Mays’ latest favourites in Paris
Just before the Christmas holidays, I sneaked away for a day to soak up Paris. I did this together with Peggy, my podcast co-host, because she loves Paris just as much as I do (actually, she was supposed to be camping there for a week already, but due to the snow misery, this adventure has also been canceled) and because we wanted to gain some new inspiration to share with you.
Of course, we checked off our classics (smoked salmon with sourdough bread from Poilâne and a gin and tonic at Aux Deux Magots and a lightning visit to Le Bon Marché), but we also found new magnets that you’ll want to write down for the next time you go to Paris.
Lunching at Ambroeus
I’ve written about it before; San Ambroeus, the place where hip and stylish New York meets, has arrived in Paris. I already knew it would be nice, but I’ve now been inside myself and can confidently tell you that this will become your new favorite. If you walk down the street by Café de Flore and the Louis Vuitton boutique, San Ambroeus is on the corner to the right. There used to be Le Petit Zinc, I remember you eating mousse au chocolat there from a large bowl that, after you had enough, was passed on to another guest. I don’t know if it was due to their hygienic qualities, but they didn’t make it. It’s a bit of a shame, because it was a phenomenon, but in San Ambroeus, Paris finds a worthy successor.
Upon entering, we were already greeted by the maître, there were eight bottles on ice, ready to be served by the glass, there were exactly the kind of people you want around you (cool, well-dressed, not armed with cameras) and it had the vibe of a restaurant where you come in for lunch and when we step back outside, we realize it has become dark.
San Ambroeus, 11 Rue Saint-Benoît, Paris
Café Pli
Then there’s something wonderful, and that is Café Pli, which is located in the 10th and 11th arrondissement. Café Pli is not a typical Parisian café, but rather a concept store where you, and this is the best part, write a letter to yourself. It is sealed with an old-fashioned seal and you can choose whether the letter will be sent to you in 1, 5, 10, or even 20 years. A kind of time capsule to yourself.
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I think it’s a particularly beautiful idea and it reminds me of a man who wrote his son a letter every year (he actually mailed it to their home address) and on his eighteenth birthday gave him a bundle of eighteen envelopes with letters he had written to him throughout the boy’s life. I thought that was one of the most special gifts you can give someone and this, this comes a bit close. Furthermore, you can just drink coffee and tea here and there’s a small shop where you can buy things like planners, coloring books, and that sort of stuff, in line with the letter theme. The idea of writing letters to yourself comes from Korea and has a French variant here.
Café Pli, 11 Avenue Parmentier and 38 Rue du Faubourg du Temple
Soeur
What I also ‘discovered’, well, I already knew it, but I rediscovered it, is the store of Soeur. Soeur is a French clothing brand that is not screamingly expensive, not extremely extravagant, but does have that understated French twist. I think it’s lovely. The dresses, the sweaters with a twist, the bags. Almost everything I would want to have.
Soeur, 88 Rue Bonaparte
