I recently received a desperate message from a reader, whose subject line read "Coffee Emergency!!"
She and her husband were in Paris, desperate for a good cup of coffee. Feeling her pain, I compiled this short-list of places where one can be pretty much assured of having a properly-made café express.
A few tips:
- Check and see if the place uses an Italian brand of coffee. This isn't always the most reliable trick, but is an indication they're not just pulling coffee from the easiest-available (and cheapest) brands.
- Look and see if they're grinding the beans fresh, firmly packing the coffee into the tamper, and keeping the filter holder in place when the machine isn't being use to hold in the heat. Those are indications they're somewhat interested in doing things correctly
- Peer into some of the cups that are being passed over the bar before ordering. A real espresso should be about a tablespoon of coffee with a layer of lighter froth floating on top.
- If you want the closest approximation of a true espresso, ask for café serré, a "tight" coffee. The French normally drink their café express with more water than a customary espresso.
- It's hard to avoid, but most cafés use sterilized, ultra-pasteurized milk in milk-based drinks, which tastes horrible and will ruin even a decent cup.
- When in doubt, such as on the autoroute or train, resign yourself to ordering a café noisette; an express marked with a bit of steamed milk, which'll tame any bitter or acrid flavors.
While these places likely have good milk-based coffee drinks, I can only attest for their cups of café noir. Here's five reliable places where coffee-lovers can be assured of getting a good fix:
Espressamente Illy
13, rue Auber (9th)
Métro: Opéra, RER: Auber
A concept store and café for Illy coffee. Located next to the Opéra Garnier, a machine precisely tamps the coffee into the filter holder with the perfect amount of pressure, assuring you of a real Italian espresso.
Café Malongo
50, rue Saint-André des Arts (6th)
RER: St. Michel
Café Malongo is, in my opinion, the best brand of coffee roasted in France. In their café near place St. Michel, you can drink a good cup of coffee, but specify exactly how you want it, since they often extract coffee "French-style."
Cuba Compagnie
48, blvd Beaumarchais (11th)
Métro: Chemin Vert
This ho-hum sidewalk café is popular with locals, especially during their cut-price Happy Hour mojitos. Off-hours, their coffee is surprisingly good.
Pozzetto
39, rue de Roi de Sicile (4th)
Métro: St. Paul
Pozzetto is my favorite gelato shop in Paris, and one of the few serving the real thing. Ditto for the coffee, which is a true Italian espresso.
Gocce di Caffè
25, Passage des Panoramas (2nd)
Métro: Bourse or Grand Boulevards
The delicious coffee served here is shipped in from Rome and pulled by a genial Italian fellow. For a true espresso, specify a caffè ristretto (café serré.)
(A place I've yet to try is Caffè Kimbo de Napoli, which serves Neopolitan coffee, at 5 place des Ternes (17th). I plan to check it out soon and will add them to the list.)
Related entries and recipe:
How not to drink black tar in Paris (ChezPim.com)
Paris coffee that doesn't taste like merde (Gridskipper)
Making Perfect Espresso at Illy
Espresso granita affogato (Recipe)
Coffee and Espresso Makers For the Home
10 Things I Just Learned About Coffee
Chocolate Espresso Mousse Cake (Recipe)
Based on the recommendation on your website, my wife and I set out to find Pozzetto during our honeymoon last year. It remains our high-water mark for espresso and gelato. We went enough times in one week for the staff to recognize us!
Bonjour David - I've been lurking and drooling over your blog for some time now. Love the photos, love the posts, love the recipes. As I will probably never live in Paris, I am counting on you to embrace the joie de vivre to the fullest measure, so I may live vicariously through your posts. Had to send you a link to today's NYT article on the hamburger phenomenon in Paris -- c'est vrai? And who in their right mind would pay 35 euro for a burger?
NYTimes article
Merci beaucoup!
Thanks for the addresses. Though none of them are close to home in the 11th or work in 8th (nor have I found worthwhile coffee near either location), I'm looking forward to a few coffee pilgrimages. Just to pass on two London hints, where good coffee is surprisingly easier to find:
Flat White--Aussie-run cafe in Soho on Berwick St. Hole in the wall but they take their coffee seriously.
HR Higgins--between Selfridges and the American Embassy in Mayfair, they've been selling coffee for 75 years or so and still measure the beans with copper weights. The Creole Blend is very rich and smooth and apparently used by the Italian Embassy around the corner.
The site looks beautiful! Complimenti, ragazzo.
Shira: It is odd that folks here aren't more concerned about the taste of their coffee than they are. I think it's because they drink coffee not for the taste, but for the social aspects of it and the flavor is really secondary. Or even farther down the list.
Excellent advice, David! The coffee at the two most famous Paris cafés (you know the ones!) is reliably terrible, and costs approximately $100, give or take a few centimes.
Aaah! This post lets me day dream about spending a lazy afternoon in Paris. Thank you for that small moment!
Bah! Move to Vienna for a while and after that any cup of coffee in Paris tastes great. I can count the places in Vienna with coffee I like on one hand.
Great post! I'll keep this bookmarked. :)
xox Sarah
OT but, your posts still aren't showing up in my google reader. Is the feed fixed yet? Do I need to resubscribe? Or just be patient?
heehee I like your new verification system
We're going to work on it tomorrow & perhaps burn a new feed, which I'll announce if we do. Thanks for letting me know : ) x-dl
David, my favorite cafe was actually from a machine in the Gare du Nord! Why are French not making French coffeee, my last visit to France it was like Italinate coffee, nothing like a real coffee I remembered from old? Am I mistaken?
Hi David,
What a fun post... Cafe creme for me please... It only tastes good in Paris though... How odd :-)
Hi David,
Your link to Bacon Ice Cream on the recipe tab is broken! Oh no!
It must be a tasteless conspiracy.
Hi Gigi: Thanks for pointing that out. I had to re-do all the links on that page with the re-design, but it's back up & working. Merci! - dl
Hi David,
Why haven't you recommended the Nespresso Boutique on the Champs-Elysee? It looks amazing, makes you feel like you're buying a Louis Vuitton purse instead of coffee and it tastes good, at least far better than all the sour, watery stuff you get elsewhere. Check it out!
Ciao,
Job
Hi Job: I'm not a huge fan of Nespresso coffee. There isn't enough coffee in those little capsules to make a true espresso (each has only 5gr, when there should be 7gr) and the experience feels sort of impersonal. But you're right, it's dependable and stylish. Another bonus is they actually make a real, honest-to-goodness iced coffee, with plenty of ice!
Here's a link to the Nespresso boutiques in France.
Hi David,
Thanks for this list, I need to print it and carry a copy with me when I'm there. I've gotten so desperate in my search for a palatable cafe that I've resorted to making my own (quite good) and [ahem] starbucks (embarrassing, I know).
Now, I'm back in Rome, where no such problem exists (and neither does starbucks!).
xo-Lani
I live right above Caffe Kimbo, and needless to say it's become a morning hangout. The coffee is great, the only decent cup in the neighborhood, and the two ladies who run it are fantastic. Do let me know when you decide to check it out and I'll join you for a coffee.
Also wanted to add that after desperately lamenting the lack of good ice cream in the 17th, you opened my eyes last week to the Pozzetto on rue de Levis. A million thank you's, what a find!
David,
These are great, thanks for sharing. I will definitely check these out on my next trip. Like my friend Alexa above I am partial to cafe creme and it only tastes good in Paris. Laduree (known for tea) is one of the better places for this.
--Marc
I've tried for many years to find good coffee in Paris and have all but given up. The best so far, hands down, is Café de la Nouvelle Mairie, on Place de l'Estrapade (5th). They take their coffee quite seriously and it shows. Very pleasant place for lunch, too.
Went to La Caféotheque de Paris this afternoon, on rue de Hôtel de Ville this afternoon, and it's the best coffee I've had here so far. Very friendly. Nice jazz playing in the background. Nice, comfy couches to lounge on. And when I say good coffee, i don't just mean good coffee. I mean. These people take coffee seriously. They have drawers of samples from different countries. Drawers of beans. You should absolutely check it out.
Hi Julia: I went to check them out one day and they were inexplicably closed. And I've been meaning to go back, so thanks for the prodding!
And for anyone else, here's the info:
Caféothéque
(Also known as Café Solunas)
52, rue de l'Hôtel de la Ville (4th)
Tél: 01 53 01 83 84