Le Beaupassage: The New Paris Hot Spot for Gourmet Living
It’s got a trendy dining hall, a bakery, a sit-down restaurant, a butcher’s shop that doubles as an eatery, and even a fitness center. This unusual new hub for all things gourmet features Michelin-starred chefs and top names in the restaurant world. You can stroll around, grab a table, refuel, or work out at Le Beaupassage. Le Colibry tells all.
Great for breakfast or a snack
La Boulangerie de Thierry Marx
Thierry Marx’s second bakery in Paris serves traditional boulangerie fare made with organic flour: breads, pastries, salad and their famous breadmakis (a rolled-up club sandwich grilled to-order on a teppanyaki.) Their motto is “Street food that’s all about bread.” There are a few tables to sit down for a quick bite, and a brunch menu.
Le Café Pierre Hermé
Whether you go for breakfast or to grab a snack, you’ll swoon over the beautiful pastries and macarons sold at this Paris restaurant and coffeeshop. The big bay windows and high ceilings allow for lots of natural light. A great lunch spot. À la carte: salads, grilled ham and cheese, club sandwich, and some hot meals. Expect to spend: 17 € for a club sandwich, 21€ for other meals.
Le Daily Pic d’Anne-Sophie Pic
A next-generation canteen serving seasonal creations: marinated pink shrimp with Granny Smith apples and celery – poached guinea fowl, seaweed cream and wakame – the famous “floating island” (a French dessert, meringue floating in vanilla custard), and more. Expect to spend: 15.90€ for a starter-main dish-dessert combo.
Fine dining, lunch or dinner
L’Allénothèque is triple-Michelin-starred chef Yannick Alléno’s project: a Paris restaurant, wine cellar and art gallery all in one. Alléno’s work speaks for itself.
www.allenotheque.fr
Alexandre Polmard’s Paris restaurant and butcher shop: Polmard comes from six generations of butchers and animal husbandry. The Polmards only raise cows of the Blondes d’Aquitaine variety, known for having a finer-grained meat than the traditional French breed. Their special freezing technique preserves the meat at just the right stage of maturation. www.polmard.com
Bonus points: their calm terraces on this granite-paved pedestrian street. The artwork here and there begs for a stroll around.
Artwork to admire before or after your meal
La Traversée (The Crossing), by Eva Jospin, lines the passage into Le Beaupassage from Boulevard Raspail. It’s a huge cardboard sculpture forest, with several layers of tree trunks that stretches nearly 80 feet.
Les Mangoustes de Beauvais, by Stefan Rinck, is a giant there-faced limestone totem statue.
Les Deux Chênes, by Fabrice Hyber, covers the Rue de Grenelle entrance with two trees that form an arch, their branches intertwined at the top. Painted glass layered over clear glass.
The Grans Bwa fresco, by Romain Bernini, transforms the walls of the Rue du Bac entrance into a psychedelic forest.
And for the brave of heart…
The mantra of fitness club Champion Spirit is wellbeing. They have a climbing wall, weight machines, a boxing ring, and a running track… but also a concept store, a coffee and muesli bar, and a sauna. This unique club was founded by three-time world boxing champion Abdoulaye Fadiga.
Getting to the Beaupassage: On the left bank, between Boulevard Raspail, Rue de Grenelle and Rue du Bac – Beaupassage, 53-57 Rue de Grenelle, 75007 Paris.
More information: www.beaupassage.fr
