Unlock Paris: left bank

Showing posts with label left bank. Show all posts

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

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

Coutume Cafe

Paris isn't traditionally known for its ability to make a decent cup of coffee, but award-winning French speciality coffee roasters and coffee shop Coutume Café, are making it their mission to change that.

Onion Soup revisted by Yanick Alléno

Star chef Yannick Alléno has opened his first Paris bistro, Le Terroir Parisien, in the city's fifth arrondissement. The restaurant, a stylish antithesis to the nearby tourist trap eateries of the tacky Place Monge, is the Michelin-starred chef's homage to his home town of Paris and the surrounding Ile de France region.

Matelote "Bougival"

In a modern space with clean lines of warm-toned wood, dominated by a central bar and looking onto the kitchen, suits and gastronomes alike dine on traditional dishes from the Paris region, revisited by the chef and composed of locally-sourced produce. Snack on a simple croque-monsieur (€10) at the counter, or savour the deconstructed onion soup, poetically entitled "Aux Petits Oignons, ma gratinée des Halles" (€7), composed of an onion, gruyere and croutons in a bowl, over which the diner pours a jug of hot stock to create the soup. Simple, seasonal dishes, such as radishes and butter, also feature strongly on the menu - after all, to support the locavore movement, produce must be in season. Plats de résistance currently include skate in a beurre noisette and caper sauce (€18), or the interesting Matelote "Bougival" (€19), a dish from the history books featuring two types of white fish in a red wine and mushroom sauce.

Desserts include the not-sickly-but-just-sweet-enough St Honoré with its vanilla cream filled puff pastry, and the rich and comforting Brioche Perdue with vanilla icecream. For those without a sweet tooth, the generous cheese plate is worth trying for the black brie alone - an aged, hard brie that came about as a result of a forgetful cheesemaker. There is also an excellent wine selection and a choice of very reasonably priced wines by the glass (we tried an oaky Chardonnay at under €3 a pop). Service is excellent - professional and friendly, without being overfamiliar or pushy - and the setting has a perfect balance of casual and special, thanks in part to the service and in part to the interesting architecture.

Brioche Perdue

St Honoré

A great address for traditional yet interesting French food - and at around €35 a head, it's a thoroughly affordable way to sample the cuisine of a Michelin-starred chef (Alléno's other Parisian address, the restaurant at Le Meurice, is likely to melt your credit card).

Le Terroir Parisien

20 rue Saint Victor, 75005 Paris

01 44 31 54 54

Open daily from breakfast until dinner; brunch on Sundays

all photos copyright Kim Laidlaw Adrey 2012

Le Discret at Le Lutetia

The Vik Muniz suite at Le Lutetia

There has been a spate of luxury palace hotel openings in Paris over the last year or so, each one bigger, better, shinier and sparklier than the last. But Paris has been the capital of tourism for a long time, and lest we forget there are some very interesting - and historical - hotels that may not be new, but what they lack in bling they make up for in true Parisian heritage.

The Left Bank stalwart Le Lutetia is one such example. Founded in 1910, the hotel has a history of welcoming artists and writers such as Matisse, Picasso and Françoise Sagan into its original Art Deco surroundings. Whilst the new luxury hotels could be personified as label-loving, big-diamond-and-watch-wearing extroverts, the Lutetia is more of a stealth-wealth, heritage connoisseur - someone with inherent taste and discretion.

Hence the hotel's new initiative, Le Discret, an erudite left bank character who shares his discoveries - be they shops, restaurants, exhibitions - with the initiated public via a blog which launches today: Hotel Lutetia Le Discret. His curiosity leads him to wonder the streets of the Left Bank, finding hidden and unusual gems and sharing interesting tips with his readers. For example, Pain Poilâne is often cited as one of the best bakeries in the capital, but did you know that it's the apple tart, not the bread, that is really their pièce de résistance? Le Discret's judicious selection isn't necessarily about the newest or flashiest places, but rather about the best and most interesting finds in his area of expertise, Paris' Rive Gauche. He's a character after our own heart and we look forward to reading about his new finds every Friday on the blog.

Le Discret has sniffed out the best perfumes on the Left Bank from boutique Sur Mesure

Le Discret recommends Poilane for the best apple tart in Paris

P.S. Apologies for the shoddy iPhone photos, but - somewhat in keeping with the theme - we only managed to snap a couple of surreptitious shots whilst Le Discret had his back turned.

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

Avril Gau

Paris is often lauded as a great place for shopping - it's one of the fashion capitals of the world, after all. Indeed, it's the birth place of many of the most illustrious fashion houses of history, and alongside their flagships, many of the world's most respected brands have outposts here, too. But rather than shopping in an identikit boutique that has the same stock in Paris, London, New York and Tokyo, why not seek out the under the radar labels in their home town? Isn't it isn't it much more fun - and exclusive - to discover a label that you can't get everywhere else?

Formerly the Racine Odeon, Le Nouvel Odeon has been freshly renovated by French design guru and protegee of Philippe Starck, Matali Crasset. Wanting to break with the tradition of the movie house as black box, Crasset has created a open structure for the entrance and a colourful, light and airy space for the screen itself, with red walls and bright orange chairs, creating a fresh and funky new cinema on the left bank. There is also a small but beautifully designed cafe offering quality and often organic drinks and snacks, and a cosy red sofa space perched above the cafe where you can debrief after a film with a drink. Innovative additions include numbered seating that you can reserve in advance, baby cinema sessions on Saturday mornings where you can keep up to date with film with your little one on your lap and children's cinema screenings on Sunday mornings.

Le Nouvel Odéon

6 rue de l'école de médecine

75006 Paris

www.nouvelodeon.com

L'Hotel

Baby, it's cold outside...but it's nice and warm at the bar of L'Hotel, a sumptuous 19th century hotel with a Jacques Garcia designed decor, on the left bank in Paris. The book-lined, velvet-chaired, low-lit ground floor bar is a great place to cosy up for a warming afternoon tea or a romantic evening drink.

What's more, the hotel's historic charm is authentic with literary legends Oscar Wilde and Jorge Luis Borges both having stayed here. If it was good enough for them, it's good enough for us.

L'Hotel

13 rue des Beaux-Arts, 75006 Paris

Bar open until 1am daily

Ralph's Bar

Ralph Lauren flagship store, Paris

A couple of months ago, to much fanfare, Ralph Lauren opened his huge Parisian flagship store on the boulevard St Germain, complete with an American fine dining restaurant (apparently not an oxymoron), Ralph's. This week, I checked out the bar attached to the restaurant with Paris' cocktail maven extraordinaire, the wonderfully monikered Forest Collins. Forest researches bars around the capital and when she's not busy sharing her secrets with journalists around the world, she writes up her findings on her blog, 52 martinis. The concept of her blog is that every week, she goes to a bar, samples their martini and then their house special. And when Forest asks me if I'd like to accompany her on a research mission, I'm only too happy to help. So, we ordered and analysed a couple of cocktails through the course of the evening, giggled over the awfully translated drinks menu, eavesdropped on the swanky drinkers next to us talking about some film project for which they needed Megan Fox, nibbled away on the delicious bar snacks, and eyed up the super preppy decor (red roses, tartan and horse pictures galore).

Classic Martini

I'll leave you to read Forest's more detailed review to find out how Ralph's compares to the capital's other bars from a cocktail connoisseur's point of view, but I can tell you that I, as just a general gal about town, was pleasantly surprised. The cosy wood-paneled bar looks onto an interior courtyard, and it's an intimate, luxurious setting that feels like you could be at Ralph's pad in the Hamptons. I would recommend it for an upscale drink (€15 for a classic cocktail), be it for a romantic date, a drink for a special occasion with a couple of friends, or indeed a highly enjoyable research mission with Paris' number one cocktail expert...