Cinema Paradiso at Le Grand Palais

Right now in Paris, under the vast steel-and-glass roofed Grand Palais, the biggest drive-in EVER is taking place. Until 21st June, Cinema Paradiso brings together a film screenings, shopping, exhibitions, food and club nights at one of the capital's most iconic monuments. Chow down on American Diner style food (burgers, mac n cheese, coleslaw...), knock back Champagne, buy some kitsch US-imports from Colette (including extortionately priced Pop Tarts) before settling into a cute Fiat 500 to catch a cult movie - Drive, Taxi Driver, ET, for example - on the mammoth 25m-long screen (250m2 of Ryan Gosling? Yes, please). In the daytime there is also an exhibition on classic video games and a roller disco. After dark, the Super Club starts - offering club nights hosted by big names on the Paris scene (Le Baron, Wanderlust, Kitsuné...) - and frolics continue until well into the night. Tickets to be purchased in advance for the cinema (from €19), otherwise general access tickets can be bought on the door (€10). 

Cinema Paradiso 

Until 21st June

Grand Palais 

Avenue Winston Churchill

75008 Paris 

Septime La Cave

The team behind the much-lauded restaurant Septime (which featured again this year on the World's Best Restaurant list) has opened a wine shop cum wine bar just around the corner from their main address in the 11th arrondissement. Pop into the charming Septime La Cave to pick up a bottle from their vast selection from not just France, but also Italy and elsewhere in Europe, no matter what your budget (prices start from around just €6) or take a seat at the small bar in the vintage-retro feeling shop, complete with metro-style tiles and cinema-type lettering on the wall menus, to sample some of the wines by the glass, soaked up with fresh and simple small plates. On the seasonally changing menu are tapas-sized portions of high-quality olives, cheeses and cold meats and simple fish (we had delicious sardines served with herbed butter, and peppered goat's cheese on our visit) of between around €4-14 each, to go with a superb selection of wines from by the glass from between €5-7 (we enjoyed the Sicilian SP68 Bianco, and the sparkling Chenin from La Grange Tiphaine).  The incredibly friendly and knowledgeable staff are on hand to advise and the general atmosphere of this cosy space make for a convivial setting for an afternoon or evening drink - perfect for a light bite or an aperitif.

Septime La Cave

3 rue Basfroi

75011 Paris

01 43 67 14 87

Restaurant Pierre Sang

Pierre Sang Boyer (pictured centre), one of the charmismatic stars of French culinary TV show Top Chef, has opened his own eponymous restaurant in Paris' 11th arrondissement. The young chef, who was a semi-finalist in the 2011 edition of the television programme, opened Restaurant Pierre Sang on the buzzing, bar-lined rue Oberkampf in mid 2012. The no-reservation corner space is full to capacity daily - and has already been honoured with a prestigious award from French food guide Le Fooding - with a mixed clientele packing in to the laid-back setting with counter seating looking on to an open kitchen to sample the multi-course, no-choice menu of modern, eclectic cuisine (from €35 for the prix-fixe). State any allergies or dietary requirements to the knowledgeable waiters and then leave yourselves in the hands of the capable and daring team to bring you dish after dish of original Pierre Sang creations, which fuse French and South Korean influences to reflect the chef's mixed heritage. We particularly liked the pudding of tarte tatin with a sharp raspberry mousse laced with vinegar on our visit. Wines are also topnotch and the friendly sommelier is on hand to advise on what tipples to pair with your meal.

Restaurant Pierre Sang

55 rue Oberkampf

75011 Paris

Open Tues-Fri lunch and dinner; Sat dinner only. 

No reservations 

photos copyright Unlock Paris and cannot be reproduced without permission

Loustic

Paris' coffee revolution is showing no signs of abating with the arrival of new kid on the block, Loustic, on a side street near to the Pompidou Centre, bringing superlative coffee to the very centre of Paris. Londoner Channa Galhenage's brand new cafe, decorated with retro geometric prints by hip interior designer Dorothée Meilichzon (who also did up NoMa hotspot Pinson), serves seasonal roasts from Belgian coffee mecca Caffènation in espresso, filter and chemex variations, as well as in everyone's favourite milky incarnations of cappuccino and latte. The long and narrow seating, reminiscent of a nostalgic train carriage, is perfectly conducive to a spot of friendly nattering with fellow patrons or for setting up a laptop for getting down to some caffeine-fuelled work (there is even a "laptop special" available - 3 cups of coffee with 3 mini-cupcakes for just €10, and wifi is free). A concise but high quality selection of teas is also available, as is chai tea latte, and soya milk is available for lactose-haters. A lunch menu, which aims to put a fresh spin on French cafe classics, has been devised by super duper culinary duo, Emperor Norton - the current special is a riff on the poulet crudité sandwich, featuring chicken katsu curry. Also on the menu are organic cakes, quiches and deliciously healthy kale-based goodies from The Kale Project, and the weekend sees Paris' first reasonably priced brunch ever featuring granola, juice, coffee and pastries for just €10-12. Loustic, which means "smart arse" in Breton, is certainly bringing a cheeky new perspective to the classic French neighbourhood cafe and it's already one of our favourites.

Loustic

40 rue Chapon, 75003 Paris

Open: Mon 12-6pm, Tues-Fri 7am-6pm, Sat 9am-7pm, Sun 12-6pm

Book Club at Le Carmen: The Return

Paris' finest high brow debauchery is back: Book Club returns for another evening of fun, frolics and literary chat this Sunday 7th April at South Pigalle cocktail bar, Le Carmen. The concept is simple: bring a book you have loved and swap it with a book one of the other guests has brought and also therefore loved. Strike up conversation, have a couple of expertly-mixed cocktails and even indulge in shaking your tail feather in the decadent setting of Le Carmen, which was formerly home to composer Bizet and after whose famous opera the cocktail bar is named. Leave with a new-to-you book and maybe even a phone number or two - this is a contemporary version of the blue-stockinged antics of yesteryear, after all. Just remember: no book, no entry...

Book Club 

Sunday 7th April from 8pm

Le Carmen

34 rue Duperré, 75009 Paris 

Facebook Event: Book Club at Le Carmen

photos copyright Kim Laidlaw. Steal them and feel her wrath. 

Le Mary Celeste

We can't get enough of the Northern Marais right now, and the arrival of new cocktail and oyster bar Le Mary Celeste is only serving to increase our obsession. The talented team behind much lauded cocktail-and-tapas joint Candelaria and Pigalle bar Glass opened Mary Celeste, their third bar in the capital, earlier in 2013. Breaking the mould from the hidden away, dark and sultry, speakeasy style bars that have proved to be such a hit in Paris, Le Mary Celeste is a bright and breezy corner space, with large windows, exposed brickwork and a vast central bar. On the menu are the kind of expertly mixed cocktails you'd expect from this team (including the Rain Dog which mixes their favourite tipple, the bitter Italian Amaro, with bourbon, mint and lemon), Brooklyn lager on tap, and a selection of wines by the glass and the bottle. Also on offer are oysters (and an oyster happy hour from 5pm-7pm when they're only €1 a pop), bar snacks such as kimchi and small plates to share from Weds-Sun. Le Mary Celeste also shares its sibling bars' eclectic programme, already hosting events such as a pop-up juice shop with Bob's Cold Press last month and Jack's Jumble Sale. Stay tuned to their facebook for more info on upcoming events.

Le Mary Celeste

1 rue Commines, 75003 Paris  

Mon-Sun 5pm-2am