Les Pipelettes

The Les Pipelettes grocery and tea room is one of those places that feels instantly relaxing as you as you walk in the door. The space recalls a cosy grandmother’s sitting room, all white crockery and flowered wallpaper, with a vintage Berkel slicer in one corner, suggesting hours spent discussing the weather and the latest Parisian scandal over crusty fresh baguettes. The two ‘pipelettes’ (chatterboxes), Agnès Motte and Aline Fellmann, have created the perfect venue for brunching, the ne plus ultra of lazy mealtimes.

Every Saturday, for €23, the tables fill with steaming cupes of tea, baskets full of seeded breads, home-made scones with raisins, rather small glasses of fresh fruit juice (on our visit, carrot, apple and ginger), Bordier butter and excellent jams. Classic, and effective. Then there’s coddled eggs, yoghurt with muesli, little potatoes roasted with thyme, and a choice of charcuterie, Scottish smoked salmon with a pot of taramasalata or a hefty slice of pumpkin and chestnut tart. It all works beautifully – all that needs adding is a few more sweet pastries and some big sofas to make diners feel really at home.