The foodie’s cheese shop is Barthélémy, which stocks so many varieties of cheese from small purveyors on its shelves that you might feel like you need a fromage encyclopedia. Instead, you will be guided through the various cheeses by salespeople who can elaborate on everything from their origins to their proper pairings. One taste and you will be smitten.
The renowned winemaker Bernard Magrez, who has thirty-five vineyards (including twenty in Bordeaux as well as others in Chile, Argentina and Napa), opened his first wine shop in 2006. Bottles from his prestigious properties such as Chateau Pape-Clément and Grand Cru Classé de Graves can be purchased here along with many other top vintages. And if the gorgeous interior, which boasts two Baccarat chandeliers with black crystals and shelves constructed of exotic woods, makes you want to linger, consider signing up for a wine class. Private classes for up to twelve people are offered three times a week in the evenings. Advanced sign-up required and cost 40 euros per person, including wine
From a friend stranded in Paris during the Volcano
“Chocolate lovers alert: Chapon not only sells high-end, handmade chocolates, it offers a variety of mousses served in a paper coupe, just like ice cream—only so much better!”
Read the rest of her Paris postcard
The chic editor from Do It In Paris, an online fashion magazine based in the French capital, recommends this gourmet chocolate bar:
Pastry chef Christophe Roussel, originally from Guérande, chose Le Cadran hotel (which was recently totally redone), to present his experimental gourmet creations. Flavors range from raspberry-chocolate and lavender-apricot to rum-coke and daiquiri-lemon. To be eaten here or for takeout…you can also enjoy them in the privacy of your room.
A favorite of food expert and part-time Paris resident Dorie Greenspan
“Da Rosa is a sleek épicerie/cantine where everything you see can be found in Michelin-starred restaurants, since the boutique’s namesake, José Da Rosa, is the go-to man for the city’s top toques. Taste the Spanish hams and stock up on the chocolate-coated Sauternes-soaked raisins.”
Founded by Lionel Michelin in 1994, this Left Bank wine store has an antique wine cellar that dates to 1636 and is stocked with rare vintages, which may be why its owner is known as the city’s antique dealer of wines. The staff will arrange private wine classes or tastings in the cellars for up to twenty people.
Founded in 1800, this house of chocolates has received every honor possible, including being appointed chocolate maker to King Louis Philippe. The beautiful Left Bank boutique is worth a visit to see its historic façade and interiors. Their confections remain the best chocolates in Paris. You can also buy lovely tins of tea.
A sliver of a shop on the busy Rue de Rennes, near St. Placide, Duo Trio sells its own chocolates of 100 percent pure cacao butter and delicious flavored ganaches (jasmine, ginger and mandarin among others.) It’s also a great source of teas, including the cult favorite Mariage Frères.
The flagship address of France’s most famous food hall has been transformed for the 21st century into such a glamorous temple of all things gourmet that many of the noble and bourgeois ladies who made it an institution wouldn’t recognize it today. In the spot where Auguste Fauchon opened his eponymous boulangerie in 1895, on the Place de la Madeleine, you can stock up on the house’s legendary jams, teas and chocolates. Black, white and pink (yes, bright pink chocolate boxes have replaced the once familiar pale blue ones) are the trademark colors, which announce Fauchon on awnings as far away as Beijing (opened last year) and Dubai. Its products may be more readily available than they were a decade ago, when every foodie visiting Paris brought home rare bottled treasure, but making a pilgrimmage to the historic home base remains thrilling. The new look by architect Christian Biecher (the man behind Issey Miyake’s stores) was unveiled last year. The bakery is at 24/26 Place de la Madeleine next door.
Update: You can eat at the caviar bar, bakery or Fauchon Le Café on the first floor.
One of the treats about traveling is finding delicacies that are unique to their location. I used to love buying jams at Fauchon and chocolates at Debauve & Gallais in Paris, but now both have branches near me in New York, so the thrill is gone. The chocolatier with a new and deserved cult following for his only-in-Paris sweets is Jean-Paul Hevin. Chocolate lollipops and heart-shaped boxes with chocolate lace tops are specialties. The location on Rue St.-Honore has an upstairs tea salon that’s popular for lunch.
Jacques Genin calls himself a chocolate artist and he has recently opend an atelier in the Marais where you can purchase his sweet masterpieces. Trained as a chef and pastry chef, Genin invents new concoctions in his Parisian laboratory, including his famous “eclair au caramel” and chocolate bonbons. In his gorgeous new space in the Marais, fans can view his open workshop/laboratory (up the winding staircase) as well as sample his products in the ground floor tasting room. The menu features desserts of the day and fresh chocolates and candies. Open every day, except Mondays.
An outstanding wine shop without a single milligram of pretension,” says award-winning cookbook author Dorie Greenspan of this tiny wine store in the 6th arrondissement, that has “a superb choice of wines from the Languedoc-Roussillon, the country’s ‘it’ wine region.
The only wines worth carrying home from Paris are bottles you won’t find anywhere else. This 1850 wine shop, not far from the Galeries Lafayette and Printemps department stores, is the place to unearth a really special pour. Métro: St.-Augustin.
For more than two decades now, Les Caves Taillevent has been considered one of the ultimate wine sources in Paris. Valérie Vrinat, whose father, Jean-Claude ran the venerable three-Michelin star Taillevent until his death in 2007, opened the shop in 1987 on the fashionable Faubourg St.-Honoré. Wine waiters assist customers make choices from among its 25,000 bottles, which are stored in the sleek showroom and in antique cellar. In addition to offering tastings in the boutique and its sister restaurants, Taillevent and l’Angle du Faubourg, sommeliers will host private tastings in your hotel or other locations. Closed Sundays and Mondays.
This patisserie originally hails from Lille and the wood-paneled shop, on a quiet corner of the Haut Marais, will make everyone feel like a kid again. The charming displays are lined top-to-bottom with such delectable treats as handmade chocolates, caramels and old-fashioned candies. Meert also carries lots of beautifully packaged treats that make lovely gifts to bring back home. Closed Sunday.
A favorite of Yannick Alleno of Le Meurice
“I go to Mora, a speciality food store, to equip my kitchen. Christian and his team are always available to fulfill even my most far-fetched demands.”
Pastry and chocolate whizz Philippe Conticini opened his gallery-cum-patisserie in St. Germain to much acclaim in 2009. The innovative sweet treats sit under large glass domes, which are suspended from the ceiling, adding drama and whimsy to a shopping experience here. Conticini has won awards for his Paris-Brest, a caloric indulgence made with almond-topped puff pastry and fluffy buttercream, but his simple baked goods, especially financiers and madeleines, are just as delectable. The newer Right Bank branch, in the 16th arrondissement, very close to the Shangri-La Hotel, has a small tea salon with al fresco seating. If you visit the take-away branch on Rue du Bac (No. 93), there’s a leafy little park a few steps down from the store, or you can walk to the Jardin du Luxembourg.
A favorite of food expert and part-time Paris resident Dorie Greenspan
“Patrick Roger, a talented and imaginative chocolatier, whose pralines are fabulous, lines his candy boxes and separates each layer of bonbons with luscious sheets of chocolate rather than paper.”
A favorite of Yannick Alleno
“Like a historic monument, the classic Pâtisserie Stohrer features décor by Paul Baudry, the designer of the grand foyer of the Opéra Garnier.”
Opened on this spot in 1730, this adored pastry shop has many claims to fame, including its gorgeous interior murals and a visit by Queen Elizabeth II of England in 2004.
A favorite of food expert and part-time Paris resident Dorie Greenspan
“Pierre Hérmé, perhaps the most famous pastry chef in France, has a small jewel-like boutique right off the Place Saint-Sulpice and some of the best macaroons in the country; try anything with the name Ispahan: it will include rose, raspberry and litchi and be a revelation.”
Those addicted to Pierre Hermé macarons will love the fact that Paris’ most famous pastry chef has opened a dedicated boutique for just these colorful confections and his delectable chocolates. Tucked into the mostly residential 16th arrondissement, on bustling Avenue Paul Doumer (you can walk from Trocadéro), the sliver of a shop has the entire line of seasonal macarons, including such classics as Mogador (passion fruit-chocolate), Infiniment Caramel (caramel and salted butter) and Infiniment Rose (rose), as well such wild concoctions as olive oil and vanilla; matcha green tea-and-ginger; and violet and licorice. Open daily.
A true temple to bread making, this Left bank bakery is known around the world for its special wheat breads—and they ship their loaves to restaurants and haute food stores around the world. But there is no better place to taste their round loaves than right here, where they are made. The founder’s son, Lionel, was tragically killed in a helicopter crash with his wife in 2002, but their daughter, Apollonia, has kept things running smoothly, even through four years of commuting to Harvard to study economics. She graduated and now manages the family business full time.
Run by Joshua Adler, this lovely, small gourmet store is down the street from Spring restaurant. “We have artisanal products made by real people in real ways,” says Adler noting the Martelli pasta, heirloom tomatoes (in season) or a Basque sheep cheese. There is a wildly diverse selection of wines and regular wine tastings, and a tempting variety of jams, spreads, charcuterie, cheese, olives, grissini, cookies and great sandwiches. ~DENA KAYE
The chic editor from Do It In Paris, an online fashion magazine based in the French capital, recommends this gourmet store:
Alexandra Blanchet de Puthod showcases some three hundred products that are not distributed anywhere else in Paris in her new store Tomat’s. The epicurean, originally from the South-West region, finds her unique products in markets or buys them directly from small producers (think duck confits, jams from the Creuse, fig chutney, wine from Tahiti). After a visit here, not only will you leave with rare products but also cooking tips on how to use them and lots of gift ideas.
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