Charm offensive
Maurice Sfez Café, Sorbonne listings, Iconic House, Résidence Kann, Centre Commercial, Taka & Vermo, La Ferme du Vent, best Provence hotels, MORE
GOODS AND SERVICES • FOUND Café
Espresso ode
Some cafés hit you with caffeine. Maurice Sfez Café hits you with charm. The latest from Moïse Sfez (a.k.a. the “sandwich boy” of Paris, behind blockbusters Homer Lobster and Janet) is an ode to 1950s New York, wrapped in a green-and-white striped awning and polished off with marble counters and a just-bougie-enough terrace. It looks like a movie set, but the espresso is real, and so are the lines.
The space is small, chic, and standing-room-friendly, though there’s a handful of tables outside for those who prefer to linger. The drinks menu is short and sharp: a custom Colombian coffee blend, matcha from Southern Japan, frothy Freddo cappuccinos in clear cans, and orange blossom lattes that nod to Moïse’s childhood. The milk foam is nearly a meal on its own.
The food is satisfying, salty, and stacked, like the Mac Maurice, a riff on a breakfast sandwich, served on a pillowy brioche and layered with runny organic egg, molten cheese, and optional maple-glazed veal bacon. The kouign-amann-style honey butter toast is absurdly good.
But the real showstopper is the Liège waffle. Sfez spent over a year fine-tuning the recipe, and it shows. Cooked à la minute in an artisanal waffle iron, it’s deeply vanilla, golden-edged, caramelized, and sprinkled with pearl sugar while the dough is still hot. –Victoire Loup
→ Maurice Sfez Café (Marais) • 14 rue Rambuteau • Mon-Fri 9h30-19hp, Sat-Sun 10h-19h30p.
PARIS WORK & PLAY LINKS: Inside Acne Studio’s new Paris headquarters • David Lebowitz dines at Cafe Singuliers in the 11th • More reasons to love Paris in August.
REAL ESTATE • On the Market
Three properties currently on offer near the Sorbonne.
→ Panthéon/Sorbonne (metro Cluny La Sorbonne) • 2BR/2BA, 91 m2 • Ask: 1.38M € • pied-a-terre on 2nd-floor • Annual maintenance/condo fees: 2700 € • Agent: Thibaut Lerda, Engel & Völkers.
→ Montagne Ste Geneviève (metro Saint-Michel) • 1BR/1BA, 67 m2 • Ask: 1.522M € • quiet 3rd floor apartment with high ceilings and views over gardens of Ecole Polytechnique • Annual maintenance/condo fees: 4192 € • Agent: Nathalie Penicaud, Barnes.
→ Cluny Museum/Latin Quarter (metro Cluny La Sorbonne, above) • 4BR/2BA, 156 m2 • Ask: 2.1M € • classic 2nd floor flat in 19th-century building • Annual maintenance/condo fees: 7200 € • Agent: Aurélien Guesdon, Daniel Feau.
WORK • Friday Routine
House beautiful
ROBIN MICHEL • founder • Iconic House
Neighborhood you live in: 10th arr
It’s Friday morning. How are you rolling into the weekend?
After an early morning workout — either a run or a bike ride, as I do every other day — I head back just as the team starts arriving at our Iconic House offices near Canal Saint-Martin, where we curate a collection of luxury properties for clients to rent in France. By 9, everyone’s in, coffee in hand, and ready to dive into the day with good energy.
What’s on the agenda for today?
My schedule shifts week to week, but Thursdays have a few fixed touchpoints: a site meeting for our upcoming Paris opening, a check-in on ongoing stays to gather as much guest feedback as possible, and our weekly review for WEEKS OFF, our curated guide to the most stunning rental homes.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
For a quick bite near the office, I’ll stop by Résidence Kann, a coffee shop run by designer friends — perfect for getting some work done or grabbing a chai, a latte, or an open-faced tartine for a casual lunch. Tonight, I’m heading to Soces in the 18th arrondissement with friends — an incredible seafood-focused spot with a super talented chef. And over the weekend, I’ll be at La Bécane à Gaston, my favorite bistro near Canal Saint-Martin, for a family meal.
How about a little leisure or culture?
The recent Surrealist movement exhibition at Centre Pompidou was a huge source of inspiration for our next Iconic House opening. I’d also highly recommend catching La Haine on its current tour, or checking out Alexis Michalik’s latest play.
Any weekend getaways?
Surfing in Hossegor is always a great option. If you go, don’t miss dinner at Goustut in Capbreton. Otherwise, a cycling trip through Le Perche is on my list. I personally prefer staying in private homes over hotels for the sense of freedom they offer — it’s the whole reason we created Iconic House.
What was your last great vacation?
A few days in Nice, wandering the city, having lunch along the Promenade, eating socca at Cours Saleya, and discovering Hôtel du Couvent, which just opened. Without a doubt, it’s the most beautiful hotel in Nice — steeped in history and impeccably designed. Perfect for a quick escape!
What store or service do you always recommend?
Centre Commercial in the 10th arrondissement, near Canal Saint-Martin. It has a fantastic selection of fashion and lifestyle brands.
GOODS & SERVICES • FOUND Shop
Curd’s way
There are cheese shops, and then there’s Taka & Vermo. After criss-crossing France and Europe to find the real thing (raw milk, small herds, traditional methods), Laure Takahashi and Mathieu Vermorel opened their boutique in the 10th arrondissement. They dropped their surnames into the sign, and most conventions out the window.
Inside, the display is a living map of French dairy genius. Chèvre? Fresh, cendré, saffron-rubbed, yuzu-swirled, even stuffed with fig or piment d’Espelette. Hard cheeses? A Comté cave-aged 36 months, Gruyère infused with sweet woodruff, and a pungent Beaufort. They’ve got the legends (Roquefort Vernières, Mont d’Or, mimolette extra-vieille, Brillat-Savarin) and seasonal collabs too: brie with glazed chestnuts and buckwheat, Saint-Marcellin with wild garlic, Saint-Nectaire dusted with Sansho pepper.
Taka & Vermo is also the place to grab cherry jam, quince paste, or a slice of homemade cheesecake made with real fromage frais and a shortbread crust. Their butter is worth packing in a suitcase to travel back home: bright yellow, raw, and made with milk from Jersiaise cows. There’s truffle butter too, with 15% black Périgord, but only when it’s in season. –Victoire Loup
→ Taka & Vermo (10th arr) • 61 Bis Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis • Tue 9h30-20h30, Wed-Sat 9h-20h30, Sun 9h-13h30.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Rock On
Angers v Paris Saint Germain • Parc des Princes (16th arr) • Fri @ 20h45 • cat 2, access 105/106, 137 € per
Rock en Seine • Justice, Queens of the Stone Age et al • Domaine national de Saint-Cloud (Saint-Cloud) • Fri-Sun • 3-day pass, 195 € per
Jazz la Villette • The Headehunters et al • Grande Halle de La Villette (19th arr) • Thu 28/08 @ 20h • GA, 35 € per
GETAWAYS • Brittany
Tides turn
Just north of Cancale, famous chef Olivier Roellinger and his family converted three imposing granite farmhouses into six minimalist kleds (Breton for 'shelter from the wind'). Each room at La Ferme du Vent is outfitted with raw wood, thick linen, whitewashed walls, and sweeping windows framing the Mont-Saint-Michel bay. There’s no TV, no Wi-Fi, only the crackle of the fire and the rhythm of the tides.
Mornings begin with a wicker basket left quietly at the door, filled with sourdough bread, raw butter, eggs, warm brioche, juice from the orchard, and rillettes from the bay. It’s best enjoyed on the terrace in a robe, watching the tides shift. At the heart of the property, the Celtic Baths await: a sequence of warm pools, sauna, and hammam, tucked inside the main longhouse.
A short stroll through the Celtic garden leads to Le Coquillage, Hugo Roellinger’s restaurant. His menu, entirely free of meat, dances between garden and sea: hay-smoked oysters, razor clams with seaweed butter, lobster with buckwheat cream and black lemon. A story told through umami, iodine, and spice, anchored by a deep respect for the ocean.
To extend the Roellinger experience, head into Cancale. Visit the Maison du Voyageur, home to Mathilde Roellinger’s spice shop and aromatic lab. Have lunch at the wood-clad Bistrot de Cancale, run by Hugo and Marine, perched on the Port-Mer beach. And finish the day at Grain de Vanille with millefeuille and spiced hot chocolate in the winter, or fruit sorbet in the waning days of summer under the fig trees. –Victoire Loup
→ La Ferme du Vent (Cancale) • Le Buot, 35260 • fall wknd from €390 per night • Book.
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GETAWAYS LINKS: A wild corner of Ireland, through the eyes of Dylan Thomas • Nobu arrives in Egypt • Checking into the Lana Dorchester Collection, for those seeking a quieter Dubai.
GETAWAYS • The Nines
Hotels, Provence
The Nines are FOUND's distilled lists of the best in Paris and surrounds. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or email found@foundparis.com.
Baumanière (Les Baux-de-Provence, above), Provençal icon w/ centuries-old stone walls, terraced gardens, and fine dining restaurant, all surrounded by the Alpilles