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Bars, Hotels, Hotels - Design, Paris, Restaurants

An Amazing Dinner at Hotel Amour Paris

September 30, 2014 by cheriecity

The restaurant at Hotel Amour is one of my favourite spots in Paris for a fun, stylish night out.

Tucked away on rue Navarin in hip South Pigalle (SoPi), Hotel Amour is an affordable boutique hotel with a popular restaurant and terrace. Co-owned by the inimitable graffiti artist and entrepreneur André Saraiva (Le Baron, La Fidelité, Monsieur A.) and Thierry Costes, the hotel is always buzzing with a cool crowd of Parisian creatives, fashion folk and clued-up travellers.

Many of the rooms are designed by artists such as Pierre Le-Tan, Mark Newson and Sophie Calle and there’s plenty of erotic artwork to live up to the hotel’s name – it is in racy Pigalle, after all.

New hotels and restaurants open in Paris all the time, but there’s something timeless and sexy about Hotel Amour – it never seems to go out of style.

I knew there was nowhere else I wanted to spend my recent 30th birthday than the restaurant at Hotel Amour.

Not only does it have a great atmopshere, a romantic garden and good food, but there are also tons of great bars nearby (check out Glass, Dirty Dick, Chez Moune, Le Dépanneur and Le Mansart). Also, we were conveniently staying in the neighbourhood at the delightful Hotel Josephine.

We caught up with our Parisian friends Coralie and Sunny, who managed to secure us a fantastic table on the terrace overlooking the lush outdoor garden. The evening started on a high with an unexpected birthday present for me – a very Parisian boho-luxe leather purse (Coralie has excellent taste in accessories).

We began by ordering some cocktails – Coralie and I both went for a deliciously sweet Amaretto Sour topped with toasted almonds while Sunny and Steven went for the stronger, sharper Godfather Sour.

After ordering, we were brought a basket of really good rustic bread served with a pot of French salted butter. The butter covers are printed with the cool Hotel Amour logo and even the wine glasses are engraved with André’s signature scrawl – they sure know a thing or two about branding.

Being indecisive and deep in conversation, it took us a while to decide what to order, but our charming waitresses were so relaxed and patient. As usual, I was tempted by the Cheeseburger (€19), which was cooked perfectly medium and spiked with a jazzy cocktail stick. The lean, well-seasoned beef patty was smothered in gooey cheese and packed in a seeded demi-brioche bun.

Happily, they came with a big bowl of crispy, delicious French fries – in fact the portion size was so generous that I could easily share them with the table. On other occasions, I’ve ordered the Poulet Roti (€19), which is equally moreish and comforting.

Coralie and Steven both ordered the Gratin de Macaronis au jambon blanc (16.50). The long tubes of macaroni were perfectly cooked and baked with thick-carved, flavoursome ham and lots of cream, Emmental and Gruyère. The portion size wasn’t particularly big, but the richness of the dish made it a satisfying choice.

Sunny’s Salade de Légumes (€18) took quite a while to arrive after a Salade Nicoise was mistakenly sent out. Luckily, there were plenty of fries and bread to munch on while he was waiting.

It seemed only fair that Sunny’s Chocolate Ganache (€9.50) dessert was the clear winner. The velvety, decadent milk chocolate ganache was served on a cookie crumb and topped with toasted hazelnuts and a sprinkling of sea salt.

Coralie ordered a classic Café Gourmand (with a Mariage Frère tea instead of coffee), which included a platter of four nicely-presented mini desserts. Steven and I shared a large slice of home-made Crème Caramel. It tasted fantastic but it was comically unattractive – a large slab of bubbly cream sitting in a moat of light caramel sauce, rather than the petite, quivering desserts that I’ve had before in Paris brasseries.

Hotel Amour is great for a spot of people-watching, catching up with friends or enjoying a few cocktails on the terrace. There’s room for improvement, but its charm always wins me over and I know I’ll be lured back there time and time again.

For more information and booking, visit: www.hotelamourparis.fr

Photos by Chérie City & Hotel Amour Paris

Cafes, Paris, Patisserie

Gontran Cherrier Artisan Boulanger, Paris

January 22, 2012 by cheriecity

Gontran Cherrier is without a doubt the coolest baker in Paris, making bread more than just an accompaniment with his innovative flavours.

Gontran is a familiar celebrity chef in France and has written a number of cookbooks. His hip eponymous boulangerie on the cusp of Montmartre, 18th arrondissement, attracts a regular bobo crowd and baking fans from around the world.

Born into a family of bakers, Gontran continued the trade and studied pastry-making at L’Ecole Ferrandi followed by L’Ecole de Boulangerie et de Pâtisserie de Paris. But it was working with Alain Passard at L’Arpège and Lucas Carton at Alain Senderens that he discovered a more creative approach to food.

After travelling the world over, seeking inspiration from the everyday baked goods in various countries, Gontan came back to Paris to set up his debut boulangerie.

The bakery selection includes French classics and the more unusual gourmet sandwiches with brightly coloured buns made with natural colourants – green rocket, red paprika and black squid ink.

Other delectable choices include savoury tartes fines, bagels, buttery croissants, red berry tarts and slightly healthier natural yogurt with fruit compote.

The bakery is petite but you can sit on a stool at the window bar and read the newspapers or flick through one of Gontran’s cookbooks, over coffee and a pastry (they even provide carafes of fresh mint water).

We stopped by for a quick snack and both ordered a gruyère and lardons cheese bread for just €1. The bread was springy, moist, fresh and full of flavour. It was surprisingly substantial and makes for a cheap lunch on the go, or a late-afternoon casse-croûte.

For more info and opening hours, visit: www.gontrancherrierboulanger.com

If you love Paris boulangeries and patisseries, be sure to add Babka Zana, Sebastien Gaudard Pâtisserie and Angelina to your list.

Hotels - Design, Paris

A Great Stay at Le Citizen Hotel Paris

December 22, 2010 by cheriecity

I’ve stayed in most Paris neighbourhoods on the numerous trips to my spiritual home, but the Canal Saint-Martin has long been neglected due to the lack of hotels in the 10th… that is, until the arrival of Le Citizen Hotel.

The Canal Saint-Martin is known as the bobo heart of Paris and was the whimsical location in Amélie where she skims stones across the water and as a little girl, frees ‘le Cachalot’, her suicidal goldfish.

Location

Le Citizen Hotel is a stylish, minimalist-luxe new abode on the Quai de Jemmapes, right at the centre of the ‘canal scène‘. As the name suggests, it takes a functional, democratic approach to travel and is affordable with luxury touches.

The hotel is discreet and unmarked, accessed by pressing the buzzer on the door. Once inside, it is warm, intimate and calming, with a canteen-style lounge filled with art and design books.

The Suite

We stayed the Zen Suite on the top floor – a bright, airy open-plan room in soft muted colours with pale wood features, dark wood floors and some interesting design touches.

The most telling mark of an exceptional hotel is the bed, and our double bed was cloudlike, with sumptuous linen and simply divine. A testament to the bed’s superiority was that on arrival, we fell asleep for a good three hours (also helped by a 5.30am Eurostar train).

Add to that a flat screen 26″ TV mounted on the wall, a selection of hand picked art and design books and you’ll find it hard to actually leave your bed!

I fell in love with the landscape of structured wool cushions that made up a graduated sitting area next to the window, framing an enviable view of the Canal Saint-Martin.

I’ve made a mental note add such seating arrangements to my future ‘dream apartment’, which currently looks like a melange of my favourite hotel rooms.

The Bathroom

The blue-tiled bathroom was perfectly sized and came with plenty fluffy towels, soft bathrobes and spa toiletries by Omnisense Paris, mounted on the shower wall.

The water pressure in the shower was just right and another cool design touch was the flat disc shower head.

All the toiletries we could possibly need for our stay were presented on a slate and my favourite thing was the bottle of Omnisense Paris body oil, which had a warm vanilla scent.

A fun feature was the magic tablets, which grew into a disposable face cloth when dampened – very Japanese and fitting the to ‘zen’ outlook.

We were given an iPad to use during our stay, although we could also get complimentary WIFI access on my laptop with a log-in code.

Le Citizen have really thought about how to use the iPads as a self-concierge service and have added homepage shortcuts to information about the breakfast, minibar and hotel facility information.

To help us visitors get the best out of our stay in Paris, they have loaded the iPads with apps from ‘in the know’ travel sites, including French food bible, Le Fooding.

The mini bar and cupboard were filled with a combination of delicious healthy or indulgent snacks at a reasonable price.

The only aspect that could be improved was that housekeeping was slightly relaxed and there was no coffee or filtered water that is usually offered. As the hotel is so new, this will no doubt be brought up to speed and I’m sure the friendly staff would have obliged with replacements had we requested.

Breakfast

In the morning, Le Citizen offers a Cafe-Croissant for 5 Euros or a full continental breakfast for 12 Euros, a selection of Japanese tea and cake in the afternoon and a choice of fresh bento boxes throughout the day.

Le Citizen Hotel has been thought out to the last detail to suit the luxury budget traveller and the Zen Suite offers more value than the average Paris hotel room at the same price.

The location is perfect for experiencing the charm of the Canal Saint-Martin and the buzzing bars and restaurants of the 10th arrondissement. By the end of your stay, you’ll feel like you belong in this small neighbourhood and you’ll never want to leave…

Double rooms start from 169 Euros and the Zen Suite is priced at 249 Euros per night.

Le Citizen Hotel, 96 Quai de Jemmapes, 75010 Paris.

Must Eats in the 10e: Hotel du Nord, La Fidélité, Pink Flamingo Pizza, La Tête dans les Olives.

* Cherie City received press rates for Le Citizen Hotel.