French Foodie in Paris: Saint-Germain-des-Prés Foodie Trail

Madame Eiffel

After our foodie trail in the 15th district (read here), we decided to experience Paris on foot, heading towards another of my favorite district: Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

On our way, we saw Madame Eiffel Tower who had her head in the clouds.


Then we stopped in front of Hotel des Invalides to take pictures of ourselves. While we were taking these pictures an Indian tourist started talking to us:

Indian tourist: Excuse me (pointing his camera towards me)

French Foodie: Yes, do you want me to take a picture of you 2? (He was with his wife)

Indian tourist: No, Can I take a picture of you 2?

Then, his Indian wife posed beside us for the picture. It was hilarious! Maybe he thought we looked very French or something, no idea but it reminded me of our trip around India when Mr. FFID was asked to pose for a picture with some locals. He was like a celebrity there just because of his white skin!

Les Invalides

After that, we walked towards St Germain des Pres along rue de Grenelle where I stopped at a Dalloyau. They had a Cinderella cake (€80) and more amzing cakes in their display.

Fairy tale cake

Massive cakes

Perfect for afternoon tea

On the same street, the Fromagerie Barthelemy was filled with people. They had many Mont d’Or cheeses in their display but I wasn’t allowed to take pictures in their shop.

Mont d'or

We then passed “L’atelier de Joel Robuchon” on Montalembert street, Robuchon is a French chef  who owns restaurants all over the world. He has a total of 28 stars among his restaurants making him the only chef in the world with so many.

L'Atelier Robuchon

We stopped at one of Eric Kayser’s bakeries on rue de l’Ancienne Comedie in the St Germain des Pres area for a coffee. Their bread of the month was “Beaujolais and saucisson bread” (Beaujolais wine and dry cured sausage bread only €3), we bought a loaf and couldn’t resist eating some. It was delicious, never had wine flavoured bread before!

Amazing patries

Pistachio cake

Beaujolais and saucisson bread

We walked around the district visiting  antique shops, art galleries and many interesting boutiques. We also saw the house of a legendary French singer, Serge Gainsbourg.

Serge Gainsbourg's house

The Ladurée shop in St Germain was packed with people ordering macarons. They also have a tea salon where you can have brunch, lunch and luxurious afternoon tea.

The French love macarons

Ladurée champagne

Rue de Buci felt was filled with people sitting at terraces.

Rue de Buci

There is “Carton” a pastry shop that sells amazingly looking cakes on that same street.

Carton's window display

A foodie must-see in this area is located in the almost hidden Cour du Commerce Saint André. The place is called “Un dimanche a Paris”. They have a shop with chocolates, pastries, a chocolate bar, a tea salon and a restaurant. It’s the paradise for any chocolate lovers! They also do cooking classes on their premises.

Un dimanche a Paris

More pastries

Hot chocolate

We then went to St Michel, passed Notre Dame de Paris, headed to the city hall “Hotel de Ville” and I did some shopping in the area of “Beaubourg museum”. After our non-stop nibbling of the day, we didn’t feel like having a big meal but more felt like having a very French evening in a wine bar.

Hotel de Ville

BHV Department store

Beaubourg

We arrived at “La trinquette” just before it opened and but there were already people queuing in front of the wine bar.

La trinquette

The place isn’t that big and a part of it was reserved for a private event, but we managed to find a table. You aren’t served at the table and need to order at the bar. I ordered the wine of the month, a bottle of Argentinian Malbec and a mixed platter called “Ardoise” (slate).

The guy asked for my first name to open a tab and even complimented my unusual first name. Our mixed platter was a delicious selection of French charcuterie, cheese and olives beautifully slated. The bread was high quality, coming from an Eric Kayser’s bakery.

The place quickly became packed full of French people sipping their wine and chatting with friends, but we had another place to try and after we finished our food went to another wine bar.

 Barav is close to rue de Bretagne. It’s very popular and busy so if you’re planning to go, book ahead. We couldn’t sit at a table and decided to stand at the bar.

"Without wine, there is no love"

Their food choice is better than La Trinquette. It’s rustic, it’s warm and it feels like the place to spend a Saturday evening. They have loads of tables inside but also outside. They served cheese, meat, mixed platters, salads, tartines and much more for a good price. We had a few glass of wine there and a delightful evening talking to 4 parisians that offered us wine, cheese and asked us about Ireland. Who said Parisians weren’t nice?

We ended our Parisian weekend on a great evening chatting with 4 strangers until the closure of the bar. We left them merrily heading to our hotel and I turned towards Mr. FFID saying “You see, not all the French people are bad like Thierry Henry!” (Why is Henry bad? Read here).

The next day I was a bit sad to leave Paris because I deeply love the city and was in my native land after all. I flew back to Ireland where as usual I’m welcomed as a tourist at Dublin airport’s passport control with the Garda taking my French ID and saying “Bonjour, Merci”. It isn’t a bad thing and anyway, the minute I land in Ireland I feel right back home: I am French Foodie in Dublin after all.

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Mes amis, my blog has been nominated for Expats Blog award, the results will be announced on the 13th of December.
If you enjoy reading this blog as much as I enjoy writing it, I'd appreciate if you could leave a review and rating on this website http://www.expatsblog.com/blogs/652/french-foodie-in-dublin 
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Cinderella cake?
Dalloyau
2, place Edmond Rostand
75006 Paris
www.dalloyau.fr/

Cheeses?
Fromagerie Barthelemy
51 rue de Grenelle
75007 Paris

Michelin starred restaurant?
L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon
5 rue de Montalembert
75007 Paris
www.joel-robuchon.net/

Pastries and breads?
Eric Kayser
10 rue de l'Ancienne comédie
75006 Paris
http://www.maison-kayser.com/

Champagne and macarons?
Ladurée
21 rue Bonaparte
75006 Paris
www.laduree.fr/

Cakes...encore?
Carton
rue de Buci
75006 Paris

Chocolate lovers?
Un dimanche a Paris
4-6-8 Cour du Commerce St André
75006 Paris
http://www.un-dimanche-a-paris.com/

Shopping?
BHV
14 rue du Temple
75004 Paris
www.bhv.fr/

Some wine and good atmosphere?
La Trinquette
67 rue des Gravilliers
75003 Paris

Barav
6 Rue Charles-François Dupuis
75003 Paris
www.lebarav.fr/