Graines du Jour — Restaurant in Paris

This place is a hidden gem on the busy Rue Mouffetard which is packed with good restaurants. The food here is absolutely amazing and I can’t say enough good things about this place. I would rate it as among the best restaurants on and near Rue Moufettard. This place is mainly a dessert shop but they have a fantastic lunch special menu every day except Monday, and the set lunch menu items change every day and are displayed vividly on colorful chalkboard drawings at the entrance. I have been there many times for the set lunch and it has never disappointed me. The lunch dishes are fresh, creative and exquisite in tastes. Ah I forgot to mention, all their dishes are vegetarian (perhaps even vegan most of the times), and the main source of protein is tofu: this is a shop that specializes in tofu and their lunch menus usually feature main dishes with tofu. You do not have to be vegetarian to appreciate how delicious their tofu lunch is. Just when I thought “how many different ways can one cook tofu?” They surprised me with a new tofu dish, a new flavor, a new style of cooking tofu, every single time. As a meat-eater, this is the only vegetarian restaurant in Paris that I would prefer over a meat-based meal. Congratulations to the chef for being creative with tofu, and for making excellent vegetarian Taiwanese tofu lunches. As an Asian American, I can say this place is top-notch even by Californian standards, and I’m so surprised to have found it in Paris.

Their dessert tofu fleur is of course excellent— it’s not too sweet and has a perfect texture with soft tofu accompanied by peanuts, red beans, herbal jelly, etc. If you like Asian desserts, this place is perfect for you. They also have house made pastries, lots of beverages (matcha latte is also the best I’ve ever had even by Californian standards).

They have a clean toilet, power sockets, both indoor and outdoor seating. No WiFi. Perhaps the only thing I don’t like so much is that they don’t accept...

I enjoyed my food (the tofu dish with beans and tapioca) as a breakfast. However, the service is so slow as to make the experience uncomfortable. We were the only guests, at 10.15 on a Friday. From when we ordered (tofu and two coffees) it took more than 20 minutes for any part of the order to arrive. The tofu is the only “prepared” dish on offer (the rest is muffins, cookies, etc), so this delay was bizarre. Other customers came for take-away and the service took a very long time for each of them. I enjoyed having this option for a light yet filling vegan breakfast, but would hesitate...

We ordered an iced latte with cinnamon and an iced matcha latte. Both tasted very watery, the almond milk was overpowering. For the matcha latte I barely tasted the matcha, and it tasted bad point blank. I asked for more matcha and more syrup (because there was no sweetener) which the waitress kindly added. While it was now drinkable it was still not even decent. I am very disappointed especially considering the price and the high reviews.

I am an avid coffee drinker and I have had good matcha before, this is not it.

Maybe their other beverages and foods are good but I would avoid ordering...