Paris City Guide: 5 of 5
Five places each of our favourite restaurants, bars, cafes & stores. Save for your next trip. Updated January 2024.
Restaurants
Located in the east of Paris, Septime is a one Michelin starred restaurant featuring a refined tasting menu format & extensive, bio-dynamic focused wine list.
A perfect Parisian bistro with yesteryear charm and a modern, proudly French focused menu. Beautiful interior design by Luke Edward Hall. Unpretentious food & service throughout making it a must visit. Beautiful terrace seating area available in the summer months.
A innovative restaurant in the 11th using binchōtan and a Japanese grill. Their chef’s choice lunch menu is always in high demand with a range of creative plates inspired by Italian, French & Japanese cuisine. Sit at the gleaming walnut bar and sample dishes such as barbecued chicken hearts, diver scallop with basil tartare, and charred green tea ice cream.
A restaurant of Michelin level without the pretension of some - stellar ambiance, innovative & delicious food, great wine list and a start to finish top level service. Never disappoints.
The restaurant is operated by Simone Tondo, a Sardinian chef who has transformed the space into a bistro and wine cellar with a traditional osteria feel. Chef Tondo showcases his expertise in Italian cuisine through a diverse range of dishes on the menu, including daily specials made from hand-picked ingredients, such as vitello tonnato, polpette al sugo, ricotta ravioli, and spinach with squid.
Wine Bars & Small Plates
Paris' original natural wine bar that's also serious about food. Located near the beautiful Canal Saint-Martin, the space boasts an impressive selection of 400 natural and organic wines and a constantly evolving menu. Reservations recommended, especially for weekend lunch.
The small & unassuming Oberkampf dive-bar equivalent offers a lively, entertaining atmosphere along with a compelling range of natural wine, excellent charcuterie, and a rotating menu of small plates. Open late most nights for a buzzy atmosphere.
A restaurant run by a chef-in-residence, changing monthly. It boasts a diverse and ever-changing menu of seasonal small plates, accompanied by a robust list of bio-dynamic and natural wines from around the world. With no reservations needed, this airy restaurant located just off Canal Saint-Martin is a must-visit for visiting chefs and wine enthusiasts alike.
Owned by serial restaurateur Florent Ciccoli, who runs other Parisian restaurants that include Au Passage, Jones, Café du Coin and Cheval d’Or. Recoin is primarily a natural wine focused bar where you can devour small shared plates: blinis with raw cream and trout; popcorn chicken and spicy mayonnaise; corn beignets.
The Cave, a wine shop/bar in Paris' 11th district, is the sister bar of the renowned Michelin starred restaurant, Septime. It offers easy access to the incredible wine served at the restaurant. The small space has limited seating, so expect to stand during peak times.
Cafes
Delicious baked goods with a well rounded coffee menu of espresso based (Fuglen, Oslo) & filter options. Tucked away in the Marais, the space features a beautiful interior, where we'd recommend sitting in. Try their take on the Le Petite Ecolier (chocolate biscuit) alongside a coffee.
A small coffee shop located in the 11th arrondissement features a unique wooden bar, upcycled furniture, and a relaxed wabi-sabi aesthetic. Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen's folk music sets the tone for regular customers while owner Yuichiro Sugiyama, a dedicated coffee artist, manages the bar. Currently using Prolog Coffee from Copenhagen.
The Kawa Boutique in Paris functions as the exhibition space for their leading roastery in the city and offers a delightful setting for savouring a perfectly crafted cup of coffee. Here you'll find a range of espresso options (normally 3-5), as well as an extensive filter menu.
Motors works with the leading international coffee roasters to offer a frequently changing selection of espresso & filter options. They also have food options available, renowned for their homemade cookies. Their filter menu is one of the best in Paris.
Clove, co-founded by Ella Fatima McElroy and Florent Marcault, has rapidly risen to become a premier destination for coffee lovers, all while retaining its welcoming community charm. The sleek aesthetic of Clove, featuring white countertops with black equipment and an exposed brick wall, adds to its distinctive appeal.
Stores
In 2015, Basile Khadiry and Jean-Baptiste Ménestrier established Beige Habilleur, a French boutique offering a selection of top-quality menswear and accessories from the UK, Italy, the US, France, Japan, and other countries. At Beige, customers can discover both formal and casual pieces that embody the perfect combination of superior quality and timeless style. The store's mission is to highlight items that encompass both aesthetics and expert craftsmanship.
The Broken Arm offers a variety of lifestyle and coffee table books, along with carefully chosen fashion brands like Prada, Our Legacy, and Carven. The concept store also houses a gift shop & café serving an exquisite array of coffee and appetisers.
Lyn Harris, a perfumer from the UK trained in Grasse, channels her love for perfumery into her creation, Perfumer H, established in 2015. Her fragrance journey started with a simple goal: to design one-of-a-kind scents that embody the essence of life and nature, while maintaining a touch of simplicity and utmost precision. Her grandparents, with whom she spent summers on their Scottish farm, served as her main inspiration: "It's all about the power of scent - it evokes memories." Her drive to bring natural ingredients back into the world of perfumery marks the beginning of her journey. Perfumer H is built upon a distinct style, a unique vision, and Lyn Harris' aspiration to push the boundaries of the current fragrance industry.
Located in the heart of the Marais, the brand's flagship store embodies the core values of the brand, at the crossroads of functionality, durability and elegance. Inside, a dialogue unfolds between the iconic LEMAIRE wardrobe and several collaborations that celebrate savoir-faire.
Merci is a three-floor independent concept boutique located in the Marais, known for its carefully selected range of clothing, accessories, home goods, and more. This destination attracts shoppers worldwide and offers both established and emerging designer options, as well as Merci's own affordable in-house brand.
