Good espresso in Paris?

E

Emilio Castelli

Emilio Castelli
We've been in Paris for 5 days now (Notre Dame area) and we've yet to find a good cup of espresso.
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.
E
 
On a recent trip we got decent espresso a couple of times at Le P'tit Bistrot, an unassuming place just east of Tour St. Jacques.

By the way, not far away is La Robe et le Palais, a convivial restaurant specializing in natural wine. We had a very good dinner there.
 
originally posted by Steve Guattery:
On a recent trip we got decent espresso a couple of times at Le P'tit Bistrot, an unassuming place just east of Tour St. Jacques.
Click to expand...

OK, just to be clear given the turn this thread has taken: this isn't a destination, best-of-Paris recommendation. It's just a place within a few minutes' walk of Notre Dame that has coffee better than most of what's found in Paris.
 
originally posted by Emilio Castelli:
Good espresso in Paris?We've been in Paris for 5 days now (Notre Dame area) and we've yet to find a good cup of espresso.
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.
E
Click to expand...

You probably walked by one; the Illy stand at CDG airport serves one of the better espressos in Paris. Not that the bar is high, so to speak.
 
originally posted by Christian Miller (CMM):
originally posted by Emilio Castelli:
Good espresso in Paris?We've been in Paris for 5 days now (Notre Dame area) and we've yet to find a good cup of espresso.
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.
E
Click to expand...

You probably walked by one; the Illy stand at CDG airport serves one of the better espressos in Paris. Not that the bar is high, so to speak.
Click to expand...

i agree. the way i see it, with the serious turn to quality that coffee has taken here in america (stumptown, etc., etc.) the bar has risen a great deal on this side of the atlantic, whereas on the other side of the big ditch things have remained much more static. what i've found is that finding coffee in france/italy etc. that matches the good stuff we get here in america is not easy to find.
 
The most artisanal and french style one is Rêves d'Abyssinie, 132 rue Saint Denis. They use an old lever Unic Junior 1958, one of the few machine that is able to make the traditional french 3/4.
A long gone know-how, that can produce a very specific version of espresso, if used with the adequate beans. Perfect for light roast, bringing out much more finesse and less lemony unbalanced acidity than modern saturated group machines.

reve-d-abyssinie.jpg
 
Here is a list of all the best cafés in Paris. None of them are near Notre Dame unfortunately.

Ten Belles
10 rue de la grange aux belles, 10th

Fondation Café
16 Rue Dupetit Thouars, 3rd

Téléscope
5 rue Villedo, 1st

Lockwood
73, rue d'Aboukir, 2nd

Boot
19 Rue du Pont aux Choux, 3rd

Fragments
76 rue des tournelles, 3rd

Lomi
3 Rue Marcadet, 18th

Café Kitsuné
51 Galerie de Montpensier, 1st

Coutume
47 Rue de Babylone, 7th

Belleville Brulerie - not a café but a roaster open on saturdays to the public. You can go and choose your coffee and the brewing method to taste.
10 Rue Pradier, 19th
 
originally posted by robert ames:
originally posted by Christian Miller (CMM):
originally posted by Emilio Castelli:
Good espresso in Paris?We've been in Paris for 5 days now (Notre Dame area) and we've yet to find a good cup of espresso.
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.
E
Click to expand...

You probably walked by one; the Illy stand at CDG airport serves one of the better espressos in Paris. Not that the bar is high, so to speak.
Click to expand...

i agree. the way i see it, with the serious turn to quality that coffee has taken here in america (stumptown, etc., etc.) the bar has risen a great deal on this side of the atlantic, whereas on the other side of the big ditch things have remained much more static. what i've found is that finding coffee in france/italy etc. that matches the good stuff we get here in america is not easy to find.
Click to expand...

I am surprised you say that about Italy too. I was quite bowled over by the excellence of coffee there, even at dingy holes-in-the-wall. And that's coming from Berkeley, a pretty serious coffee town.
 
originally posted by Christian Miller (CMM):
originally posted by robert ames:
originally posted by Christian Miller (CMM):
originally posted by Emilio Castelli:
Good espresso in Paris?We've been in Paris for 5 days now (Notre Dame area) and we've yet to find a good cup of espresso.
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.
E
Click to expand...

You probably walked by one; the Illy stand at CDG airport serves one of the better espressos in Paris. Not that the bar is high, so to speak.
Click to expand...

i agree. the way i see it, with the serious turn to quality that coffee has taken here in america (stumptown, etc., etc.) the bar has risen a great deal on this side of the atlantic, whereas on the other side of the big ditch things have remained much more static. what i've found is that finding coffee in france/italy etc. that matches the good stuff we get here in america is not easy to find.
Click to expand...

I am surprised you say that about Italy too. I was quite bowled over by the excellence of coffee there, even at dingy holes-in-the-wall. And that's coming from Berkeley, a pretty serious coffee town.
Click to expand...

my italian experience is from a visit to the piedmontese. . .maybe it's more better more further south.

and maybe it's more to the style of the roast. lighter roasting being more in vogue over here, darker roasts over there. the darker the roast the less the bean's personality is apparent, and if that's what you appreciate, you miss it.
 
I would agree that nowadays most likely we get the better beans on this site of the Atlantic. Nevertheless in Italy you get usually a rather nice espresso or cappuccino even at a random highway rest stop (and in contrast to here it does take them 15 seconds, not 15 minutes). Very different from France where coffee is mostly meh.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top