Mighty real
Brass, 11th arr for 2M €, Le National, Boulangerie Archibald, Reggae Legends, Domaine de Chateauvieux, best Nice & Cannes restaurants, MORE
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RESTAURANTS • First Person
Une fête familière
Over the last 25 years, the rents luxury brands are willing to pay for space in Saint-Germain-des-Prés have transformed much of the storied bohemian neighborhood into a predictable place for Platinum Card holders. Wonderful late-night dive bars like the Old Navy, open 24 hours originally and until 2am just before it closed, were bullied out of business by co-op boards who didn’t like the crowd they pulled, while most of the bookstores are gone, and the rue du Buci street market is no more.
I watched all of this happen, because I lived on the Left Bank for 15 years. My first flat was on the rue de la Sorbonne, then I moved to the tony rue Monsieur, and finally to a small but charming and very quiet apartment on rue du Bac where the working fireplace and a view over a pretty courtyard garden next door to a convent made it possible to put up with Madame Rosa, the evil Portuguese concierge.
So it was with huge curiosity that I headed for dinner the other night to Brass, a new brasserie in the neighborhood. The space at 131 boulevard Saint Germain was most recently an outlet of Leon de Bruxelles, the mediocre chain peddling mussels and frites, but when I arrived in Paris in 1986, it was a funky café with a cracked tile floor and a great crowd of local regulars. Alas, the café vanished, and recently, it’s been much easier to find sushi or a pizza in Saint-Germain-des-Pres than good Gallic grub, because French cooking is expensively time-consuming. News that Brass had opened was such a happy surprise that I had almost memorized the menu from the restaurant’s website by the time I arrived.
It was a great sign that the place was packed at 22h, and also that the bartender mixes a mean Negroni. The dark-red lacquer décor and stamped art-deco metal ceiling also had a louche, decidedly ’80s charm, too. Were the oeufs mayonnaise the best in the world? No, but they were good, as was the onion soup under a cap of melted Emmenthal on a raft of toast. A beef filet in black pepper sauce came with a small boat of golden frites, and the organic sausage with potato puree was excellent, both washed down with a fairly priced bottle of Fleurie (which reminded me that my instinctive fear of the Gamay grape as a hangover menace is not always well-placed).
By around 23h30, the soundtrack had gone disco with Sylvester’s ballad “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” causing the elegant woman with a steel-gray bob and Alice band at the table to my right to politely sway, maybe with memories of nights on the town from when Parisian nightlife sizzled. A minute later, ‘High Energy’ prompted a silver-haired man in an azure cashmere cardigan at the table to my left to grin at me and ask, ‘Vous vous souvenez de la Palace, Monsieur? Putain, mais Paris etait vraiment une fete dans le temps.’ (Do you remember Le Palace [a nightclub beloved of Grace Jones, Jean Paul Gaulthier, Thierry Mugler, et al], sir? Fuck, Paris was such party in those days!)
It wasn’t just these vintage bourgeois types who were getting lit up by the music and the energy here, however, but a whole busy dining room packed with twenty- or thirtysomething Parisians in little black dresses, or black turtlenecks and jeans, or white shirts and jeans, the night-on-the-town looks of Western silk-stocking arrondissement (6th, 7th, 8th, 16th, 17th) jeunesse dorée.
This is because Brass is the restaurant the Left Bank seems to have been waiting for. The uncomplicated food’s good, the late serving hours appeal — but the best thing about this restaurant is that it’s a very good time. –Alexander Lobrano
→ Brass (Saint-Germain-des-Pres) • 131 Blvd Saint-Germain • Daily 12h-2h • Book.
PARIS WORK & PLAY LINKS: Chef Alain Passard’s Arpege switching to exclusively plant-based menu • Change in the air as Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2026 schedule announced • Christie’s to celebrate French jewelry designer Jean Dinh Van with Paris exhibition next month • Meet the Seine swimmers: ‘I have zero worries’ • Why the Montmartre finish is the future of the Tour.
REAL ESTATE • On the Market
Three properties currently on offer in the 11th arr. for around 2M €.
→ Charonne/Voltaire (metro Saint-Ambroise, above) • 1BR/1BA, 193 m2 • Ask: 1.776M € • 3-story loft w/ 7m ceilings and vast skylights • Annual maintenance/condo fees: 3600 € • Agent: Sotheby’s International Realty.
→ Chemin Vert/Saint Ambroise (metro San Sébastien Froissart) • 3BR/2BA, 206 m2 • Ask: 1.990M € • industrial-style loft over 2 floors in 1870 building with private outdoor area • Annual maintenance/condo fees: 5612 € • Agent: Mara Marincioni, Engel & Völkers.
→ Roquette (metro Brébuet-Sabin) • 3BR/1BA, 135 m2 • Ask: 2.2M € • sunny apartment on 4th floor of 19th-century building set in Cour Damoye • Annual maintenance/condo fees: 7200 € • Agent: Guillaume Puech, Daniel Feau.
WORK • Friday Routine
Trimming day
VICTORIA CORBASSON • ceramist / artist • LouVe Ceramics
Neighborhood you work in: South Pigalle / 9th arr.
Neighborhood you live in: Boulogne
It’s Friday afternoon. How are you rolling into the weekend?
I just made myself a cup of tea at the studio, and had a nice chat with my fellow artists. It’s a convivial place, where we get to share about our lives and work, while we create. I am at my modeling desk. Friday is usually a day when I fine-tune and tweak my creations. In other words, it’s a trimming day. Then I let the pieces dry over the weekend and cook them at least four to five days later.
What’s on the agenda for today?
I’m working on a very nice project, with a brand new partner on the West Coast. It’s a commission work for a designer in LA decorating an apartment in SF. I’m designing plates and bowls, mostly on seafoam and seabed colors.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
Tonight, I’ll be going to Le National with my two daughters. I like Le Pont Traversé on the rue de Vaugirard for brunch. All is gluten free and there are also vegetarian and vegan options.
How about a little leisure or culture?
I invariably enjoy going to the Musée d’Art Moderne. The architecture is impressive, and they always have interesting exhibits. It’s a nice place to take children, as there is plenty of space to run around. I would take my daughters there when they were little. I very much enjoyed “Edmond” at the Théâtre du Palais Royal. It brings you to another time, back to the XIXth century.
Any weekend getaways?
Lisbon is a fabulous destination for the weekend. A two-and-a-half hour flight for a complete change of scenery. Different architecture, food, language, and pace. I highly recommend the Museum for Contemporary Art for its great architecture and restaurants.
What was your last great vacation?
My latest great vacation happens to have also been in Portugal, and staying at the Hotel São Lourenço do Barrocal in the Alentejo. An incredible explosion of adrenaline: skydiving with the local school.
What store or service do you always recommend?
Here are the places I recommended in my two favorite cities:
Paris:
Organic bakery: Boulangerie Archibald
Organic cheese store: Fromagerie Beillevaire
Farmer’s market: La marché d’Aligre
Pretty porcelain shop: Astier de Villatte
Los Angeles:
A healthy deli: Gjusta in Venice
An inspiring place to decorate your home: Stock Studio
CULTURE & LEISURE • Legends
Reggae Legends • Inna de Yard, Lone Ranger et al • Le Kilowatt (Vitry-sur-Seine) • Fri @ 19h • presale 31 € per
Rosa Bonheur Festival • Château de Rosa Bonheur (Thomery) • thru 30/08 • cat 1 unlimited, 142 € per
Blackpink • Stade de France (Saint-Denis) • Sat @ 19h • cat 1 (reduced visibility), 177 € per
GETAWAYS • Switzerland
Geneva conventions
Just outside of Geneva, a two and a half hour train ride from Paris, Domaine de Chateauvieux is a quiet refuge from the city in a location that still allows easy access to the culture and shopping of the Swiss capital. Featuring 12 rooms and a suite, the Relais & Chateaux property welcomes guests on a sprawling property that includes its own vineyard. The terroir here runs deep: Some of the walls of the hotel and restaurant date back to the 13th century.
The staff welcomes guests into the main house and guides them to their rooms, offering heavy old-school keys reminiscent of the Dark Ages. Dark woods, rich rugs, and the nicest sheets and pillows make for a comfortable stay in the rooms.
Dining on the property is a key perk. Breakfast, an intimate experience, is served in a small villa next to the property’s wonderful shop, where several products made on site are sold. Dinner is lengthy, but maintains a nice pace, with a variety of courses that keep the meal entertaining. Chef Philippe Chevrier is a committed lifelong craftsman of his profession. He selects local products and lets seasons guide his preparations, taking some of the potential stuffiness out of a multi-course meal production. And the hospitality hits the highest note. –Andra Zeppelin
→ Domaine de Chateauvieux (Geneva Satigny) • Chemin de Châteauvieux 16, Peney-Dessus, 1242 Satigny • Book.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Is this Montmartre hotel particulier the sexiest new stay in Paris? • A weekend in Brittany • Aman Rosa Alpina opens in the Dolomites • Lemala Osonjoi Lodge reimagines the safari in East Africa • Summer in Dubai isn’t for everyone, but that’s the beauty of it.
GETAWAYS • The Nines
Restaurants, Nice & Cannes
The Nines are FOUND's distilled lists of the best in Paris and surrounds. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or email found@foundparis.com.
La Merenda (Nice), no phone, no card, no frills: just Dominique Le Stanc’s takes on barbajuans, pasta w/ pistou, tourte de blettes in tiny, packed dining room