I know a place in Paris where the espressos don’t taste like tar. Established as a coffee roaster since 1880, Café Verlet is no secret to coffee and tea lovers; three Michelin stars chefs such as Alain Passard, Pierre Gagnaire or Gérard Passédat order their coffee there. Owned by Eric Duchossoy who comes from a family with a long tradition of coffee roasters, Café Verlet has been in the hands of the same family for the past three generations.
Open all day, Café Verlet offers a small lunch menu as well as some tarts from the fancy pastry shop Stohrer. But what stands out the most on the menu is the two-page list of coffee beans to choose from: you pick the coffee beans of your choice and they grind them right there and then to make your espresso drink.
Among the wide selection of coffee beans for sale (Africa, Central and South America, Asia) Café Verlet has a selection of gourmets beans from Australia, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Yemen, Hawaii and a very rare one from Guadeloupe considered one of the best in the world.
Café Verlet also has a wide selection of teas (about 50) sold in bulk, ranging from classics to blended and flavored teas, with some rare and very fine ones such as the Japanese Gyokuro (green tea) or the Chinese Yin Zhen Jasmin (white tea).

Café Verlet
256 Rue Saint-Honoré
75001 Paris
tel: 01.42.60.67.39
Metro: Palais-Royal - Musée du Louvre

M-Sat: 9.30am-7pm (Tea salon closes at 6.30pm)
Closed on Sunday

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Chic and fashionable Parisians dress their kids in Zef clothes. Designer Mariu De Andreis, the daughter of Italian fashion photographer Paolo Roversi, captures the perfect French bobo (bourgeois-bohème) look for her line of kids’ clothing Zef. The quality of fabrics, the elegant patterns, the ethnic touch, the casual yet sophisticated clothes definitely set this brand apart. It is classic and hip, timeless and modern. Sizes range from new born to 12 years old.
Also, the accessories are very tasteful and I can easily imagine grown ups shopping for themselves at Zef!

Zef 1st arrondissement
32 Rue de Richelieu
75001 Paris
tel: 01.42.60.61.04
Metro: Pyramides, Palais-Royal - Musée du Louvre

M-Sat: 11am-7pm (closed for half an hour at lunch)
Closed on Sunday

zef 3rd arrondissement
15 Rue Debelleyme
75003 Paris
tel: 01.42.76.09.65
Metro: Saint-Sébastien - Froissart

7/7
M, Sun: 2pm-7pm
Tu-Sat: 11am-7pm

zef & zef piccolo, espace naissance 6th arrondissement
55 bis Rue des Saint-Pères
75006 Paris
tel: 01.42.22.02.93 / 45.22
Metro: Saint-Germain-des-Près

M-Sat: 10.30am-7pm
Closed on Sunday

zef, espace Printemps Haussmann 9th arrondissement
64 Boulevard Haussmann
75009 Paris
tel: 01.42.82.50.00
Metro: Havre-Caumartin

M-Sat: 9.35am-8pm (open until 10pm on Thursday)
Closed on Sunday

zef 16th arrondissement
93 avenue Kléber
75016 Paris
tel: 01.45.53.55.89
Metro: Trocadéro

M: 2pm-7pm
Tu-Sat: 10.30am-7pm
Closed on Sunday

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“The new Apple store in Paris is located below the famous Louvre Pyramid, in the Carrousel du Louvre. The store includes a level dedicated to the Mac, as well as a separate space dedicated to the iPhone. As with other flagship stores, the space is immense, and features a glass staircase. It is opening with a team of 150 employees, and includes the usual assortment of services such as The Genius Bar, One-to-One shopping, business consulting, classes, and presentations.”
If you need guidance upon arrival look for the concierge dressed in an orange tee-shirt.

Apple Store Paris
Carrousel du Louvre - level 1
99 Rue de Rivoli
75001 Paris, France
tel: 01.43.16.78.00
Metro: Palais-Royal - Musée du Louvre, Louvre-Rivoli

7/7
M-Sun: 10am-8pm

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There is at least one farmer’s market in each of Paris’ arrondissements. Following is the list of all of them, by arrondissement, from the 1st to the 20th, with their location (see map) and hours. They vary in size and quality, some specialize in organic foods (Marché Brancusi 14th arr., Marché Raspail 6th arr., Marché des Batignolles 17th arr.) while others offer a variety of cooked foods (Marché Baudoyer 4th arr.) and/or ethnic dishes (Marché des Enfants Rouges 3rd arr.)

1st arrondissement
Marché Saint-Honoré
Place du Marché Saint-Honoré
75001 Paris
Metro: Pyramide

W: 12.30pm-8.30pm
Sat: 7am-3pm

Marché Saint-Eustache - Les Halles
Rue Montmartre
between Rue Rambuteau and Rue du Jour
75001 Paris
Metro: Les Halles

Th: 12.30pm-8pm
Sun: 7am-3pm

2nd arrondissement
Marché Bourse
Place de la Bourse
75002 Paris
Metro: Bourse

Tu, F: 12.30pm-8.30pm

3rd arrondissement
Marché des Enfants Rouges
39 Rue de Bretagne or 33 bis Rue Charlot
75003 Paris
Metro: Filles du Calvaire

Tu-Sat: 8.30am-1pm / 4pm-7.30pm (open until 8pm on Friday and Saturday)
Sun: 8.30am-2.30pm

4th arrondissement
Marché Baudoyer
Place Baudoyer
75004 Paris
Metro: Hotel-de-Ville

W: 12.30pm-8.30pm
Sat: 7am-3pm

5th arrondissement
Marché Maubert
Place Maubert
75005 Paris
Metro: Maubert-Mutualité

Tu, Th: 7am-2.30pm
Sat: 7am-3pm

Marché Monge
Place Monge
75005 Paris
Metro: Place Monge

W, F: 7am-2.30pm
Sun: 7am-3pm

Marché Port-Royal
Boulevard de Port-Royal (along the Hôpital du Val de Grâce)
75005 Paris
Metro: Port-Royal

Tu,Th: 7am-2.30pm
Sat: 7am-3pm

Paris’ farmers’ markets: 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th arrondissements.

Paris’ farmers’ markets: 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th arrondissements.

Paris’ farmers’ markets: 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th arrondissements.

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There are a few stores in Paris that should be on your “must know” list if you are into cooking and need either utensils and/or hard-to-find ingredients such as sugar-coated violet petals or high-end bittersweet chocolate bars. These are the stores where professionals shop. And if you aren’t into cooking or baking, you could still go check them out because they are truly uncommon stores, if not unique. You can find most of these stores in one small walkable perimeter, in the center of Paris.

-E. Dehillerin has been selling cookware since 1820 and has an impressive collection of copper pans. It has a whole section dedicated to pastry molds and pans as well. This store is definitely worth a detour.
E. Dehillerin
18/20 Rue Coquillière & 51 Rue Jean- Jacques Rousseau
75001 Paris
tel: 01.42.36.53.13
Metro: Les Halles (Rue Rambuteau exit)
RER: Châtelet - Les Halles

M: 9am-12.30pm / 2pm-6pm
Tu-Sat: 9am-6pm
Closed on Sunday

-Open since 1814, Mora specializes in pastry utensils and cutlery. You can also find all sorts of to go packaging, from muffin cups to plastic boxes, as well as food colorants, gold or silver leaves, food extracts… It’s a neat shop.
Mora
13 Rue Montmartre
75001 Paris
tel: 01 45.08.19.24
Metro: Les Halles (Rue Rambuteau exit)
RER: Châtelet - Les Halles

M-F: 9am-6.15pm
Sat: 10am-1pm / 1.45pm-6.30pm
Closed on Sunday

-Open since 1884, Simon sells everything for the table and the kitchen. It specializes in high end brands, from silverware to china and glasses to cutlery. Their biggest clients are hotels and restaurants.
Simon
48-52 Rue Montmartre
75002 Paris
tel: 01.42.33.71.65
Metro: Les Halles (Rue Rambuteau exit), Etienne Marcel
RER: Châtelet - Les Halles

M: 1.30pm-6.30pm
Tu-F: 9am-6.30pm
Sat: 9.30am-6.30pm

-With its eighteen stores in France and a nineteenth one in Casablanca, Morocco, La Bovida doesn’t have the charm of the 200 hundred-year-old kitchen stores down the bloc-it’s only centenarian-but if you are looking for kitchen equipment, clothing, restaurant items, spices, chalk boards and much more, you can find it here too.
La Bovida
36 Rue Montmartre
75001 Paris
tel: 01.42.36.09.99
Metro: Les Halles (Rue Rambuteau exit), Etienne Marcel
RER: Châtelet - Les Halles

19 Avenue Corentin Cariou
75019 Paris
tel: 01.40.36.12.62
Metro: Corentin Cariou, Porte de la Villette

-Famous pastry chef David Lebovitz says “If G. Detou didn’t exist, I couldn’t live in Paris.” The stores sells only edible goods and as its name indicates G. Detou (I. haveverything) has it all. It is a heaven for baking goods and the great pastry chefs shop here for ingredients that can’t be found anywhere else. You’ll also find lots of savory regional goods on the floor-to-ceiling shelves such as the tasty sardines from Brittany La Belle-Iloise or jars full of all different kinds of dried mushrooms. G. Detou is a must-shop at.
G. Detou
58 Rue Tiquetonne
75002 Paris
tel: 01.42.36.54.67
Metro: Etienne Marcel

Mon-Sat: 8.30am-6.30pm
Closed on Sunday

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Kunitoraya is a small Japanese restaurant in Paris that specializes in udon noodles—they are made in the traditional way by the owner himself. The udon dishes come in many different variations, hot when in a soup (i.e: Tempura-Udon, 13€) or cold with a sauce on the side (i.e: Kitsune-Udon, 11€). They come in regular or small sizes (count 5€ for the small Udon Wakame.) Aside from the delicious udon dishes I highly recommend the Tonkatsu (fried breaded pork, 9€), the Tentoji (omelette and shrimp tempura, 10€) and the Tempura (veggies and shrimps, 12€). Since the restaurant fills up quickly and doesn’t take reservations, the best time for lunch or dinner is after the regular eating hours.
Kunitoraya restaurant does not take credit cards.

Kunitoraya
39 Rue Saint-Anne
75001 Paris
tel: 01.47.03.33.65
Metro: Pyramides

7/7
M-Sun: 11.30am-10pm

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It doesn’t really matter if Paris lacks good Japanese restaurants as long as there are a few that you can always count on to deliver the kind of food that you are looking for: extra fresh fish, great sake, perfectly fried tempura, delicious meat and fancy appetizers. Takara in Paris is one of Europe’s oldest Japanese restaurant and has been among France’s best one thousand tables for many years. Aside from their consistent, excellent food, what I love about Takara is that they make me feel like I’m not in Paris. The restaurant is very peaceful; the absence of music makes it easy to speak softly and hear one another. You can walk out of Takara feeling satiated as well as rested! Last but not least, the service is great. Here are a few dishes to make your mouth water: whelk wasabi (7€), spicy sauteed cuttlefish (12€), breaded oysters (24€), tempura assortment (18€-24€), sauteed foie gras nigiri (10€/2 pieces), sashimi assortment (20€-28€), shabu shabu (beef “hot pot”, 49€ for 2). They also offer lunch (obento) and dinner menus.

Takara
14 Rue Molière
75001 Paris
tel: 01.42.96.08.38
Metro: Palais-Royal, Pyramides

7/7
Tu-F: 12pm-2pm (closed for dinner)
M, Sat, Sun: 7pm-10pm (closed for lunch)
Closed 10 days in August

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Fashionable neighborhoods for fashionable clothing, Isabel Marant’s stores are located in seven arrondissements across Paris.

Isabel Marant 1st arrondissement
Maria Luisa
2 Rue Cambon
75001 Paris
tel: 01.47.03.96.15
Metro: Tuileries

M-Sat: 10.30am-7.30pm
Closed on Sunday

Isabel Marant 3rd arrondissement
47 Rue de Saintonge
75003 Paris
tel: 01.42.78.19.24
Metro: Filles du Calvaire

M-Sat: 10.30am-7.30pm
Closed on Sunday

Isabel Marant 6th arrondissement
1 Rue Jacob
75006 Paris
tel: 01.43.26.04.12
Metro: Mabillon

M-Sat: 10.30am-7.30pm
Closed on Sunday

Isabel Marant 7th arrondissement
Le Bon Marché
24 Rue de Sèvres
75007 Paris
tel: 01.44.39.80.00
Metro: Sèvres-Babylone

M-Sat: 10am-8pm (Open until 9pm on Thursday and Friday)
Closed on Sunday

Isabel Marant 9th arrondissement
Les Galeries Lafayette
40 Boulevard Haussmann
75009 Paris
tel: 01.42.82.34.56
Metro: Chaussé d’Antin - Lafayette

M-Sat: 9.30am-8pm (Open until 9pm on Thursday)
Closed on Sunday

Le Printemps
64 Boulevard Haussmann
75009 Paris
tel: 01.42.82.50.00
Metro: Havre-Caumartin

M-Sat: 9.30am-8pm (Open until 10pm on Thursday)
Closed on Sunday
*Open from 10am-8pm December 6, 13, 20

Isabel Marant 11th arrondissement
16 Rue de Charonne
75011 Paris
tel: 01.49.29.71.55
Metro: Ledru-Rollin

M-Sat: 10.30am-7.30pm
Closed on Sunday

Isabel Marant 18th arrondissement
Spree
16 Rue Vieuville
75018 Paris
tel: 01.42.23.41.40
Metro: Abbesses

M-Sat: 10.30am-7.30pm
Closed on Sunday

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