Consistent buzz
Magnolia, 4th arr listings, best coffee shops, Tempête, Walk x Schott, Heimat by Wairis Dirie, Val d'Isere Experimental Chalet, MORE
RESTAURANTS • First Word
Supper club
The Skinny: Rapidly growing SoPi has rightfully earned its reputation as a cocktail and nightlife neighborhood, but (beyond a few decent hotel restaurants) Pigalle’s dining options are comparatively slim. Maxime Vaudin set out to change that with his debut restaurant, 1970s-inspired bistro Magnolia.
The Vibe: The space is veiled from the street by a gauzy linen curtain that takes on a faint hue from the candlelit tables. Paris-based designer Nathan Baraness infused subtle hints of nostalgia in the form of globe light fixtures and a boudoir-style antique fringed lamp crowning the room’s centerpiece, a crescent-shaped marble bar. Oak-framed mirrors line exposed brick walls, draping above ochre-colored velvet banquettes that are swathed in the finest of fabric from French maison Pierre Frey, while walnut shelves displaying ceramics and coffee table books lend a lived-in feel. The ’70s theme is accentuated by the color palette radiating from the main dining area’s geometric painting by French-Italian abstract artist Émile Gilioli.
The Food: When Robert in the 11th shuttered, London-trained chef Jack Bosco Baker helmed a series of packed pop-ups. At Magnolia, he’s brought his English-influenced cooking to a permanent new locale. Ingredients are seasonal, but the cuisine isn't as rinse-and-repeat as what you find in the 11th’s neo-bistros. The menu of French- and pub-inspired plates range from light (sashimi slivers swimming in a blood orange broth, blanketed in Italian spring saltworth) to hearty (beef and Guinness pie, reimagined bouillabaisse). Indulge in a bite of triple-cream Brillat-Savarin before moving on to the house special — armagnac-infused chocolate-vanilla profiteroles.
The Verdict: Magnolia works on multiple levels. The room is a consistent buzz, but you can still hear your companions over the animated chatter. The dimly lit space is romantic, but its mix of small plates and shareable mains cater just as much to larger groups as a couple on date night (or someone on their first app date). Finally, a Pigalle destination restaurant. –Lane Nieset
→ Magnolia (Quartier Pigalle) • 5 rue Henry Monnier • Lunch: Thu-Fri from 12h; Dinner: Tue-Sat from 19h • Book.
PARIS WORK & PLAY LINKS: The secrets of Paris’s most artistic homes • Buying an apartment in Paris: need to know • Visiting The Louvre’s hidden gift shop • Upon returning as a resident, seeing Paris again for the first time • How to make it easier for European startups to scale • The unexpected, giddy rise of sparkling Riesling.
REAL ESTATE • On the Market
Three properties for sale in the 4th arr:
→ Fifth floor apartment (4th arr) • 3BR/2BA, 162 m2 • Ask: 2.04M € • corner apartment in 1910 building with 20 m2 balcony • Annual property taxes: N/A; annual maintenance fees: 3300 € • Agent: Alexis Delachapelle, Engel & Völkers Paris.
→ Top floors triplex (4th arr, above) • 3BR/2BA, 135 m2 • Ask: 3.4M € • atypical layout across 3 floors with top-floor beamed living room • Annual property taxes: 2351 €; annual maintenance fees: 6670 € • Agent: Marie Fabry, Daniel Feau.
→ 6-room corner flat (4th arr) • 4BR/2.1BA, 154 m2 • Ask: 4.06M € • south-facing 2nd floor apartment with Seine and Notre Dame views • Annual property taxes: N/A; annual maintenance fees: 8526 € • Agent: Joachim Tobali, 1809 Immobilier Parisien.
GOODS & SERVICES • The Nines
Coffee shops
The Nines are FOUND's distilled lists of the best in Paris and surrounds. Additions or subtractions? Reply to this email, and tell us.
Dreamin Man (3rd arr), minimalist, Japanese-inspired, specializes in pour-over, rotating selection of pastries
Café Nuances (2nd arr), sleek and modern, dedicated to showcasing high-quality beans from around the world
Coutume (7th arr, above), Paris pioneers of specialty coffee, known for precision brewing, in-house roasting
Ten Belles (10th arr), cozy café near Canal Saint-Martin w/ bread baked daily
Telescope (1st arr), chic, understated setting near Palais Royal
Fringe (3rd arr), blending Scandinavian and French influences
Holybelly (10th arr), renowned for brunch, but also serves best-in-class coffee
KB CaféShop (9th arr), fantastic cold brew, outdoor seating, phenomenal roasting program
Lomi (18th arr), industrial chic roastery and coffee shop
WORK • Friday Routine
Love & basketball
THIBAULT MASSINA • bartender, content creator • Amour Drink
Neighborhood you live in: 3rd Arr
It’s Friday afternoon. How are you rolling into the weekend?
I’m meeting up with my business partner Paul, who handles videography and graphic design for our project, Amour Drink, at the coworking space La Felicità. It’s hands down the best spot to work in Paris. We grab two flat whites and plan out tomorrow’s shoot.
What’s on the agenda for today?
I write the recipe or script for the next day’s video while Paul is usually finishing up current edits. Then, we pool our ideas and review the storyboard, whether it’s for a tutorial or a spotlight on a specific location. I love my job intensely, because we’ve built something that’s truly ours and reflects who we are. We wrap up around 6p, and I head to the basketball court, alternating between jump rope and three-point shots. I started six months ago, and I’m loving it.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
Today, I might head to Tempête, a restaurant in the 10th arrondissement run by three childhood friends from Brittany. The place is incredible; I’ve been going almost weekly for nearly two years. The guys have become close friends — I even spent Christmas with them last year. I’ll probably also stop by Le Cornichon to catch up with friends. It’s a trendy bistro offering affordable, well-executed French cuisine.
How about a little leisure or culture?
I love going to the Les 7 Parnassiens cinema. It’s unlike any other: The screening rooms are tiny, the screens are small, and it feels like you’re at someone’s house. I also plan to visit some friends at the gallery Ground Effect. There’s an exhibition by Jakman, a talented young artist who goes by the name “Urban Cowboy.” Plus, there’s a concert by Saints in the basement afterward.
Any weekend getaways?
I’m planning a sporty cycling trip to the Fontainebleau Forest — one of the most beautiful forests in the world, in my opinion — with a picnic on the rocks.
What was your last great vacation?
Since I travel a lot throughout the year for work, I prefer staying in France for my vacations. This summer, I went to the mountains — first to the Alps in Chamonix to visit friends, then to the Massif Central in Auvergne to help other friends renovate their house. I love the mountains, the fresh air, and the landscapes. There’s nothing better for disconnecting from the city’s pace and detoxing digitally.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
A red leather Walk x Schott jacket — it’s stunning and feels satisfyingly heavy when I wear it.
What store or service do you always recommend?
I love wandering around the Strasbourg-Saint-Denis neighborhood in the 10th arrondissement, with its amazing shops: a fantastic bakery, wine cellar, cheesemonger, and the best Indian, herbalist, and Asian stores. It’s the perfect place to get inspired and find the best from every culture. I also have a special connection to Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis — I worked as a wine merchant there for a year when I first arrived in Paris, and then spent five years at Le Syndicat, one of Paris’s best cocktail bars.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Saturday Night
Paris St-Germain v Angers • Parc des Princes (16th arr) • Sat @ 17h • access 105/106, 175 € per
Julien Doré • Accor Arena (12th arr) • Sat @ 20h • fosse, 62 € per
Swan Lake • Palais des Congrès (17th arr) • Sat @ 20h • section 8, 73 € per
GOODS & SERVICES • FOUND Fitness
Elevated emporium
→ Heimat by Wairis Dirie (16th arr): Set in an unassuming, airy building in the 16th, once home to the Fondation Dapper Museum, Heimat by Wairis Dirie is a women-only, modern, spa-like gym. The ownership group RSG operates several boutique gyms in multiple countries, including a co-ed Heimat in Los Angeles. Here, they’ve collaborated with human rights activist and former model Dirie on a space that incorporates a collection of artworks by women artists.
What’s inside: A return to yourself is the mantra of the three-floor emporium that includes quiet golden-lit lounge spaces by the jacuzzi and sauna, weight rooms with state-of-the-art equipment, and countless classes from boxing to pilates inside a former theater (with stage-like lighting intact). Multiple shower and locker areas are outfitted with Dyson hairdryers and other top-tier products and equipment.
Entry price: Monthly memberships cost 300 €, after an initial registration fee of another 300 €. Day passes are available for 100 €.
Food & Drink: Membership includes all the fancy lattes you can drink, but smoothies and other treats are extra. –Andra Zeppelin
GETAWAYS • French Alps
Off piste
After living in France for more than 30 years, I’d pretty much given up on the country’s ski resorts. Yes, almost cloyingly pretty Megève has several excellent restaurants — Les Flocons du Sel serves up a brilliantly creative and rigorous modern rendering of Savoyard cooking — and the experience of visiting a favorite snow-dusted petting zoo of the French bourgeoisie has a certain fascination, but ultimately, it’s too stuffy, and the snow’s not great. Flashy Courchevel is a prime destination for studying designer ski togs, but the real sport there is spending money. And the logistics of skiing in Chamonix are just too mass-transit-style time-consuming.
Now, with the December opening of the 113-room Val d'Isere Experimental Chalet, I’ve finally found a place in the French Alps where I really want to go downhill. Following the same shrewd playbook they recently used on the Hotel Regina in Biarritz, the trend-setting Paris-based Experimental Group transformed the dowdy, in-need-of-renovations L’Aigles des Neiges into a bullseye of an address with the best bar in town (try a Green Fizz with Chartreuse génépi and celery bitters) and two great restaurants, one with a cheesy menu and the other with the kind of naughty, high-calorie comfort food you crave after a day on the slopes, including an epic omble chevalier, the king of Alpine fish, roasted with pine-tree-bud-seasoned beurre blanc.
The hotel also has a lap pool, sauna, steam room, and spa offering hot-stone massages and facials designed by German aesthetics pioneer Dr. Barbara Sturm.
What’s best of all about this hotel, however, is the interior design by Paris interior architect Dorothée Meilichzon. Working with wood, wooly fabrics, and rich Sultan’s harem colors, like ivory, lapis lazuli, ox blood, and spruce, she adeptly succeeded at transforming the traditional decor of French mountain chalets from fusty rustic to frisky urbane without losing a distinctively Alpine sense of place. It makes for a great place to shack up, even if you’re not here to ski. –Alexander Lobrano
→ Val d'Isere Experimental Chalet (Val-d'Isère) • 101 Rue de la Poste • Wknd nights from 378 € per • Book.
GETAWAYS LINKS: At CDG, Air France debuts expanded business class lounge • Inside new hotel Les Lumieres Versailles • New Milan thermal spa, opening this week, is Italy’s biggest • Visiting Sicily’s Aeolian Islands by yacht.
ASK FOUND
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What Paris hotel do you always recommend for out-of-town guests?
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