Magic hour

Shabour, L'Arrêt by the Gray, Porte Dauphine properties, La Casano, Café Nuances, Relais de la Butte, Paris FC, Kanaal, France's best fine dining destinations, MORE

Sep 19, 2025

∙ Paid

RESTAURANTS • First Person

Open minded

Shabour doesn’t feel like fine dining — until the food hits the table. Opened by chef Assaf Granit (known for Balagan, Tekés, and Machneyuda), the narrow, candlelit spot is loud, irresistibly alive. There’s no traditional dining room. Instead, you’re seated around a central open kitchen, where chefs shout orders and laugh with servers — dinner and a show.

The menu changes often, but its vibe stays the same: deep flavors, bold spices, and unexpected combinations. One night, it might be a creamy polenta laced with harissa and brown butter; the next, a slow-cooked egg yolk nestled in freekeh. Dishes move between France and Israel without warning, like tuna tartare spiked with fermented chili, or pigeon roasted in pomegranate molasses. There’s also a signature “bread moment” mid-meal, with warm challah or buttery brioche to scoop up whatever’s left. For most of the dishes, you’ll be more than encouraged to eat with your fingers.

The wine list is mostly natural, the playlist is wild, and the service feels like a tight-knit family that forgot you weren’t actually their cousin. Shabour may be a tasting menu restaurant, but don’t expect anything classic. –Victoire Loup

→ Shabour (2nd arr) • 19 Rue Saint-Sauveur • Lunch Fri-Sat 12h-13h, Dinner Mon-Sat 19h-22h30 • Reserve.

PARIS WORK & PLAY LINKS: Can American Southern chef Mashama Bailey take Paris with the just-opened L’Arrêt by The Grey? • Century-old cafe À la Renaissance gets a refresh in the 11th • How French restaurant criticism (almost) killed itself • Journées du Patrimoine returns this weekend • For 11.6M €, Parisian opulence in the 16th • Appreciating Rungis, the market and the city.

REAL ESTATE • On the Market

Three properties currently on offer by Porte Dauphine in the 16th arr:

→ Victor Hugo/Ave Foch (metro Victor Hugo) • 4BR/3BA, 164 m2 • Ask: 1.98M € • family apartment on 7th floor of 1960s modernist building • Annual maintenance/condo fees: 10 400 € • Agent: Khalida Roukbi, Engel & Völkers.

→ Bld Flandrin (metro Porte Dauphine) • 3BR/3BA, 237 m2 • Ask: 4.0M € • renovated floor-through apartment with parquet floors, fireplaces, and mouldings • Annual maintenance/condo fees: 12 228 € • Agent: Guillaume Victor Pujebet, Daniel Feau.

→ Square Lamartine/Victor Hugo (metro Rue de la Pompe) • 5BR/3BA, 345 m2 • Ask: 7.9M € • third-floor apartment with original wooden floors and mouldings, and direct view onto Lamartine Square • Annual maintenance/condo fees: 10 260 € • Agent: Karine Maugest, Barnes.

WORK • Friday Routine

A-tisket a-tasket

INGRID NOEL • founder • La Casano
Neighborhood you live in: 9th arr

It’s Friday morning. How are you rolling into the weekend?
It’s buzzing with energy! It might sound glamorous, but the reality of running a young housewares brand is mostly logistics — handling deliveries, organizing photoshoots, coordinating with different teams. Luckily, I’m surrounded by two amazing people. We work hard, but we also make sure to share a laugh between counting baskets.

What’s on the agenda for today?
My husband and I struggle to keep up with early morning workouts, so we’ve started a new routine: a morning walk from the 9th arrondissement to Montmartre. We set off at 730a and by 815, we stop for coffee at Relais de la Butte, a charming little bistro. This walk has become a ritual I love — admiring the stunning homes on Avenue Junot, watching as the city slowly wakes up, imagining the lives behind each glowing window. It’s like a meditative pause before the day begins. When I lived on the Left Bank, I had a similar habit of walking along the Seine. Paris always finds a way to offer its magic, no matter where you are.

At 12 today, I have a business lunch at Bon Georges with a close friend. The afternoon will be dedicated to organizing the shoot for our “Winter Cocoon, Dreamlike Sanctuary” collection in an absolutely enchanting location: Maison Mouche in Beaumont-en-Auge.

Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
For festive evenings: Vivant, Déviant, or Tempête. For a New York-style vibe: L’Altro Frenchie. On Sundays: brunch at Café de la Pérouse for something fancy, or a visit to Marché des Enfants Rouges. During the week: a little trip to China at Mao Dumpling Bar in the 3rd for a comforting meal. And for healthy nights out, Doki Doki.

Any weekend getaways?
I recently got back from Antwerp, which is two hours from Paris by train and an absolute dream for aesthetes. I stayed at Botanic Sanctuary, had dinner at Osaka, and visited Axel Vervoordt’s temple of design, Kanaal, near Antwerp. I also explored antique shops and flea markets along Kloosterstraat, had lunch at Jackie, and visited the KMSKA museum. Not to mention the stunning Dries Van Noten boutique. It’s such an easy and inspiring escape.

What was your last great vacation?
Salento, Puglia. Still unspoilt and bathed in golden light, Salento is a land of contrasts where Baroque history meets enchanting nature. Here’s a quick itinerary:

Day 1: Lecce, dubbed the “Florence of the South” for its exuberant Baroque architecture. Our favorite: the antique ceramics of Rivesto Italia, a confidential address. Dinner at Torre di Merlino. Overnight stay at Palazzo Maresgallo Suite & Spa.
Day 2: Head for Santa Cesarea Terme, famous for its secret coves. Lunch at Il Villino.
Day 3: Spend the night at Convento di Santa Maria di Costantinopoli, a former convent transformed into a bohemian-chic refuge.
Day 4: Tricase, the charm of a secret fishing village where time seems suspended. Lunch at an institution, The Tricase Port Tavern.
Day 5: Far south, head for Palazzo Daniele, an aristocratic residence transformed into an artistic showcase.
Day 6: Last stop: Nardò, a Baroque jewel with charming alleyways. Hotel for the night: Muci, an intimate address where you can savor Italian elegance in all its simplicity.

What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
A jacket from an Indian brand I recently discovered and adore, CORD.studio, along with a blouse from Bazist. Unsurprisingly, both are embroidered and inspired by Indian craftsmanship.

CULTURE & LEISURE • Food & Teuf

BigFest #3 • Bon Entendeur, Etienne de Crécy et al • La Felicità (13th arr) • Fri-Sun • 3-day pass, 39 € per
Paris FC v Strasbourg • Stade Jean Bouin (16th arr) • Sun @ 15h • cat premium, 80 € per
IAM • Philharmonie de Paris (Parc de la Villette) • Sat @ 20h • cat 1, 80 € per

GOODS & SERVICES • FOUND Café

Café accultured

Over the past couple of years, Café Nuances has become one of the most recognizable names in Paris’s specialty coffee scene, blending high-end brews with high-concept design. Founded in 2022 by brothers Charles and Raphaël Corrot, the brand has made a name for itself with fashion-world collabs, carefully sourced beans, and a visual identity more label than café.

Café Nuances offers a curated lineup of five signature coffees, each with a distinct profile. There’s Slow Dance, smooth and chocolatey; Wabi, bright and balanced; and the brooding Coffee & Cigarettes, with smoky, spicy notes and a cult following. Beans are sold in elegant, cotton drawstring bags, with limited editions released as drops, a nod to streetwear culture and the brothers’ branding background.

The rose latte, infused with rose water and topped with petals, has become a signature. There’s also a popcorn latte, a pistachio latte, and a lineup of house-made pastries such as banana bread, lemon-poppy cake, matcha cookies, and more.

Each of the three Paris locations is a design playground, imagined by studios like Uchronia and Harry Nuriev. Inside the rue du Vieux Colombier space: curved banquettes, galactic lighting, and a palette that shifts from burnt orange to Yves Klein blue. It’s an experience very different from traditional coffee shops. –Victoire Loup

→ Café Nuances (1st, 4th, 6th, 8th arr) • 22 rue du Vieux Colombier / 25 rue Danielle Casanova / 10 rue de la Tremoille • Mon-Fri 8h-19h, Sat & Sun 9h-19h.

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GETAWAYS LINKS: In Paris, Four Seasons Hotel George V completes multi-year renovation • David Lebowitz’s recent favorite restaurants in the South of France • Dublin isn’t just a pub town anymore • To dine out in Copenhagen, are you ready to be table captain?

GETAWAYS • The Nines

Fine dining destinations, France

The Nines are FOUND's distilled lists of the best in Paris and surrounds. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or email found@foundparis.com.

Maison Troisgros (Ouches), family legacy in Lyon countryside, w/ dining room framed by gardens; breakfast alone worth the trip