A pâtissière, eating around the world
![[Paris] Restaurant Sesame](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/R0045657.jpg)
Like my FACEBOOK PAGE or follow me on TWITTER / 微博!
Restaurant Sesame
Add: 51 Quai de Valmy 75010 Paris
Tel: 01 42 49 03 21
Hours: [Tue-Fri] 9am~12am [Sat] 10am~12pm [Sun] 10am~7pm [Mon] 10am~4pm
Website: www.au-sesame.com
Price: [a la carte] €4~16[brunch] €22
Visited on: 2012/09
Restaurant Sesame, a cute little cafe in the lively Canal St. Martin neighborhood, is a hotspot for Sunday brunches. Smoothies, eggs, bagels, and toasts with homemade jams – all organic!
![[Paris] Agapé Substance](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/R0044167.jpg)
Like my FACEBOOK PAGE or follow me on TWITTER / 微博!
Agapé Substance
Add: 66 Rue Mazarine 75006 Paris, France
Tel: 01 43 29 33 83
Hours: [lunch] 12~2pm [dinner] 8~10pm (closed Sun & Mon)
Website: www.agapesubstance.com
Price: carte blanceh €69 or €99, with wine pairing €169
Visited on: 2012/09
How do I even begin to write about my lunch at Agapé Substance? During the 3-hour meal, I had no less than 20 dishes (amuse bouche included) float through my table. Chef David Toutain, ex-L’Arpège and Mugaritz, pours forth an inundation of gorgeous small plates using pristine ingredients and artful presentations, with just a dash of molecular technique. Not everything struck a chord with me, but there were many dishes that truly wowed. Ready for the ride?
18 tables around a counter with 3 tables for 2 on its side, that’s all there is to Agapé Substance. The space is quite snug, but mirrors on three sides of the room (ceiling included) help alleviate the tightness of it all.
A menu is offered, but it’s simply a list of ingredients. €69 for a smaller menu (not written, but I heard you can request this), €99 for the full menu, or €169 with wine pairing.
We started with a few amuse bouches that teased the senses with vibrant colors and concentrated flavors. Here’s a sponge cake of peas and verbana.
![[Paris] Merci Café & Tea Room](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/R0043676.jpg)
Like my FACEBOOK PAGE or follow me on TWITTER / 微博!
Merci Café & Tea Room
Add: 111 boulevard Beaumarchais 75003 Paris
Tel: (0)1 42 77 00 33
Hours: 10am~6pm
Website: www.merci-merci.com
Price: [drinks] €2.25~7 [small plates/desserts] €5~18
Visited on: 2012/09
Located on the first floor of Merci, a three-story fashion/home ware/lifestyle concept store, Merci Café & Tearoom is a cozy and stylish place to rest your feet and quench your thirst after strolling around in La Marais neighborhood. On the menu: coffee, tea, house-made citronnade, hot chocolate etc., plus a small selection of light bites like tartines, cheese plate, and cakes. With walls that are lined with used books, one can easily sit here all afternoon…
House-made citronnade (€4.50), refreshing, with a hint of ginger.
Continue Reading "[Paris] Merci Café & Tea Room"
![[Paris] Frenchie Bar à Vins](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Untitled-13.jpg)
Frenchie Bar à Vins
Add: 5-6 Rue du Nil 75002 Paris, France
Tel: 01 40 39 96 19
Hours: 7pm~late
Website: www.frenchie-restaurant.com
Price: [small plates] €9~18
Visited on: 2012/09
Frenchie is one of the hottest bistros in Paris – reservations must be made weeks or even months in advance – but for a quick taste of Gregory Marchand’s dishes without the hassle, try Frenchie Bar à Vins right across the narrow alleyway. The wine bar is for walk-ins only, and features a number of small plates that are perfect when shared with a friend or two. I arrived at 7pm right after the bar opens, and it was already almost a full house!
![[Paris] Coutume Cafe](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/R0041915.jpg)
Like my FACEBOOK PAGE or follow me on TWITTER / 微博!
Coutume Cafe
Add: 47 Rue de Babylone 75007 Paris
Tel: 01 45 51 50 47
Hours: [Tue-Fri] 8am~7pm [Sat-Sun] 10am~7pm (closed on Mon)
Website: www.coutumecafe.com
Price: [coffee] €2~5 [other drinks] €4~7
Visited on: 2012-09
For a glorious cup of coffee in Paris (you’d be surprised how difficult it is to find one in a city known for gastronomy), visit Coutume Cafe, a specialty coffee house and roastery opened by an Australian and a French-born, Melbourne-trained coffee roaster. If you’ve read my posts on Melbourne and Sydney, you know how enamored I am with the Australian cafe culture, and I was very happy to discover a little gem like in the 7th arrondissement.
![[Paris] Verjus Bar à Vin](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Untitled-11.jpg)
Like my FACEBOOK PAGE or follow me on TWITTER / 微博!
Verjus Bar à Vin
Add: 47 rue Montpensier, Paris 75001
Tel: 01 42 97 54 40
Hours: 6~11pm (closed on Sat & Sun)
Website: www.verjusparis.com
Price: [small plates] €4~14 [wine] €6~13/glass
Visited on: 2012-09
Verjus Bar à Vin is a tiny wine bar next to Verjus Restaurant, tugged away on a discreet lane near Le Louvre. Cozy ambience, cute napkins, friendly English-speaking staff. The bar snacks here are inventive and beautifully presented, but flavor-wise…a bit disappointing on the night I visited.
A short menu, available in French and English.
Wine by the glass, scribbled on the back wall.
![[Paris] Da Rosa](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/R0041403.jpg)
Like my FACEBOOK PAGE or follow me on TWITTER / 微博!
Da Rosa
Add: 62 Rue de Seine 75006 Paris, France
Tel: +33 (0)1 40 51 00 09
Hours: 10am~11pm
Website: www.darosa.fr
Price: [wine] €4.6~12/glass [tapas] €6~25
Visited on: 2012-09
Da Rosa, a delicatessen/tapas bar in the lively Latin Quarter, is a perfect place for sipping wine and nibbling on small plates. Signature items are cured hams from Spain, Italy, and Portugal, but other dishes on the menu – foie gras, gazpacho, risotto – are also alluring. With a bottle of wine, parfait!
Started the evening with a glass of Porquerolles Domaine de I’ile rosé (€5.50).
![[Paris] Merci](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/R00401601.jpg)
Follow me on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, TWITTER, & 微博!
Merci
Add: 111 boulevard Beaumarchais 75003 Paris
Tel: 01 42 77 00 33
Hours: 10am~7pm (Closed on Sun)
Website: www.merci-merci.com
Visited on: Sep 2012
Merci, a three-story concept store in the fashionable and quirky Marais neighborhood, is a lavish showcase for the style of its founders Marie-France and Bernard Cohen (who also created Bonpoint) across fashion, home ware, cuisine, and the likes. Merci is also the first “Charity Store” in France and donates 100% of their profit to a charity association helping women and kids in Madagascar. Now how about that?
Ground floor: central atrium display and fashion goods. Brands like Stella McCartney and Paul Smith helped to create Merci by offering some pieces 30 to 40% below the selling point of their own store.
![[Paris] Cinq-Mars](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/R00392091.jpg)
Cinq-Mars
Add: 51 Rue de Verneuil 75007 Paris
Tel: +33 (0)1 45 44 69 13
Hours: [Mon-Fri] 12-2:30pm, 7:30-11pm [Sat-Sun] 12:30-3pm, 7-10pm
Website: cinq-mars-restaurant.com
Price: [entrée] €3~15 [plat] €13~32 [dessert] €7.5~13
Visited: Aug 2012
Cinq-Mars is a cute little bistro very close to Musée d’Orsay, with rickety wooden chairs, wooden tables, and a wooden bar. Simple and hearty food, the perfect neighborhood bistro.
We started the meal with notre terrine de campagne maison (€10), house-made country terrine. It was brought to us in a huge chunk – we were to freely take as much as we want – uh oh…not a good idea, especially when the terrine tastes this good. I was half full before any of the other dishes even arrived at the table.
![[Paris] Breizh Café](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/R0039816.jpg)
Like my FACEBOOK PAGE or follow me on TWITTER / 微博!
Breizh Café
Add: 109 rue Vieille du Temple 75003 Paris
Tel: +33 (0)1 42 72 13 77
Hours: (closed on Mon & Tue)
Website: www.breizhcafe.com
Price: €4.50~11.80/galette, €3.80~6.80/crêpe
Visited on: 2010-08
Lodged on one of the street corners in La Marais is Breizh Café, a small restaurant specializing in galettes de blé noir, also known as buckwheat crêpes. The ingredients used here are all top-notch and very French – Bordier butter, the finest black flour, homemade jams, artisinal hams, bacon, freerange eggs and cheese. Wash it down with a jug of exceptional cider, and you’ve got the perfect lunch.
Open kitchen.
Seasonal menu on the blackboard.
For the savory, I chose Terre-Neuve (€11.80), a seafood galette with cod brandade, andouille chitterling sausage, green salad and herb butter. Brandade is a fluffy emulsion of salt cod and olive oil commonly eaten with bread, but also goes well with buckwheat crêpe. And what are chitterlings? Pork intestines, my friends, so don’t order this if animal innards is not your things.
