After a long hiatus, the “Perfect Café” series is back, now reporting from Paris!
I’m writing on a snowy Sunday afternoon from the 10th Arrondissement, where there’s a canal that I hardly knew existed before stumbling upon its mention in a series of helpful Yelp reviews (for the record, it’s called Canal Saint-Martin and is near Gare d’Est).
Just down the street from this quaint, wintry scene is Café Craft, a warm haven for laptop-toting students, work-centered coffee lovers, and the occasional pair of conversationalists. The relatively small space offers a medley of espresso concoctions, tasty baked goods (their banana bread is divine), and soft, relaxing tunes that range from jazz/easy-listening to folky alternative-pop.
Despite it’s tiny store front, the café accommodates a surprising amount of people — it’s really easy to settle down here for a few hours, either on your laptop at the (very popular) long table with other internet-browsers or on the little couch corner in the back. The latter is more conducive to sitting back and enjoying your cup o’ joe than doing reading, but, given a lack of alternatives, I can assure you it’s not a bad spot to get some work done. It’s well-lit throughout by a collection of modern light fixtures and has practical little additions (like hooks on the wall to hang your coat) that made me feel right at home. And, best of all, the bathroom is spotlessly clean.
This distinctly Parisian café, with its good coffee and mod decor, reminds me of Seoul’s café culture, one of the things I miss most about Korea. The ambiance is great and the coffee is ridiculously expensive (shoulda checked the prices before I ordered… 8 euro for coffee & banana bread!!). But, as in Korea, you end up paying for the wifi and the hours you spend on their couch. I know there must be more (hopefully cheaper) cafés like this in Paris; all I have to do now is find them.
Café Craft
24 rue des Vinaigriers, 75010 Paris (10ème Arrondissement)
Metro lines 4/5/7, Gare d’Est/Jacques Bonsergent