 55 60 10
Hours: [Mon-Fri] 8:30am-5:30pm [Sat-Sun] 9:30am-6:30pm
Price: [coffee] €2.4-5 [food] €4-12
Visited: Aug 2015

A new addition to the Paris cafe scene. Great coffee, friendly service, banana bread served with salted butter, and freshly assembled sandwiches toasted to order. What’s not to love?

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[Paris] Afternoon Tea at Le Bristol

Le Bristol

Add: 112, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris
Tel: 01 53 43 43 00
Hours: [afternoon tea] 3-6pm
Website: www.lebristolparis.com
Price: [afternoon tea] €80/tea set for two
Visited: Sep 2015

Before leaving Paris, I wanted to have one last afternoon tea at a hotel. Crossing off the ones I’ve already been to – Le Meurice, Plaza Athénée, Shangri-la, The Peninsula, George V – I decided to try Le Bristol and the delicious creations from renowned pastry chef Laurent Jeannin.

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The Thé Complèt (€48/person, or 80/for two) includes two beverages and a three-tier stand of savories and sweets. Though it’s designed for two people, it can easily satisfy three people in terms of the amount of food that’s served. Details to follow.

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[Paris] Sébastien Dégardin

Sébastien Dégardin

Add: 200, rue Saint-Jacques – 75005 Paris
Tel: 01 43 07 77 59
Hours: [Tue-Sun] 9am-8pm (closed on Mon & Tue)
Website: www.sebastien-degardin.com
Price: €4-5/patisserie
Visited: Sep 2015

I didn’t know about Sébastien Dégardin until I read the latest Fou de Patisserie magazine, where I found out that this ex-pastry chef from the legendary Troisgros now runs his own pastry boutique in Paris 5eme near the Pantheon. Where have I been?!

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So I went straight away to sample a few pastry creations from the chef, starting with Mara (€5.50), composed of a dacquoise with almonds, light vanilla cream, and red fruit compote, all wrapped around by a soft biscuit, then topped with hazelnut streusel and fresh fig.

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[Paris] Neige d’Eté

Neige d’Eté

Add: 12, rue de l’Amiral Roussin, 75015 Paris
Tel: 01 42 73 66 66
Hours: Tue-Sat 12-2:30pm, 7:30-10:30pm (closed on Sun & Mon)
Website: www.neigedete.fr
Price: [lunch] €40 / €70 with wine pairing [dinner] €70 / €107 with wine pairing
Visited: Sep 2015

Japanese chef Hideki Nishi, previously at George V, now runs this discrete restaurant on a quiet street in the 15th arrondissement. As is typical of Japanese establishments in Paris, the design of Neige d’Eté is minimal and monotone – white walls, white chairs, white table clothes…so that the only colors that pop out are the fresh flowers, and of course the vibrant dishes that come out from the cuisine. We were there for lunch (€40), composed of amuse bouche, appetizer, fish course, meat course, dessert, and petits fours – a light and agreeable meal.

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[Paris] Le Chateaubriand

Le Chateaubriand

Add: 129 Avenue Parmentier, 75011 Paris
Tel: 01 43 57 45 95
Hours: Tue-Sat 7:30-11pm (closed Sun & Mon)
Website: www.lechateaubriand.net
Price: €70/menu
Visited: Sep 2015

Le Chateaubriand was one of the first restaurants I’d heard about when I arrived in Paris. It’s a hot restaurant, ranked #21 on S. Pellegrino’s The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, higher than many other prestigious establishments in Paris such as Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athenee and L’Astrance.

Rankings aside, I’ve heard both extremely positive and extremely negative comments from friends who have gone…and it took me 3 years to eventually come and try it for myself. The fixed price is €70 for a flurry of small dishes, mostly very delicious on the evening of our visit (menu changes daily according to the market). It started with some gougeres (savory cream puffs) and liquid ceviche (basically, the taste of ceviche in a shot).

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Little shrimps, fried and covered in plum powder.

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An assortment of sliced tomatoes with oysters.

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Fennel broth with passionfruit.

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[Paris] La Pâtisserie Cyril Lignac

La Pâtisserie Cyril Lignac

Add: 2 rue de Chaillot, 75016 Paris
Tel: 01 47 20 64 51
Hours: 7am-8pm (open daily)
Website: www.lapatisseriecyrillignac.com
Price: [pastries] €3.50-6
Visited: Sep 2015

As I’m leaving Paris the pastry wonderland soon (direction Shanghai), I’ve been hopping around eating even more pastries than I already do…and for the first time during my three years in Paris, I tried pâtisseries from Cyril Lignac. The celebrity chef has two pastry boutiques in Paris, with production headed by chef Benoit Couvrand. Let’s see what they’ve got for us.

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[Paris] Honor Cafe

Honor Cafe

Add: 54 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris
Tel: N/A
Hours: [Mon-Fri] 9am-6pm [Sat] 10am-6pm (closed on Sun)
Website: www.honor-cafe.com
Price: [coffee] €3-5, [pastries] €1.5-4.5
Visited: Aug 2015

A coffee stand hidden inside a courtyard on rue de Faubourg Saint-Honoré. Excellent coffee, super friendly service, and pastries supplied by Broken Biscuits. I’m not often in this neighborhood but when I am, I make sure to come here for a cup of coffee.

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Latte, lemon poppy seed cake, and lemon cake with blueberries.

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[Paris] Broken Biscuits

Broken Biscuits

Add: 10 Passage Rochebrune, 75011 Paris
Tel: N/A
Hours: [Wed-Fri] 8:30am-7pm [Sat-Sun] 11-7pm (closed Mon & Tue)
Price: [tea/coffee]  €3-5 [pastries] €2.5-5
Visited: Sep 2015

For a year or so, Chris and Christina of the Broken Biscuits have been supplying pastries to a few of Paris’ favorite cafes – Fondation, Honor, Steel, Loustic  – while baking everything up in their home kitchen. This summer, they finally opened a cozy little shop of their own on a quiet lane in the 11th arrondissement. It’s a small but well-designed space, with an open kitchen, a pastry display, and a corner bar that seats 5 people. Very charming.

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I came here on a quiet weekday morning for breakfast, which ended up being black coffee (€3), muffin (€2.5) and a few bites of my friend’s cheesecake (€5). There were a few times when I’ve been disappointed by Broken Biscuit pastries from the above mentioned cafes, but to my pleasant surprise, I was happy with everything I tasted in their shop. Apparently they also do an excellent peanut butter brownie which I will surely have to try on my next visit.

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[Paris] PNY Paris New York

Paris New York

Add: 1 Rue Perrée, 75003 Paris
Hours: 12-3pm, 7-11pm (open daily)
Website: www.pny-hamburgers.fr
Price: [burgers] €11.60 [sides] €3.40-4.60
Visited: Jul 2015

PNY doesn’t serve the best burger I’ve had, but it’s definitely the most stylish burger joint I’ve been to. Their first shop opened back in 2012 in the 10th arrondissement, followed by a second one in the 11th, and the third in the 3rd. The decor for each location is different, and I’d say that the newest addition to the family is quite a stunner. See it for yourself.

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“Morning California” (€11.60): Le Ponclet beef patty, 9-month cheddar, fresh avocado, secret sauce.

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Loaded fries (€4.60): skinny fries topped with 18-month cheddar and bacon.

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[Paris] Ob-La-Di

Ob-La-Di

Add: 54 Rue de Saintonge, 75003 Paris
Tel: N/A
Hours: [Tue-Sat] 8am-6pm [Sun] 9am-6pm (closed on Mon)
Price: [coffee] €2.50-6 [food] €4-12
Visited: Aug 2015

When Ob-La-Di opened in June 2015, it immediately became the new hot spot in Paris. Named after the popular Beatles song “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”, this tiny shoebox of a cafe is styled with all the right decor – funky blue floor tiles, bare concrete wall, marble counter top, fresh flowers, the cutest coffee spoons (so tempted to steal one each time I come)…but most importantly, manning the Marzocco machine is Lloyd (previous at Boot Cafe), and that, my friends, means good coffee.

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