GOODS AND SERVICES • FOUND Café
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.