Coutume — Restaurant in Paris

Exceptional coffee, exceptional brunch. IN PARIS?!?!?

This is for Emperor Norton:

Brunch? In Paris? WAIT WAAaaait.... diversity in selection, for BRUNCH, in PARIS? Served in a coffee house that has depth, consistency, and stellar coffee.

But what Emperor Norton is doing would be precarious if it wasn't so well executed. Paris is not known for Brunch, but one must start somewhere, and while many look at purveyors of new concepts as daring or risky, sometimes someone is just prescient, and dialed into trends. I think Emperor Norton saw a need, and beat the curve on a new trend. It will give them the time needed to improve upon their excellent skills and menu. I imagine they will only end up more in demand, and likely move to a bigger spot in the future. As I understand, the kitchen is not the most expansive or efficient. Any other reviewers problems might be due, in large part, to their restrictions with the setup. Coutume cafe should be happy to have them as long as possible.

Emperor Norton evolves traditional breakfast fare, by adding subtle touches to some egg dishes, while creating absolutely foreign concepts for the city - like a breakfast burrito, or scrambled eggs and salsa on chips, etc. It's wonderful to enter a place and be completely surprised by the menu - it was unexpected, and completely refreshing. It was a welcome change from the traditional fare... and a marked departure from the carboloaded breakfast we are used to.

This is by no means a pretentious fine dining experience - this is a modern take on CA Fresh Mexican diner morning food. They are producing tastes that are not uncommon to some of the best breakfast joints throughout the west coast of the US.

The food is exceptional, the coffee is EPIC (see previous Coutume review), and it's something we can't wait to return to... not just to eat again, but to see how they grow and evolve.

This is the start of something very rare, fun, exceptional in Paris, and I can't wait to see how these innovators lead the way.

This is for Coutume:

Is this from an American viewpoint? Yes.

I love France. It's epic. The only thing I couldn't get the hang of was ordering "café". I usually got an espresso, etc. I don't know what I was doing wrong, but I was with french speakers the whole time. An iced coffee ended up espresso on ice. It's all good... I dig that I am a cultural immigrant. I was patient. Then I came to Coutume.

Stellar service - kind, patient, and professional. They suffered my Americanism with grace and class. They also excel at coffee in a way few places in Paris understand. Multiple types of brewing, shockingly good foaming.... I don't need to ramble on to make the point:

This is 5 star coffee in a city with 2 star options for hot caffeine. The post dinner espresso is ubiquitous, but anything else is trouble to find. Coutume produces such quality coffee, I greedily had so much I was vibrating my surroundings for about 6 hours.

Expertly brewed, expertly served, and delicious. It's a demur, unpretentious place.... but an exceptional treat nonetheless. We wouldn't have found it if it weren't for Emperor Norton, so I would consider their brunch team a big help in getting the word out about this exceptional coffee...

Breakfast is my favorite meal. I will use sharp elbows to box out a monk if they got in my way of stuffing my face with carbs, protein and fats alongside my coffee first thing in the morning.. believe it

Coming off a long morning run.. and 36 hour fast.. was nearing self combustion in search for the ideal brekkie spot in Paris

To say Cafe Coutume delivered would be akin to saying Michael Jordan played basketball once

Cafe Coutume’s claim to fame is their mission to revolutionize coffee culture in France.. from ethical, sustainable sourcing to serving it up across eco-friendly accoutrements

But.. their food is just as fuego ..

Couldn’t decide between two large plates.. so did what any reasonable person would do.. got them both

Pancakes w/ bacon (substituted bacon for mushrooms) and two fried eggs.. A pancake is a thin, flat circular piece of cooked batter.. made from milk, flour.. and egg.. these pancakes, however, were the sort that had graced the hearths of so many Parisian homes.. lightly puffed, browned and heavenly sweet. Three beautiful layers of light, buttery goodness with just a tease of sweet.. stacked underneath two perfectly circular fried eggs.. accompanies with a side mixed green salad and bowl of sautéed mushrooms.. no ornate blueberries and cream cascading down.. no fancy syrups.. just a side of simple organic maple syrup.. and that’s all she wrote.

Scrambled eggs w/ ricotta cheese.. Ricotta has never been my favorite cheese. In fact, have never deliberately ordered it at any restaurant. Was on the fence here but they had no other cheese.. and when the server saw me hesitating, she apologized for making a recommendation and gave me the kind of head nod that implied ‘you’re an idiot if you don’t try this here.’ Okay.. here we go.. This was hands down the best ricotta cheese I’ve ever had. In fact, I don’t even want to call it ricotta cheese since it was SO FAR OFF the beaten path for what Americans have been lead to believe is ricotta cheese. This was like a light whipped cream mixed into rich bold ice cream like cloud.. Turns out they make the ricotta in-house.. and it’s one of their most popular items.. with a side of eggs.. or even alongside pancakes.. it’s a must order

Btw the coffee here lived up to the hype.. AWESOME spot, contender for best brekkie in Paris.. and service that makes you feel well...

Coutume Cafe, located on a bustling street in Paris' 7th Arrondissement, is a hip, thoughtfully designed shop with all the best ingredients to make it a delightful coffee experience (listed here in no particular order):

a clean, white tile counter top bar that is easily visible on your right just after you walk into the shop;

open doors to circulate fresh air and let the delicious coffee smell waft out into the street;

tall windows and ceiling that splash daylight throughout the cafe;

coffee and all the coffee swag neatly displayed for sale throughout the cafe;

ample space, including quaint two-tops, a bar, long communal tables, and a quiet nook tucked away in the back;

an in-house roaster and cold-brew drip station set up, which invites both the casual customer and the coffee connoisseur to join Coutume’s maker experience;

super friendly and knowledgeable baristas who are willing to spend time chatting about the beans, their favorite drinks, and anything else you want to talk about;

and of course, most importantly, the product we all go to coffee shops to find: flavorful, thoughtfully crafted coffee

I loved the Coutume vibe (and coffee!) so much that I visited the shop four times during my week in Paris. Using a V60 pour over, they brewed a Typica varietal from Laos – specifically from the village of Phou Oy in the Bolaven Plateau – with strong notes of citrus and green tea. I have to admit, I didn’t love the aftertaste of the first few sips, but as the coffee cooled the bitterness of the green tea softened and mixed nicely with the sweetness of the citrus. On my last day in Paris I bought a bag of freshly roasted Burundi beans that I’m excited to grind...