The café is one of the most Parisian institutions out there, dating all the way back to the 17th century, when Silvio Procopio opened Le Procope, the first café in Paris (and one that’s still open today).
Most of you have probably heard of famous cafés like Les Deux Magots or Café de Flore in Saint-Germain, but we Parisians prefer to drink our “own” coffee in our “own” places (the truth is that many of us would actually rather drink wine at a café, but that’s a different story).
Today I want to recommend a few cafés like that, ones I especially love and enjoy sitting at after finishing the tours I lead. You’ll find cafés here in places you might not have thought of, a tea house you shouldn’t miss, and more.
Since, like quite a few places in Paris (especially since the pandemic), cafés keep opening and closing at a faster and faster pace, I’ll update this article from time to time to add new cafés that have recently opened or remove places that have closed. So I highly recommend bookmarking this article and coming back to it every time you travel to Paris.
I invite you to join me on a journey through my favorite cafés in the city.
Recommended cafés in Paris
Rosa Bonheur
My first recommendation in this article is for anyone visiting Paris in the summer and looking for a fun place to sit when it’s hot outside.
To be precise, this isn’t exactly a café but more of a guinguette, a word that doesn’t really have an equivalent in English. It describes a place usually found near a lake or river, where you can sit back, sip a coffee or a glass of wine, and nibble on something.
Actually, this isn’t just one place but a whole chain, currently with four locations in Paris and its nearby suburbs:
- Rosa Seine: a boat moored beneath the magnificent Pont Alexandre III. You can sit inside the boat or outside it. Address: Port des Invalides.
- Rosa Butte: a small café inside Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, run by Mimi and Zouzou, who came to Paris from the Camargue region and brought its spirit with them. Address: Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, 2 allée de la Cascade.
- Rosa Est: located inside a small chalet (a wooden house) in the Bois de Vincennes, where you can sit not only inside but also in the garden or by the lake. Address: Porte Jaune, Avenue de Nogent.
- Rosa Ouest: located in the suburb of Asnières (not far from the famous pet cemetery) and close to the bridge connecting the suburb to Paris. Address: 20 Quai du Docteur Dervaux, Pont d’Asnières, Asnières-sur-Seine.
The food served here is influenced by the south of France, Italy, and Spain, and you’ll find different kinds of tapas (even hummus, as you saw in the video above 🙂 ), pizzas (including the famous pissaladière from Provence), cheeses, and more (the menu varies slightly from place to place). In short, everything you need to go along with the glass of wine or beer you’ll be drinking while sitting back and enjoying the little paradise Rosa Bonheur created for you.
Link to the chain’s official website
Who was Rosa Bonheur?
Before we move on to more great cafés in Paris, it’s worth saying a few words about Rosa Bonheur, whose name these places are named after.
Rosa Bonheur was a painter of Jewish descent whose full name was Marie-Rosalie Bonheur (1822-1899). She was born in Bordeaux in 1822 to a family of painters (her brothers and sisters were painters too). She specialized in painting animals such as horses and cows, and her work can be found in some of the world’s most important museums, including the Musée d’Orsay. Here’s an example of one of her most famous paintings:
Rosa Bonheur’s paintings were hugely successful in France and England, which allowed her to buy an estate not far from Fontainebleau, where she lived out the rest of her life and died in 1899. Today, Rosa Bonheur is considered a trailblazer, since she was one of the few women in the 19th century (along with Berthe Morisot (1841-1895)) who worked as a professional painter rather than simply as a hobbyist.
The café at Le Petit Palais
Almost all of you have probably heard of the Grand Palais (currently under renovation for the Olympics) and the Petit Palais. But how many of you know about the charming café at the Petit Palais?
This café is located in the museum’s garden, and you can visit it even if you don’t feel like seeing one of the permanent or temporary exhibitions there. Of course, the nicest thing is to sit in the garden, but if it’s cold outside, you’re welcome to sit inside and enjoy a coffee at a reasonable price along with a light meal (for example, a kind of prix fixe of quiche and chocolate mousse).
And while you’re there, I highly recommend reading my article about the Champs-Élysées, where you’ll find plenty of attractions and interesting things nearby.
Address: Avenue Winston Churchill
Opening hours: Every day except Mondays and holidays, from 10:00 to 17:00.
Lapérouse and Mimosa at the Hôtel de la Marine
The Hôtel de la Marine, one of the most talked-about museums in Paris, which reopened in the summer of 2021, has its own culinary world.
It’s worth noting that, just like at the Petit Palais, you don’t need to go into the museum (which is remarkable, by the way) to enjoy the café, Lapérouse, or the restaurant, Le Mimosa, which opened in October 2021.
Café Lapérouse is named after the famous 18th century navigator who disappeared without a trace. It’s actually another branch of the famous restaurant (a favorite of Victor Hugo (1802-1885)), located at Quai des Grands Augustins on the banks of the Seine. Here you can have coffee, tea with a wonderful afternoon tea spread, or a glass of wine as an apéritif.
Le Mimosa, on the other hand, is where you go for lunch or dinner, inside or outside on sunny spring and summer days. The restaurant is run by chef Jean-François Piège, who has already won several Michelin stars. Piège has extensive culinary experience. He previously worked at Alain Ducasse’s restaurant at the Plaza Athénée, then at Aux Ambassadeurs, and finally at the restaurant at the Hôtel de Crillon, where he earned two Michelin stars.
Here’s an article in French (with English subtitles) that will tell you a bit more about this talented chef, his restaurants, and his work:
This restaurant wants to take you out of “the gray city” and straight into the sun-drenched atmosphere of Provence. That’s why the restaurant is named after the mimosa flower, a yellow flower that grows in the south of France, and also lends its name to recipes where egg is the dominant ingredient. For example, mimosa egg: grated egg yolk over half a hard-boiled or soft-boiled egg, which resembles the mimosa flower.
You go here as much for the setting as for the quality of the dishes and ingredients! Both places have a terrace overlooking the inner courtyard of the Hôtel de la Marine, but Lapérouse also has a terrace facing Place de la Concorde itself. In summer, it’s a must!
Address:
Hôtel de la Marine (Café Lapérouse & Restaurant Le Mimosa)
2 Place de la Concorde 75008 Paris
The tea salon at Le Meurice
Le Meurice is one of the nine grand Paris hotels. It’s ideally located facing the Tuileries Garden on Rue de Rivoli, not far from Place de la Concorde. The original hotel was founded in 1771 by Charles Meurice in the town of Calais, to offer high-end lodging to tourists arriving from England. In 1815, the hotel’s Paris branch opened on Rue Saint-Honoré, and in 1835 it moved to its current location.
Since that year, Le Meurice has hosted a long line of nobles and other wealthy guests (including the Nazi military governor of Paris, von Choltitz, but that’s a different story). Since it originally catered to an English clientele, it kept up the tradition of afternoon tea, serving fine tea alongside a wide selection of cakes.
Today the tea salon is run by pastry chef Cédric Grolet, and I highly recommend treating yourself to tea and wonderful pastries at 5:00 p.m., while also enjoying the interior design by the famous designer Philippe Starck.
If you like, you’re more than welcome to continue on afterward straight to the hotel’s restaurant, run by none other than Alain Ducasse, for a wonderful meal (the restaurant didn’t earn its two Michelin stars for nothing).
Address:
Rue de Rivoli 228
Substance Café
Paris used to have a reputation as a city without real good coffee, but that’s changed over the past decade. If coffee matters to you as much as the café itself, and you want a high-quality, special cup of coffee, Substance is the place to go. It’s a trailblazing café in Paris, founded by a young barista and his wife. The focus on coffee quality and style is so intense that some people jokingly call it the “coffee nazi” (a nod to the famous Soup Nazi). The café serves filter coffee, espresso with frozen, filtered milk, macchiato, and more. There are no takeaway cups, no sugar, no food, and just 15 seats at the bar. You can buy roasted coffee beans here, along with various coffee-making accessories. The perfect place for anyone who’s there just for the coffee.
There’s also an Omakase option: coffee tastings based on how much time and budget you have.
Address: 30 Rue Dussoubs
The Terres de Café chain
This café chain got its start in 2009 in Paris, as part of the growing trend and demand for quality coffee in the city. The chain has several branches around the city, elegantly designed and filled with the rich aroma of coffee you can smell from far away. It’s really more of a “coffee bar” for anyone looking for a rich, leisurely coffee experience. People come here the way they’d go to a wine bar: to try different types of coffee, chat about coffee with an expert barista, and buy coffee or even coffee machines.
Kabane
This café is run by a guy named Pierre Jacques, who’s “obsessed” with coffee. There’s no roasting on site, but he hosts guest roasters from France and elsewhere in the world. For example, you can find coffee from Yemen here, which isn’t easy to come by at all. You can also buy chocolate and tea at the café.
Address: 23 Rue Faidherbe
Dreamin Man
A small café, not far from Place de la République. The place is run by Yuichiro, the former barista at Boot Café. The café has a minimalist design and makes for a pleasant escape from the city’s hustle and bustle. There are a few tables and a bit of room at the bar. The place is always full and you’ll need to wait, but the coffee experience is worth it. There’s a selection of different filter coffees and a small snack menu, but as mentioned, the focus is on quality coffee.
Address: 140 Rue Amelot
Looking for more places to grab a drink?
Did you spend your trip to Paris sitting in cafés and restaurants, and now you’re looking for a fun spot for a drink? Then don’t miss my article about Paris’s rooftop bars.
FAQ
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