When I first moved to Paris, everyone would ask me, “You must really miss your family.” And yes, while I miss them there was one thing I missed even more: Whole Foods.
I love the availability of unique products like harissa, spices, sauces and more. At times, I will flip through my recipe books and find something I want to make but then stop short, realizing I’m lacking one ingredient that I will need to make a special trip for. The recipe never gets made. With Whole Foods, it was always easy to find what I needed right there, the store bringing together a world of cooking ingredients. So when I began seeing photos of the new epicerie, La Maison Plisson on Boulevard Beaumarchais and people referring to it as “Whole Foods,” I grew excited. Had our own version finally opened?
One one of Philip’s last “Papa Fridays,” we decided to make our way from the 17th to the new spot on Boulevard Beaumarchais.
Showing up past the lunch hour (as we frequently do), we weren’t able to eat from the menu but in between lunch and dinner, were able to order tarte salé, salad, charcuterie and a cheese plate. The staff was smiling and friendly, helping us with the wine list and checking back a few times to ensure we were content.
While I would not say Maison Plisson is anywhere close to Whole Foods or Dean & Deluca (which founder said was her inspiration from her time in the states in the 90s), I still enjoyed the afternoon there and it’s great that people are opening more places like this in Paris where they champion French products (another great spot is La Recolte).
I found the épicerie space to be crowded and the produce selection to not offer much more than what I can find at my Saturday market. The bottom floor which houses all the packaged goods was a tight space, but would be a good spot to explore interesting items to have for a dinner party or to gift someone but not necessarily daily shopping.
I wouldn’t go back for the groceries but if in the area and hungry, would be more than happy to lunch there again.
It’s not Whole Foods but another new space somewhat pushing the boundaries in the Paris grocery/market scene.
La Maison Plisson
93 Boulevard Beaumarchais, 75003
Read more here by Lindsey and Alec.
Alison says
I totally agree with you here, Kristen. Not worth a big detour, but good to have places like this on the map in Paris.
In general, the dry goods are priced higher than at my (already pricey) local bio market Pimlico (rue de Charenton). Some significantly so.
Also, I would like to see more giftable items. A big plus at Eataly or D&D – always something to gift a host!
And speaking of late lunches: I think we need to come up with a list of places to eat in Paris between 2 and 6pm.
Kristen says
I totally agree. When we arrived at 2:45pm and the lunch service was over I was so annoyed. I assumed since the inspiration was a NYC place that perhaps they would have the full service of food the entire day too.. (not sure why I assumed that). I didn’t want to make it a big issue in this post as it’s a first world problem and I should have just looked up the time before we went!
Alison says
Bob’s, Cojean, Merci, MG Road, Cantine California – they all start running out of food at 145/2pm. They must have very low waste, which of course I condone. However, it would be nice to have some options that cater to those of us with less bureaucratic schedules and/or more international cultural tendencies.
Cassie says
Stunning place with a very insightful review! I will definitely come here when I go to Paris but I won’t hold my breath. The food looks amazing!
Siobhan says
I miss Whole Foods so much too, I have been reading about Maison Plisson but not made it over there yet, and got really excited when I saw this and thought maybe a French version had finally arrived in Paris. Please keep us posted if ever you do find something similar here! I’ll keep searching too…
Kristen says
I actually wrote to WF on Twitter once and they basically were like “We have no plans to open in Paris.” So we will have to make do with trips to London (which I do come back with bags of stuff from there on the Eurostar… it’s hilarious). There are more and more great stores opening though (Bien Epicerie in the Marais is pretty good) but I wouldn’t count on anything that is the same scale as WF.