In case you missed the memo, Mexico has been quietly conquering Paris, with countless cocktail bars, restaurants and street food stalls now hailing the green, white and red tricolour. Great news if you like burritoes and guacamole, which is certainly the case at Time Out. But up until now, no one had thought to mix a coffee shop with Mexican gastronomy, which is exactly what Mexican chef Mario Flores is doing with his weekly changing menu.
Formerly of two neighbouring bars in the 11th, Café Chilango and Chambre Noire, Flores rustles up burritoes, quesadillas and guacamole with seasonal organic fruit and veg. Sweet potatoes, kale, homemade chipotle sauce, three pepper tofu, Oaxaca cheese, Chioggia beetroot; trendy ingredients that are as tasty as they are beautiful. And the interior is an Instagrammer’s wet dream too – big glass windows, charming Parisian furnishings, white tiled walls, mirrored ceilings and flowers on each table.
Coffee comes from excellent merchants The Beans on Fire, but expect regularly rotating blends and providers. The filter coffee is a very reasonable €3.50 and the €5 chai latte would go well with a pumpkin bread, cheesecake or cookie. There’s even viennoiserie, a rarity in third wave coffee shops. Had the heating not packed in, we would have stayed all afternoon; luckily, playing ‘Street Fighter 2’ on the Super Nintendo in the corner warmed us right up.
TRANSLATION: MEGAN CARNEGIE