3:02 AM  

Le Bal

What:  Le Bal Café Where:  6 Impasse de la Défense 75018 (18ème arrondissement) Web:  www.le-bal.fr/ When:  Wed-Fri 12pm-2:30pm, 8pm-10...

What: Le Bal Café

Where: 6 Impasse de la Défense 75018 (18ème arrondissement)

Web: www.le-bal.fr/
When: Wed-Fri 12pm-2:30pm, 8pm-10:30pm; Sat 11:30am-3pm, 8pm-10:30pm; Sun 11am-4pm
Métro: Place de Clichy (lines 2 and 13)
Price for a café crème: 3.90E
Food: Wide range

This is the closest (real coffee) café to my house, just up the road from Place de Clichy, sneakily tucked away in the Impasse de la Défense, with a lot going for it. I remember talking to the barista once, a Melbournian expat coffee master who used to help organise the Frog Fight barista competition/coffee appreciation party that sometimes takes place on a monthly basis. She spoke (excellent French), but her coffee really did the talking. This is the place that helped me win over my Franco-Swiss, formerly-only-Café-Richard-drinking flatmate to the cause. Of course Télescope sealed that particular deal.

It's attached to Le Bal art gallery, which makes it a nice and cultural place to sip on one of their beautiful brews. The weekend is brunch time, so the crowds get pretty overwhelming and the relatively small number of waitstaff can make it a slow affair. I've never had the pleasure of lunching or brunching there, but it looks like they have some pretty talented chefs in the kitchen, who, by the way, do a real English breakfast. 

The coffee is usually quite nice, definitely not my first preference as it can be a bit milky sometimes, but still a tasty cup. Last time I went there my friends were convinced that the barista had used UHT milk, although he assured us otherwise. I believe him.

When the weather is nice you can get a takeaway and sit in the park just across the alleyway. Otherwise it's quite close to the Montmartre Cemetery and rue Caulaincourt, not bad areas for a jaunt on a sunny afternoon. Head straight up rue Caulaincourt and approach the Sacré Coeur from behind - it'll save you all the tourist chaos of the other routes and it's a really nice walk besides. You can also turn right at Place de Clichy and head down Boulevard des Batignolles towards Parc Monceau. There are some nice shops in rue des Batignolles (as well as "Le Meilleur Kebap de Paris") and a good pedestrian zone in rue de Lévis.

Once again, I'm fairly sure they'd have wifi but I've never stayed for long enough to need it.  These guys also get their beans from Café Lomi. Good work. It does, however, have extremely awkward opening hours (although despite what's written on the net I could have sworn I'd been there in between 2-8pm) and is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, which has been annoying on more than one occasion, but I suppose everyone needs a weekend.

Enjoy their cappuccino, (what looks like) delicious food, and check out the art gallery if you're so inclined. Also, have fun with the crowds on line 13 if that's how you choose to get there.

-Good Coffee In Paris

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