Where to eat and beat the heat in Paris: three new restaurants favoured by the fashion crowd
This summer in Paris, finding somewhere to cool down is becoming less of a luxury and more of a necessity. Or perhaps the perfect excuse to try something a little different?
Want to try cold ramen or pickle-flavoured sorbet? Here are three new spots that had people talking this fashion week.
1.
Toy
On a quiet street just a stone’s throw from Place de la Bastille, this new ramen restaurant is an ode to minimalism. The discreet black façade marks the spot once occupied by the much-loved Dersou, which closed after the death of chef Taku Sekine. Inside, bare walls, brutalist wooden tables and a large central counter create a restrained, almost monastic setting, softened by the welcome colourful touch of ceramic chopstick rests on each table. The menu follows the same less-is-more philosophy, with only four ramen from which to choose: fresh noodles, made in-house daily by chef George Black, served in a fragrant shio (salt), shoyu (soy) or vegetarian miso broth, plus a new cold ramen introduced in perfect time for Paris’s heatwave – the ideal choice when you’re craving a comforting bowl of noodles but the weather has other ideas.
21 Rue Saint-Nicolas
2.
Fumo
Who decided that ice cream was only for dessert? Fumo, a pop-up running until 20 September in a calm, grey-toned space in Le Marais, is challenging Parisian palates with a menu of savoury flavours, some more adventurous than others. “I wanted to move away from the idea of fruit sorbet as something you eat at the end of a meal and elevate it into something truly gastronomic,”says Tessa Ponzo, the pop-up’s first guest chef, who received the Michelin Guide’s Passion Dessert prize in March. “Why shouldn’t we be able to enjoy a bowl of pickle sorbet as an apéritif?” Alongside the aforementioned sorbet – sharp and briny, finished with a sprinkling of wasabi seeds – the menu features burnt rice ice-cream drizzled with cold-pressed olive oil from Nyons, as well as Tessa’s rotating carte blanche, which might include unexpected ingredients such as black pepper, cardamom, fennel or rosemary. Each flavour is paired with a drink by kombucha-maker Archipel, turning every serving into a tasting experience worthy of fine dining.
59 Rue Charlot
3.
Bagarre Coffee Club
It’s a familiar refrain among locals: you can’t move to Paris for its new coffee shops, especially in high-footfall areas such as Le Marais. While many feel derivative, others really pack a punch. Opened this spring, Bagarre – “fight” in French – leans loosely into a boxing theme, complete with a punching bag next to the espresso machine. It serves coffee by Tanat, which is widely regarded as one of Europe’s leading specialty roasters, and has quickly become a go-to spot for innovative iced drinks among visitors exploring the 11th arrondissement. In addition to single-origin coffee and ceremonial-grade matcha from Uji in Kyoto Prefecture, the menu includes black sesame and ube (a purple yam with a subtle vanilla-like flavour) lattes, iced chocolate milk and its newest addition: the Cloud Matcha – chilled coconut water topped with a matcha cold foam made from an oat-and-coconut-milk blend. Vegan and refreshing.
90 Boulevard Richard-Lenoir
