Café Marlette

Created by sisters Margot and Scarlette, Marlette (see what they did there?) began as an organic food brand selling bread and cake mixes (stocked at choice Paris addresses such as Claus and Causses), and has now branched out to include the freshly opened Café Marlette, serving breakfast, lunch, brunch and snacks. The charming space on the trendy rue des Martyrs - with a pared back, bright and breezy decor of bare-brick walls and comfy window seats strewn with cushions - provides a convivial backdrop for laidback daytime dining. On the menu are simple, organic and healthy options at reasonable prices (from €7.50), including sandwiches (such as the delicate yet filling goats cheese, honey and raisin baguette), seasonal salads, soups and sweet treats fresh out of the oven such as cookies and scones. These can all be washed down with superior coffee supplied by Paris coffee masters, Coutume, organic tea from Lov or organic wine for those who wish to indulge. Brunch - featuring a selection of breads and jams, granola, compote and more - is served on the weekends (€25) and the Marlette bread and pastry mixes, from whence this story all began, are also on sale. 

Café Marlette

51 rue des Martyrs, 

75009 Paris

www.cafemarlette.fr

Open: Tues-Fri, 8.30am-7.30pm; Sat, 10am-7.30pm; Sun, 10am-6pm

all photos copyright Kim Laidlaw / Unlock Paris

Café Kitsuné

Not content with being a highly covetable clothes brand and super cool record label, Paris-based hipster-favourite Kitsuné has added another string to its bow with the opening of Café Kitsuné just around the corner from its flagship store, in the picturesque Palais Royal Gardens. The small, standing-room only space in this refined square in the capital's first arrondissement - neighbouring luxury brands such as Marc Jacobs and Stella McCartney - is in keeping with the brand's high-quality esthetic: marble counters, moulded ceilings and clean white walls are the stage for a sleek and shiny Marzocco coffee machine and plenty of fox-embellished merchandise ("kitsuné" means fox in Japanese). On the menu are Brazilian coffee roasted by the Workshop Coffee Co. in London - expertly made by the charming baristas in incarnations of espresso, latte, capuccino etc. - a concise selection of top-notch teas, creamy smooth hot chocolate, super-healthy juices from Bob's Cold Press and sweet gluten-free goodies from Noglu. All to be enjoyed standing at the counter with it's superb view onto the square or to takeaway for a stroll through the charming 17th century Palais Royal gardens and a spot of decadent window shopping. 

Café Kitsuné

51 Galerie de Montpensier

75001 Paris

Open Mon-Sun, 8.30am-6.30pm

all photos copyright Kim Laidlaw

Holybelly Café

The cornering roads of rue des Vinagriers and rue Lucien Sampaix in Paris' 10th arrondissement may now officially be declared one of the hottest crossroads in Paris thanks to the recent openings of trendy fish and chip shop The Sunken Chip, sleek bakery Liberté and also charming new cafe Holybelly. Inspired by their time in coffee mecca Melbourne, Sarah and Nico opened this cosy cafe just behind the Canal St Martin back in October, serving not only seriously good coffee but also a solid breakfast and lunch menu with which to soak up your cup of joe. Seasonal delights such as kale and beetroot salad or a soup of the day feature on the menu alongside the splendour that is eggs, pancakes, bacon and bourbon butter, and can be washed down with top-notch filter coffee, cappuccino, lattes and more made with blends from coffee holy lands such as Guatemala and Ethiopia. A friendly neighbourdhood joint that it's actually well worth crossing Paris for. 

Holybelly

19 rue Lucien Sampaix, 75010 Paris

Open Mon, Thurs, Fri: 9am-6pm; Sat-Sun 10am-6pm. 

all photos © Kim Laidlaw 

Fragments Paris - Marais

After opening Blackmarket Cafe in Paris' 18th arrondissement just over a year ago, and closing its doors definitively this summer, charming young Frenchman Youssef Li has now opened his brand spanking new coffee joint, Fragments, in the Marais. Blackmarket was a much loved addition to the Rue Ramey on the slopes of Montmartre, and its trusty regulars will be relieved to hear that the very same, super snazzy Mirage coffee machine has now found a new home at Fragments, in this cosy, exposed-brickwork and beamed-ceiling space, just behind the Boulevard Beaumarchais. Having just had its soft opening last weekend, there are still many yet-to-be-completed surprises in store for the new cafe: an architect is working on the interior, and menus are being devised for lunchtime bentos. The cafe, as you would expect, will be a centre for serious coffees, with blends coming from Coutume Cafe in Paris, as well as farther afield like the Coffee Collective in Denmark, served in incarnations of espresso, noisette, cappuccino or filter coffee. Fragments is open in the daytime only, from 8.30 until 4pm, seven days a week. We wish it every success! 

Fragments

76 rue de Tournelles, 75003 Paris 

Mon-Sun, 8.30am-4pm

La Rentrée - What to do in Paris this Autumn

It's that time of year again - summer is coming to an end, kids are weighed down by disproportionally large school bags, and you have to field the back-to-work question of  "How were your holidays?" with such frequency that a new vacation is needed to recover from the effort. 

But it's not all bad: the reversal of the annual summer mass exodus from Paris brings with it a whole array of brand new exciting shops, exhibitions, restaurants, bars and events to look forward to. Here are our highlights. 

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