Breakfast at Coquelicot – Montmartre, Paris

You know how much I love breakfast – and on a sunny Saturday morning in Montmartre, where there's a boulangerie on every street corner, I love it even more. Yes, the air was permeated with that smell of freshly baked bread, and the sun-fuelled endorphins were sky high, but Coquelicot could have won me over whatever the weather.

I don't think I could ever give up bread, there's just too much to taste in one lifetime. I wonder what's the secret of French bread? It can't be beat, I know that much. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like this anywhere in the UK, have you?

 

Coquelicot had a breakfast deal for about €5 which included a french baguette and a bowl of whatever hot drink you want – I opted for a black coffee and Jess picked the hot chocolate.

And they were actual bowls.

Like cereal bowls. Jess' hot chocolate was the frothiest, creamiest and chocolatiest we had both ever tasted and, size-wise, perfect.

The bread came with jams and butter – blackcurrant and apricot, so, so yum.

And as if the bread wasn't enough I ordered a cravat, too. This beautiful pastry was filled with custard and chocolate chips and lasted me the whole day... and the next day, too. 

We loved Coquelicot so much that we went back on Sunday. The service was friendly although not the speediest or most consistent. However, the food and drink were fantastic and the fact that the waitresses were happy to speak to us in English made the experience one worth returning for - I definitely recommend it to anyone visiting Montmartre. Find out more here.

Le Cafe du Commerce – Montmartre, Paris

After a day of traveling in rising temperatures, cocktails and french fries in a down to earth bar is exactly the remedy. Jess and I had arrived in Paris and wanted to spend our first evening catching up with some good food and drink. I had done a little bit of research and read good things about Le Cafe du Commerce. We wanted something simple in a chilled-out setting and that's exactly what we got. 

First things first: mojitos and moreish salty popcorn (they know how to make their customers stay put). When it's hot and the streets show no sign of slowing down, food and drink tastes about 10 times better. We ordered fries that came piled high on a plate with a fantastic array of condiments on the side.

A few more cocktails later and I ordered some more food because the fries were gone within minutes... yummy mozzarella and tomato skewer with fresh pesto and some french bread. Oh, how I love french bread. We enjoyed all of this on the terrace where we people-watched all night. It was the perfect way to end a week at work and start an adventure in Paris.

 

The food and drink was really great here, and the service was good, too. The staff were so friendly – they could probably tell we were tourists so took the time to come and chat to us, something I've never seen in the UK. Jess even had a photo with one of the waiters. 

If you're in Montmartre I highly recommend a visit to Le Cafe du Commerce. It's a chilled out, unpretentious bar with lots of character and everyone is welcome – at least, that's the feeling we got.
Find out more here or read the review that persuaded me to go in the first place.

A French Breakfast - Le Pain Quotidien

When I was little, my family and I used to go on holiday to France. I made scrapbooks to take back to school in September, and my dad helped me stick all my tickets and wrappers from every aspect of the holiday in my special book. One thing I remember glueing onto one of the pages was the thin paper of a french stick of bread. Every morning we would walk to the boulangerie to get fresh bread for the day, and, sometimes, for a special treat - a pain au chocolat. We would eat bread for breakfast, lunch and tea, (with other things), smothering it with Boursin, butter or eating it plain, on its own. My favourite way was to stuff it with squares of chocolate - soft, chewy, crispy, sweet and delicious.

I haven't been to France in years, and I miss it! So, on our last day of our trip to London a few weeks ago, I dragged my sister Sarah along to Le Pain Quotidien for a breakfast reminiscent of hot summer mornings in an isolated village in France. It is one of my favourite places to go for breakfast and as true to a French breakfast experience as any that my memory serves.

At Le Pain Quotidien there is a decent range of dishes to choose from for breakfast, but I knew what I wanted: bread, coffee and orange juice.

It was a good thing the Petit Déjeuner was listed on the menu because it was exactly what I fancied. I ordered a black Americano and a pain au chocolat as my choice of hot drink and pastry.

I love how they serve their hot drinks in little bowl cups. I think this is a particularly French thing, although I have never had coffee from a bowl anywhere else.

Sarah ordered a spelt and quinoa scone – which sounds healthy for something usually indulgent – and a cup of tea.

One of my favourite things about Le Pain Quotidien is the range of spreads and condiments they have laid out on the table. I asked for more, because I wanted the entire range to choose from, and the waiter happily obliged, going into a secret cupboard where lots of jars of chocolate spreads were hidden. Pictured above is just a few of them. My favourite was the Noir spread – a dark chocolate spread, thick and delicious like a slightly hardened ganache.

My basket of bread and pastry arrived and I devoured all but two slices of the bread which I just had no room for. Why is bread for breakfast so good? I'd like to go to France this summer. Even if it's just to Calais, a trip through my childhood town of Dover and a journey on the ferry would be a nostalgic treat in itself.

Have you been to Le Pain Quotidien? I would love to visit some other French restaurants for breakfast (or lunch/tea!) so if you know of any, please let me know in the comment box below or tweet me @hello_flower