Too Much Coffee

I'm working SIAL in Paris end of October.
I've been recommended going to Naked, Columbus and Le petit fer a cheval, any other ideas?

Oh oh oh - nothing to do with coffee but you MUST go to Chez Omar for couscous. I don't often get this enthusiastic about many things these jaded days but Omar's is definately worth a visit. As I remember they do not take reservations but get there resonably early anyway. Address (from little black book) is 47 rue de Bretagne, Republique - cash only too.
les deux magots is OK if you are passing, the coffee is c*** and v expensive but go for the atmosphere (if there is any left) where Satre, Hemingway and de Beauvoir sat and wrote.
Sigh, to be in Paris again (let me know if they still have "tables for one" in restaurants - these were large round tables where they parked all the single diners together and you could find yourself having dinner with 3 or 4 complete strangers !)

I've heard a few people recommend this place (including MKSwing) :Caféothèque de Paris, 52 rue de l'Hôtel de Ville 75004 PARIS
Not sure what it's like...

I second the recommendation for Caféothèque de Paris. We just visited - very nice little place, just on the north bank across from Ile Saint-Louis so easy to walk to from central Paris.

At the front of the shop, they sell a range of single origin beans and have a small roaster. I think they run cupping courses. At the back there is a little cafe, with a La Marzocco machine, comfy chairs, tealights, piano & a guitar. They offered a choice of coffees (see picture), with a particular one as coffee of the day. The baristas are friendly and did a good job with a round of cappuccinos. Certainly the best coffee we had in Paris.

La Caféothèque de Paris, 52 rue de l’Hôtel de Ville, 75004 Paris
http://www.lacafeotheque.com

Phil

Also nothing to do with coffee, but...

If you want to dine out at a fantastic small French restaurant, you could try Aux Lyonnais, 32 Rue Saint Marc, 75002 Paris.

Must be my favourite place to eat in Paris. A little pricey, but if you go with their prix fixe menu it's not so bad. And they offer wine in .5l carafes, which is ideal (for two).

Likewise, not coffee either... so a little off topic but if I was there I'd make a beeline for Rose Bakery‎ (46 Rue des Martyrs), Pierre Herme (72 Rue Bonaparte) and Laudree (various). Mmmm... Macarons.

I also quite liked Kiliwatch (64 rue Tiquetonne) for Vintage & Second-Hand clothing etc.

I'll ask around if you like... but more than likely your best nearest decent café is either a Eurostar back to london, or a TGV out to the Far Ouest to see Stéphane and I! You could get Gwil to ask the current French Champ too.
To put it a different way, the McCafés here have: Cimbali Dosatrons, Mahlkönig K30es (with WBC labels) and Macap Auto Tampers. The beans look ok, they grind to order, rinse the PF, auto dose auto tamp.... and the shot still tasted worse than anything I have ever, ever had before. Money has been spent on gear and training, but attitudes and tastes are essentially still the same. I'd stick with a Chocolat chaud! Hope you have a fun trip though

Gotta recommend Closerie Des Lilas (171 Boulevard du Montparnasse
75006 Paris, France). Coffee's not great, but the place is awesome, full of history and frequented in the past by Emile Zola, Cezanne and Lenin to name but a few...

Aaah Paris.
For coffee, la caféothèque is a good place. And you can visit :
Espresso E Ristretto
67, rue de Charenton
75012 Paris

If the owner is available, you may even have a demo of the bacchi espresso machine, people find the results quite impressive.

And for coffee places, that's about all.

On food side, there are plenty of GREAT restaurants, it all depends on your budget. Too bad, I'm not in Paris anymore, I would have made you discover a very good crèperie in Montrouge.
If you have a week end free, you can visit Brittany, it's a 3h30 trip in TGV from Paris, I have a probatino, we have a spare room and Dom is near (one can't have it all, right ? )

MKSwing wrote:I have a probatino, we have a spare room and Dom is near

How could anyone resist???

MKSwing wrote:If you have a week end free, you can visit Brittany, it's a 3h30 trip in TGV from Paris, I have a probatino, we have a spare room and Dom is near (one can't have it all, right ? )

Oooh do we get to visit the Brulerie du Ménez Bré?
Don't go near the beaches in the 22 either, they'll kill ya (there's nothing like a bit of Sun, Sand and Hydrogen Sulfide!)

I suppose you could always go visit one of the Comptoirs Richard, run by the people the current French champ works for............