Je voudrais un cafe gourmand, s'il vous plait.
June 9, 2011 1:32 PM   Subscribe

Where can I get the best "cafe gourmand" in Paris? I'm willing to test as many options as necessary to confirm your recommendation.
posted by jph to Food & Drink (8 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
I don't know whether they would call it café gourmand there, but I would urge you to try Dalloyau, in the 6th, on the Place Edmond Rostand between the jardin du Luxembourg and the Boulevard Saint-Michel. You won't regret it.
posted by brianogilvie at 2:58 PM on June 9, 2011


Man, I can't believe this hasn't had any suggestions other. I was hoping for some myself, since the only place I've actually had a café gourmand was a perfectly nice bistro up by Jaurès (it's called Le Jaurès)--a good dessert, but I'm sure it's not the best Paris has to offer. Let me see if I can track anything down for you.

Anyway, brianogilvie's right about Dalloyau--that should keep you going for now. (I normally go for a hot chocolate, sometimes a fruit tart with tea. The hot chocolate is so rich that eating anything with it is a mistake--I've tried, a couple of times, and always regretted it.)
posted by lapsangsouchong at 11:30 AM on June 10, 2011


Response by poster: I too am surprised - especially given the popularity of the dessert of late - that I haven't been bowled over with suggestions! Worst case scenario, I'll scour Paris for them myself, and report back with as exhaustive a list as I can manage. Unless by some happy accident I manage to achieve a diabetic coma, in which case you're all on your own.
posted by jph at 11:34 AM on June 10, 2011


Wow--I'd have expected more suggestions too. If you like salons de thé, try Mariage Frères in the Marais, or A priori thé in the Galerie Vivienne near the old Bibliothèque Nationale. And for hot chocolate, people rave about Angelina on the rue de Rivoli, though I've never been there myself.
posted by brianogilvie at 7:55 AM on June 11, 2011


"Le café gourmand, c'est pour les bourges", one of my friends said--not that seriously, but without ever having tried one himself.

Another suggested having a look at this, which has a couple of useful links. I'll post again if I hear anything else.
posted by lapsangsouchong at 5:10 PM on June 11, 2011


Response by poster: Well, I'm three in and I have a weekend in Paris ahead of me that should be the real deal.

I tried one in Sancerre, at a cafe on the tiny little centre ville there. It was good. I had another in Dijon at the place de la resistance and was a little disappointed in it. Vanilla pudding? Sadtrombone.com. And now I'm awaiting my third in Nevers, with the high hopes that this will sustain me until I get to Paris this evening. Intrepid reporter, over and out.
posted by jph at 4:10 AM on June 24, 2011


You take risks, that others may benefit--a most noble endeavour. May your cafés gourmands be delicious.
posted by lapsangsouchong at 2:15 PM on June 24, 2011


Response by poster: I did manage to find a cafe gourmand in Paris thanks to crataegus who sent me a link over on Twitter. I had dinner and then the dessert at Les Fine Gueules, which is tucked off Place la Victoire about as far away from any metro stop as you can get so close to the center of the city. Dinner was delicious - a crab and avocado parfait as an appetizer and a langoustine paella with fresh herbs and a tomato bisque. But the dessert was excellent. Espresso with a chocolate stir stick, a slice of pound cake, a pot of chocolate ganache, and a very generously sized creme brulee. It was everything a cafe gourmande should be. Highly recommended.

The one in Nevers also turned out to be pretty good. I had it at a cafe right on the Centre Ville, called L'Agricole which was nothing particularly special, but they won me over with a cafe gourmand that consisted of a scoop of caramel ice cream, whipped cream, a brownie smothered in chocolate and vanilla sauce and a personal sized tarte tatin - as well as the traditional espresso. It was a lovely way to kill a couple of hours while waiting for the next train to Paris.
posted by jph at 7:47 AM on June 28, 2011


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