By Chef Noam Gedalof & Sommelier Etheliya Hananova
Photograph courtesy of Fragments
About Noam Gedalof and Etheliya Hananova
Chef Noam Gedalof (previously of Kaizen in Montreal and The French Laundry in Yountville) and sommelier Etheliya Hananova (previously of Lawrence in Montreal) moved to Paris to work as the chef-de-cuisine and head sommelier at the Michelin-starred restaurant Le Sergent Recruteur, which was sold last year. The husband-and-wife team are now working on their own soon-to-open restaurant project in Paris.
INSIDER'S PARIS GUIDE
Coffee
Photograph courtesy of Fragments
Fragments
Owner Youssef Louanjli is one of the better baristas we've ever come across. He is fanatical about making every shot the perfect shot. We've never, ever had a bad coffee here, not even a mediocre one. And his vinyl collection is awesome. We love them.
76 Rue des Tournelles, 75003 Paris, France
Le Peloton Café
An airy, bright café that's full of good energy, situated on a quintessentially Parisian street near l'Île Saint Louis. This café belongs to super-friendly, ex-pat owners from New Zealand and the U.S. They use locally-roasted Belleville coffee, which we like, and they have tasty cookies, cake, and waffles.
17 Rue du Pont Louis-Philippe, 75004 Paris, France
T: +33.6.24.58.02.15
Photograph courtesy of Fondation Cafe
Fondation Café
Owner Chris Nielson is great. His was one of the earlier cafés in Paris to propose "third-wave" coffee and they also work with the Belleville coffee roasters. We always go to see him and have a crème when we're in the neighborhood (a beautiful part of the upper Marais, right by a gorgeous park and near the Marché des Enfants Rouges).
16 Rue Dupetit-Thouars, 75003 Paris, France
Restaurants
Salmon at Papillon | Photo Credit: Pierre Monetta
Papillon
The new restaurant from former Ducasse chef Christophe Saintaigne. The cuisine is delicious and deceptively down-to-earth, with good product and great execution. It feels like a true buzzing Parisian restaurant, full of locals from the surrounding area. The succinct and balanced wine list features a number of organic / biodynamic producers.
8 Rue Meissonier, 75017 Paris, France
T: +33.1.56.79.81.88 | www.papillonparis.fr
L'Assiette
In a residential neighborhood, this is a homey, traditional French bistro with perfectly executed French classics such as Cassoulet and Tête de Veau from chef David Rathgeber. The wine list is fairly classic, French and well-priced, always featuring at least a few selections from artisan winemakers in the mix. It's the perfect Sunday night restaurant, cozy and comforting.
181 Rue du Château, 75014 Paris, France
T: +33.1.43.22.64.86
Photographs courtesy of Mokonuts
Mokonuts
A cute little café / lunch place owned and run by husband-and-wife chef-pastry chef team Omar Koreitem and Moko Hirayama. He is Franco-Lebanese with an obsession for southern Italian food; she is Japanese and lived in the U.S. for several years. They both have spent time living and working in renowned establishments in New York, London, and Paris.
All of this translates to beautiful, fresh, product-based dishes that are original, balanced and vegetable-forward, which is a rarity in Paris. Her desserts are insanely delicious, as are her cookies. They also do private fixed-menu dinners for groups of four and up when booked in advance. They catered our wedding in Paris and all of the guests freaked out over the food.
5 Rue Saint-Bernard, 75011 Paris, France
T: +33.9.80.81.82.85
Pizza Chic
This was our twice-a-month pizza hangout when we were working crazy hours. It's so hard to find decent restaurants open on a Sunday in Paris and after trying a whole bunch of stuff, we found ourselves coming back to this place regularly for the overall experience: simple, but tasty food, friendly service (not always easy to find in Paris), and the wine list, which has plenty of great quirky French and Italian wines on it. It's the only place we've ever seen with Georges Laval champagne by the glass, and reasonably priced, too!
13 Rue de Mézières, 75006 Paris, France
T: +33.1.45.48.30.38 | www.pizzachic.fr
Wine & Cocktail Bars
Photograph courtesy of Sherry Butt
Sherry Butt
This cocktail bar is hidden away on a small street in the Marais. It's dark, warm, cozy, and the regularly changing cocktail list is original without being too over-thought or "out there." The drinks are balanced, harmonious, and (too) easy to drink a lot of.
20 Rue Beautreillis, 75004 Paris, France
T +33.9.83.38.47.80 | www.sherrybuttparis.com
La Cave du Paul Bert
A new wine bar from Bertrand Auboyneau on the same street as his classic Bistrot Paul Bert and his Le 6 Paul Bert. It's got a great selection of good natural and organic wines with some well-made classics thrown into the mix and the small plates based on seasonal ingredients are delicious. It's open all day, every day, which makes it a great mid-afternoon place to go for drinks on a day off.
16 Rue Paul Bert, 75011 Paris, France
Wine Shop
Les Caves Augé | Photo Credit: ©Find. Eat. Drink.
Les Caves Augé
One of the oldest wine shops in Paris still running today. It has a comprehensive, balanced and extremely diverse selection, with a mix of the great classics, inexpensive natural wines, and everything in between. A highlight is their monthly sidewalk tastings, held on Saturdays throughout most of the year, with a theme of different featured regions with a number of winemakers who come in to pour their wines.
116 Boulevard Haussmann, 75008 Paris, France
T: +33.1.45.22.16.97
Discover Our 24-Hour FED Paris Guides
FED Paris Features
