By now many of you have either heard of or already been to Café Pinson – the new hot veggie spot in the Marais, tucked away in a corner off rue Charlot. With the warm and cozy design by Dorothée Meilichzon (who also recently completed Hôtel Paradis), it’s a spot that I rarely want to leave.
I first checked out the café three weeks ago after my ballet class and was pleasantly surprised at how chill the vibe was for a weekday afternoon. Of course the lunch rush is busy but after that it’s just a calm coffee shop with great music. To date, after trying three different formule lunches (all bio, entrée, plat chaud, dessert for 17€), I am never disappointed with the flavors. Vegan is pretty much the name of the game here and they also have a lot of gluten-free options. No matter what, I know I’m nourishing my body with truly good food. As the cold Paris air steams up the windows, I stay through the afternoon working away with a juice du jour or an almond milk latte. It’s perfect.
During my first visit, I randomly was seated next to one of the owners while she was talking to Terroir d’Avenir about sourcing kale for future meals. Overhearing a conversation in French is clearly difficult for me. Mingling is out of the question, (remember that horrible Yelp event I went to this past summer??), so eavesdropping poses a few problems… but from the bits of words I did pick up, I knew they were talking about vegetables… and… KALE. It was when I understood the discussion of kale and seasons (yes! I understood seasons!), that I knew I had to interject into their conversation.
“Are you talking about kale?” And it went from there… The lovely co-owner, Agathe, who used to work in fashion (you can tell because she is always so well dressed as she elegantly floats through the restaurant talking to customers), immediately lit up as we formally introduced ourselves – and I transitioned the conversation into English.
She couldn’t wait to serve kale. Her chef, a spunky woman from the states, was ready to go. Soups, salads, quiche, kale paired with grains and of course a green juice. They’ve proven over the past week that the options with kale are endless
Get ready Paris – Café Pinson is going to do kale and do it right! And do it right they did! So what did the Frenchies think? Overall the reaction has been positive. Some people came to Pinson just because they knew kale was being served. People loved the kale, green apple and white carrot juice. Naturally there were a few people who were underwhelmed and could not understand what the big fuss is about kale – let’s remember people – it’s still just a cabbage. As always… there were also a few haters. But as someone very wise once told me, you’re not doing something right until you have a few haters.
I’ll let all the foodie bloggers dissect the actual café – what I do know is that this place is a bright spot in the ever changing Paris food scene.
Read Aurelia’s review of her Café Pinson brunch.
Café Pinson
6 rue du Forez, 75003
Jason Bahamundi says
Look at that stalk of Kale. WOW OH WOW! That is gorgeous!