The Best New Places to Visit in Paris – According to the Experts

Four locals of impeccable taste and connections share their favourite new (and hidden) haunts in Paris.

Kimberley Cohen

Kimberley Cohen is the artistic director of family-owned Maisons Pariente, the luxury hotel group famed for its unique “Hôtels de Famille” styled as elegant, art-filled private homes. The Martin Brudnizki-designed Le Grand Mazarin opened last year in the Marais.

“Eternelle Notre Dame is an innovative virtual reality (VR) experience in La Défense. You put on a VR headset and backpack and dive into the cathedral, which is amazing because you really feel like you’re inside. You see all the visuals, get to walk in areas that you can’t normally visit. I went with my mum and my mother-in-law and we loved it. In the Marais, Tityaravy is a jewellery shop run by a girl called Titya Tin. The brand is very chic with a bohemian style. It’s one of my go-to places when I need to give a gift or want to treat myself. Copains opened their first bakery in 2021 but have just opened a new one in the 16th. It’s totally gluten-free but you have no idea because it looks so good. The Mathilde bread is made from chestnut and rice flour and it has figs and nuts inside – it’s delicious! Our restaurant, Boubalé, opened in Le Grand Mazarin in September and was conceived with (Michelin-starred) Israeli chef Assaf Granit. The idea was to revisit Ashkenazi-style food and chef Assaf really twisted it… there is a lot of spice and it’s very tasty and colourful. There’s a salmon gravlax with arak, dill and pickled mustard and the desserts are to die for.”

Manon Fleury

Chef Manon Fleury’s stellar CV includes La Marine, L’Astrance and farm-to-table landmark Blue Hills at Stone Barns in New York. In September she opened Datil, where her predominantly female kitchen creates plant-based, harvest-driven and sustainable menus.

“Without leaving Paris, or even the neighbourhood in which I live and work, Maison Proust takes me back in time but feels like home. This warm hotel in the heart of the Marais district is an oasis of chic refinement. A moment of relaxation in the spa is the gift I like to give to those I love – and to myself, too! My friends Camille Guillaud and Alessandro Candido recently opened Michelle Mabelle in Belleville. It’s a temple for hearty lunches on the go (I enjoy the croque-monsieur), all the products are sourced directly from producers and you feel the generosity of Alessandro’s Italian roots. In the 6th, Cravan is a very chic bar whose stylish decor fits perfectly into the atmosphere of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. The cocktail menu is incredible and the sharing plates delicious; it’s the ideal place for a date on the romantic Left Bank. My go-to cafe, all day long and whatever the season, is Bing Sutt in the 3rd. I love eating a comforting congee there. The refined decor and microscopic size allow you to find calm and serenity, even though this Hong Kong setting is located a stone’s throw from Place de la République. And Mam from Hanoï, in the so-called Silicon Sentier (on rue du Sentier in the second), is a delicate Vietnamese restaurant that works with high-quality, local and seasonal products. I go there in particular for their excellent pho for lunch during the week.”

Sarah Mielenhausen

Sarah Mielenhausen, formerly global marketing head of Dior Parfums, founded Plaq Chocolat with her partner (in chocolate and life) Nicolas Rozier-Chabert. At their ethical factory in the 2nd they “find, taste and transform great cocoa into a chocolate that reflects us”.

“Le Doyenné restaurant and farm (in the grounds of the Château de Saint-Vrain, an hour south of Paris) is an incredible project. Australian chefs James Henry and Shaun Kelly work with the season and what is available in the garden to present a unique menu. Go for Sunday lunch or the full experience – dinner, a night in the guesthouse and breakfast. Its simplicity, quality, generosity and purity is real luxury. Every Monday I swim at Boulogne-Billancourt and afterwards get a delicious vegan bento from Hiroko Shiraishi. It’s full of small dishes such as a creamy korokke (croquette) with mixed mushrooms, norimaki and aubergine burger with teriyaki sauce. Opening in autumn, Nouvelle Vague is a big and meaningful project by a couple that I know, Symeon Kamsizoglou and Delphine Pique, who spent two years in Greece sourcing all the product for this restaurant and épicerie. I often check in with @__amuse_bouche__ on Instagram to keep track of the Paris hospitality scene. They have the best new food and culture, beauty and art de vivre spots in Paris. Nice fashion and gift ideas, too. Not far from Gare du Nord, Rue de Maubeuge is not very fancy but I like to have breakfast at the bar of cosy Colombian coffee shop Leandres. I have a cappuccino and a pandebono, a soft bread made with cheese – the texture and taste are so addictive.”

Ruba Khoury

Michelin-trained chef Ruba Khoury (Septime, Frenchie) has shaken up the Paris bar scene with Dirty Lemon, a chic women and queer-friendly spot in the 11th that serves creative cocktails and sophisticated fare that draws on her Palestinian and French heritage.

“Recently, I saw an exhibition on the photographer Rachel Fleminger Hudson, which was quite astonishing. It was at La MEP, or Maison Européenne de la Photographie, a nice bite-sized museum in the heart of the Marais that not a lot of tourists know about. The best flat white I’ve had in a while was at Café Kaldi, a very authentic Ethiopian coffee shop located in an up-and-coming neighbourhood called Montreuil, which is just outside the city limits and very easy to access via metro lines. Café Singuliers is a coffee shop during the day and, in the evenings, a restaurant that hosts chef residencies. I dined there when they hosted my friend chef Zuri Camille de Souza, who cooks from her Indian heritage. Her mostly plant-based food was colourful and flavourful and served in a beautiful space [in the 11th] that’s super cosy and full of greenery. Filipina chef Erica Paredes started doing supper clubs and pop-ups before opening her own place, Reyna, 18 months ago on Rue de Montreuil. Erica is known for her chicken wings with different choices of sauces but I personally love her burrata, served with a garlic-lemongrass chilli oil and spring onions. Le Lac de L’Ouest (7 rue Volta, 75003 Paris) is a Sichuanese restaurant that’s been in Paris for a very long time but literally only locals eat there – it’s a hole in the wall, so you don’t go for the ambiance. Order the marmite de boeuf, peanut salad, aubergine and minced pork, and the steamed whole sea bass.”