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Tea and Dessert in Paris


You have been woken up by pigeons cooing outside your window, the street cleaning truck is humming in the distance, and the smell of coffee is emanating from the apartment next door.  A slow stroll through a cobblestoned street by Saint Germain des Pres lets you experience the magic of Paris waking up.  Minutes later you are slowly sipping coffee at Les Deux Magots. You sit on one of the ivory and green chairs and watch the world go by.  You take your time.  Later you will spent the morning marveling at the Water Lilies at Musee de L'Orangerie and follow that with a walk through the Tuileries Garden.  You sit on one of the green metal chairs by the large pond or walk under the hundreds of trees while small children scoot by on their four-wheelers.  Maybe you grab a sandwich from a park vendor, or skip lunch altogether since you will most definitely overindulge at dinner.  So, what to do now? You feel like a snack, but nothing too filling.   How about some dessert and tea? There are plenty of spectacular patisseries in Paris, but most don't offer an opportunity to sit and enjoy the pastries with a cup of tea or coffee.  I have a few places that are wonderful just for that.  Here are a few suggestions:

Laduree, various locations - an obvious choice.  This wonderful restaurant/tea salon is a terrific place for an afternoon tea with a decent pastry and some excellent macaron.

Dalloyau, 2 rue Edmond Rostand - there are other locations but this one, which is across the street from the Luxembourg Garden is my favorite.  Dalloyau is a lovely tea house with nice pastries.



Un Dimanche a Paris, 4-6-8, Cour du Commerce Saint Andres -  a wonderful restaurant, cooking school, sweets boutique, and a tea salon.  They are well known for their wonderful hot chocolate, and delicious pastries.






Un Dimanche a Paris is located on a peaceful cobblestoned alley filled with little shops and restaurants.  I love sipping tea and enjoying the beautiful pastries while sitting at one of their  outside tables

I got this cute tea timer.
While I love the very charming Angelina, 226 rue de Rivoli, I much prefer to get my pastry and hot chocolate from their 19, rue de Vaugirard location and enjoy it on a bench at the Luxembourg Garden. 

Le Café Pouchkine, 14, rue des Petits Carreaux or 16 Place de la Madeleine - a lovely place with spectacular pastries.









A. Lacroix Patisserie, 11 Quai de Montebello, I wrote about them already, but they are worth mentioning again.  The location, across the river from Notre-Dame, and delicious desserts, solidify this newcomer's spot on my list.



Le Loir Dans la Theire, 3, rue des Rosiers - I have been coming to LLDLT for many years and have noticed a huge increase in its popularity.  The owners can be a bit finicky and stringent about the "no dessert only orders before 3 pm" rule, but the cakes and tarts are really worth the hassle.  So you can either eat lunch here and get the dessert or come after 3 pm for dessert without lunch.  There might be a bit of a wait.  




I am a huge lemon meringue fan and this beauty is outrageously delicious.


It is not as sugary as it looks; it has a lovely sweet and tart balance.





Joanna
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