Opened in 2014 just near the Champs Élysées, lively bar/restaurant The Place To pulls in passing tourists and locals with a lengthy menu that caters to all tastes and appetites. The recycled bric-à-brac décor is similarly diverse and welcoming: its warm ochre walls are layered with a cleverly assembled poster collage, a decent selection of artworks and random features like a rusty bicycle and a re-fitted telephone box (where you can now charge your phone). In the midst of all this, customers sit at orange leather meeting-room chairs or at a large communal table for solitary diners. The music – an upbeat pop playlist ranging from Eurthymics to Pharrell Williams – provides a fun if slightly unoriginal backdrop.
From the menu, one of the signature dishes is a very good chicken burger (€17), with crunchy chicken steak and home made guacamole, while vegetarians can settle for a gorgeous al dente risotto in a creamy morel mushroom sauce with sundried tomatoes (€18). As dessert, the fresh fruit mille-feuille is a brilliant finish (€8.50), as is the Hammam green tea with dates and a passion fruit panna cotta. Drinks include warming things like an orange and cinnamon-flavoured ‘Winter Latte’ (€4.90) and sunnier concoctions like a ‘Pomme d’Happy’ mix of apple juice, lemon syrup and mint (€7).
TRANSLATION: HUW OLIVER