Paris has always been known for its iconic outdoor cafes lining the avenues and boulevards but in recent years, garden terraces decorated with vines and flowers have proliferated around town.
Here are our favorite terraces to enjoy the last days of August, September and October.
Mimosa
Resembling a café on the Cote d’Azur in the south of France with white, scalloped awnings and blue and white striped banquets, Mimosa is a delightful refuge hidden in an historic, cobblestone courtyard. Chef Jean-François Piège, who has won numerous Michelin stars for his inventive cuisine, has created a south Mediterranean, Nicoisian menu to match the décor. We lunched at Mimosa last week and enjoyed a starter of the French classic of hard boiled eggs with mayonnaise, but with a twist of bits of lobster in the mayonnaise. Our main courses were a grilled red tuna burger on brioche with matchstick fries and a fantastic wood cooked John Dory fish with artichokes and Menton lemon. Dessert was the house specialty, multi-layers of thin crepes stuffed with a delicate tiramisu.
After lunch, we strolled across the courtyard to visit the Hôtel de La Marine, a former palace from 1755, which has recently been renovated and transformed into a museum with magnificent period furniture, tapestries, antiques and art works.
Location: 2 rue Royale, 75008
Visit mimosa-rueroyale.com.
Fabula
Set in one of the most spectacular gardens in Paris, Fabula is a pop-up café and restaurant in the Carnavalet Museum, a former 17th-century royal palace in the Marais district.
A "Top Chef" finalist in France, Thibaut Spiwack has created two menus, a snack menu during the day and a more formal dining experience at night. Zucchini carpaccio with feta cheese, raspberries, and pistachios, a hot dog with peanut sauce and pickles, and mini gnocchi in a creamy white wine, roasted tomatoes, and parmesan are just a few of the enticing plates served at lunch and for dinner, a combination of hot and room temperature dishes include beef gravlax with cognac and mussels, duck filet from Brittany served Tataki style with fennel and prunes, and wild mackerel with green beans and wild cherries.
From 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Fabula serves an extensive drink menu with custom cocktails, mocktails, homemade lemonades and iced tea, beer, and wine. Note: Fabula is running until October 31, 2022.
Location: 16, rue des Francs-Bourgeois 75003
Visit www.fabula.paris.
The Common
Tucked away in the newly opened Rosalie boutique hotel on a quiet side-street off a busy square, The Common is a casual bistro serving a vegetarian menu with all organic ingredients. The highlight of The Common is the uncommon, two-story garden terrace adorned with lush vines, ivy, plants and flowers and decorated with couches and chairs with navy and white, wide striped cushions, aluminum dining chairs and metal tabletops in fern green.
The healthy but appealing menu lists specialties such as quinoa with lemon confit, beets, hummus, pomegranate and cucumber, a main course salad of mixed greens, sweet potato rounds topped with goat cheese and a cranberry dressing, and a clever take off on a popular Israeli dish, shakshouka, with red pepper cream, zucchini, grilled eggplant, eggs, melted cheddar and coriander served on a baguette.
Stay healthy with refreshing drinks of kombucha, house-made iced tea, a detox green juice of apple, cucumber, pineapple and lemon, or organic tomato juice, or indulge in a fruity by dry rosé, a red martini, or ginger beer.
Location: 8 bis Avenue de la Sœur Rosalie, 75013
Visit www.hotel-rosalie.com.
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