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Café Madam

What:  Café Madam Where:  150 rue Saint Denis 75002  (2ème arrondissement) Web:  www.cafemadam.fr When:  Tue-Sun 10am-8pm ...

What: Café Madam

Where: 150 rue Saint Denis 75002 (2ème arrondissement)

Web: www.cafemadam.fr

When: Tue-Sun 10am-8pm

Métro: Réaumur-Sébastopol (lines 3,4); Etienne Marcel (line 4)
Price for a café crème: 4.50E

Food: Lots of stuff 

Situated amongst the charming array of sex shops and brothels of one of Paris' oldest streets, la rue St. Denis, this fairly recent 'new wave'-style café gives fussy coffee drinkers yet another, relatively central place to go and enjoy a tasty brew.

It opened up about seven months ago and has since gathered quite the loyal following, from what I've seen. They get their beans from Café Coutume, who make them a custom "Café Madam" blend, and craft them into wonderful caffeinated creations on their spectacular yellow Marzocco machine.

Despite the high standard of the coffee they serve, it isn't their main focus, with a whole slew of quality bites (baked goods from Gontran Cherrier) and some good Lebanese-inspired food on offer, along with a range of other delicious beverages to sip on. You can make the most of the Parisian institution of the Sunday brunch at Café Madam, with their three different formules at 14, 17 and 19 euros each. The interior of the café has a cool, relaxed vibe with minimalistic décor and a few proud proclamations scrawled over the walls, taken from the lyrics of Loverboy's 1981 hit, Working for the Weekend. They also have free wifi, some cocktails and a few different types of organic beer and wine. 

As far as walks in the area go, you're really spoilt for choice, so I'll just give you a few personal favourites. There are the obvious pedestrian areas of rue Montmartre and rue Montorgueil if you want a casual, cultured stroll, and then there's Beaubourg (Centre Georges Pompidou) and the Grands Boulevards (restaurants/bars/clubs). If you want some curious indoor shopping options, avoid the overcrowded and dodgy Forum des Halles and instead have a look at les Passages Couverts. These glass-roofed arcades are sprawled out across the city and contain some interesting little shops and other businesses. The closest ones are le Passage Jouffroy, le Passage du Grand-Cerf and le Passage du Caire. There's also a great place for some mint tea if you are so inclined, called Riad Nejma, which is just near the Centre Pompidou and serves very reasonably-priced mint tea in a beautiful restaurant filled with North African décor.

So next time you're in rue St. Denis and need to get away from it all, pop into the sanctuary of Café Madam to add a bit of colour to your day.

-Good coffee in Paris

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