Ciel - Japanese Patisserie in Paris

Sometimes* you can have your fill of eating flaky, buttery, creamy French pastry in gilded rococo tea rooms of the Ladurgelina calibre in Paris, but that doesn't mean you have to forego your afternoon sugar hit. The perfect foil to all that opulence is Ciel - a minimal Japanese patisserie set in a clean and airy, white space on the Left Bank, serving but one type of cake: fluffy and light angel cakes, which consist of a weightless (and butterless) sponge exterior encasing a subtle cream centre, in flavours ranging from sakura cherry, to yuzu, to earl grey to chocolate. The delectable little cloud-like cake can be eaten seated at the counter, washed down with all kinds of variations of Japanese tea, including an iced matcha latte or toasted green tea, or taken away in a beautiful origami box.  

Patisserie Ciel 

3 rue Monge, Paris 75005

www.patisserie-ciel.com

*sometimes, but not often

all photos copyright Kim Laidlaw

Tsubame

We love SoPi (South Pigalle, dontchaknow), we love Japanese food, we love small plate dining and we love bento boxes - ergo we absolutely fricking adore new Paris restaurant, Tsubame, which combines all of these elements in one neat package. On a corner spot on the sloping roads leading down from Pigalle, the simple, no-frills setting is the backdrop for a bento-box lunch spot, serving fish, meat or veggie options (inlcuding breaded pork served on rice with lotus root and spinach on our visit) in the daytime, and an izakaya - essentially a Japanase tapas bar (and a nascent Paris trend) - in the evening, with small plates to share, washed down with Nikka whisky, wine, sake or tea. Don't miss the distinctive black sesame icecream or the original matcha creme brûlée for pudding. 

Tsubame

40 rue de Douai

75009 Paris

01 48 78 06 84

all photos copyright Kim Laidlaw / Unlock Paris

Léngué - Japanese Tapas in the Latin Quarter

There has been something of a small-plate trend over the last couple of years in Paris, but the concept is neither new nor uniquely European. Trying out (and loving) new South Pigalle Japanese tapas joint Ito led us to rediscovering established Left Bank restaurant Lengué, which is also an Izakaya - a Japanese drinking specialist serving small sharing plates - with ex-Robuchon chef Katsutoshi Kondi heading up the kitchen. The intimate space with wooden ceiling beams and bare stone walls is on a little hidden-away street - an alley of calm between the tourist traps of the Latin Quarter. On the extensive menu are bite-sized delights such as sweetly succulent Dengaku aubergine fried in miso, light and fluffy omelette, finger-licking good sesame chicken wings, and sautéed squid with ginger (prices range from €5-12 per dish), to be washed down with Japanese beer, Nikka Whiskey, sake or plum wine, and to be rounded off with refreshing mochi icecream or matcha tiramisu. Be prepared to re-order several times throughout your meal as the dishes are so delicious it's hard to resist trying more and you'll surely become intrigued by whatever your neighbours are eating... Book ahead and come with a big appetite.

Lengué
31 rue de la Parcheminerie, 75005 Paris
Open Tues-Sat, 12-3pm; 7-11pm.
Tel: 01 46 33 75 10

Photos copyright Kim Laidlaw. All rights reserved.

Ito

We've said it before, and no doubt we'll say it again: South Pigalle is the place to be in Paris right now, and the recent arrival of casual Japanese canteen Ito only confirms that sentiment. The tiny, inconspicuous restaurant in the SoPi neighbourhood, helmed by chef Victor Magsaysay, serves serious Japanese tapas, with a concise menu of ten small dishes featuring delights such as tofu-stuffed shitake mushrooms, finely cut Chahan cauliflower with ginger and black sesame, succulent dengaku aubergine with red miso and chilies, and a beautifully presented yuzu-black sesame red berry cheesecake for pudding, all to be washed down with Japanese beer (Kirin, Asahi), dangerously delicious Umeshu plum wine or sake or whiskey from their extensive drinks list. Prices are €19 for three plates, €25 for four or €65 for ten (count on having three to four plates per person).

Ito

2 rue Pierre Fontaine

75009 Paris

Reserve by email: reservations@itoeats.fr or phone (from 6pm) 09 52 91 23 00

Open Mon-Sat, 8pm-2am

Sadaharu Aoki Patisserie

Tokyo-born patisserie maestro Sadaharu Aoki combines traditional French technical savoir-faire with  Japanese ingredients in his four Parisian boutiques for an innovative twist on classic gallic cakes. Perfectly executed eclairs are laced with black sesame or green tea, and eastern flavours such adzuki beans and yuzu feature alongside French staples such as creme patissière and puff pastry in his delicious creations. There is a strong sense of a modern Japanese esthetic, with cakes designed with pared down minimal forms, bold colours and playful decorative touches, all set against the neutral backdrop of a sleek and shiny monochrome boutique. The stores are take-away only, but the rue Vaugirard branch is just a two minute walk away from the Jardin de Luxembourg - a great setting for an impromptu sugar-loaded picnic, weather permitting of course.  

Patisserie Sadaharu Aoki, 35 rue de Vaugirard, 75006 Paris

Open: Tues-Sat, 11am-7pm. Sun, 10am-6pm

For more on extraordinary patisseries in Paris, see The Innovative Patisseries of Paris. 

All photos copyright Kim Laidlaw Adrey 2012

Asuka

 

There's no name on the outside - just heavy iron grills on the opaque windows of the matt black facade.  But Asuka - this hidden little 12-seater Japanese restaurant on a side street on the dark side of Montmartre - has been drawing in those in the know for over ten years with its authentic Japanese fare and convivial vibe. Once you're through the doors, you're warmly welcomed by the adorable owners, Mr and Mrs Date - a couple from Tokyo in their sixties who have been in Paris for 30 years but who still lace their thickly-accented French with a heavy dose of arigatos.

On the menu are several multi-course options which include a starter, miso soup, salad and then a main course featuring maki, sushi or grilled fish - which change depending on the season and market availability. But we're not talking the bland cabbage salad, boring miso broth and flavourless fish that are the norm in many a "Japanese" restaurant in the capital. Here the food is innovative, fresh and delicious: julienned carrots in sesame oil, delicate made-to-order maki and the succulent and sweet marinated shiitake mushroom sushi are like nothing you'd find in the ubiquitous--and often dubious-- sushi joints throughout Paris.  

The atmosphere is friendly and the setting is cosy, with an abundance of family memorabilia and random bric-a-brac as decoration - you feel like you've been invited into someone's home. Someone who can cook damn good Japanese food that is... 

Asuka

145, rue Marcadet, 75018

No reservations

Dinner Mon-Sat. Lunch Mon-Fri.

Prices are about €25-30 per head without alcohol. 

All photos copyright Kim Laidlaw Adrey