Eat for the weather you have
Paris in June is... rainy and grey. So, I've swapped seasonal salads for heartier burgers and fish and chips, and as there's no glasses of chilled rosé on sunny terraces, here's what's on this month.
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Eat for the weather you have, is what I’ve decided. I started the season with fresh tomato salads and all the asparagus I could get. But I’ve stalled at strawberries, melon and cherries… There’s such little sunshine in Paris and constant drizzle right now, that my body’s slowly U-turned of its own accord back to burgers at my favourite joint near Montmartre and fish and chips from Paris’ brilliant British brasserie, which you can read about below. If that’s not a silver lining, I don’t know what is! While we wait for summer to roll on, I’ve also thrown in some arty happenings and other indoor things I want to get around to doing while staying dry. Let’s hang in there! Roxy x
5 things on my radar this June
There might be lots happening this month, like the Tennis Open and outdoor music festivals, but the wet weather’s putting a different spin on the city this spring.
Travel back in time at Messy Nessy’s cabinet of curiosities. I’m a huge fan of Vanessa Grall, the bright mind behind Messy Nessy Chic (MNC), which started out as a blog where she shared her tales exploring the underreported secrets of Paris. MNC ended up being one of the most-read websites about Paris and beyond. Vanessa’s since released offbeat guides about Paris, New York and London, and is now opening a brick and mortar store inside the Left-Bank atelier of a retired artist. She’ll be dealing in nostalgia - so, handpicked furniture, books, antiques and fun bric à brac I know I won’t be able to resist.
Soak in all the art you want tonight, 1st June, at Nuit Blanche, which up to two years ago, used to be in October. The weather may not be up to scratch but June’s bound to be off to a good start when you see what’s on offer. So get planning with this handy map of what’s happening across Paris.
Try two of the most talked-about restaurant openings in Paris right now. Continuing on my crusade of cold-weather food, OOBATZ (Italian slang for ‘crazy’ or ‘joy’ apparently) is pizza master extraordinaire Dan Pearson’s new digs in Paris 11, where he’s whipping up sourdough pizza magic I can’t wait try (again - after his Rigamarole takeover last year). In Paris 20, chef Antoine Villard and sommelière Morgane Souris’ are serving things like delicate just-cooked sardine I really want to wrap by tastebuds around at their Dandelion bistro.
See performers like Algerian band Gnawa Diffusion and do a spot of flea market digging at the solidarity charity and movement Emmaüs’ afternoon festival on Saturday 8th June at Le Point Fort in Aubervilliers (from 2pm).
Get moving at the 42-hour Marateuf dance marathon, which celebrates a free, conscious and inclusive partying mindset, at venues like the Tradendo, Cité Fertile, Point Ephémère, Rosa Bonheur and Bellevilloise.
What else is happening in Paris in June?
If you want more things to do, check out the calendar below, which I’m constantly updating with new finds…
On the menu
While I’ve always got my eye on new restaurants, I also like to try out places that have been around for a while and are still doing a stellar job. Here are a few I tried and loved lately.
Posh Brit fix at L’Entente, Le British Brasserie. I’ve been meaning to get here ever since it opened all of seven years ago. When the owner, Oliver Woodhead came to greet me with my guest, (Florence who has her column here below each month), and heard I was English, he couldn’t quite believe I’d waited this long to try out his ‘British brasserie’ - and neither could I. Especially after digging into a feast of scotch eggs with one of the best piccalilli sauces I’ve tasted, comforting Welsh rarebit, crunchy fish and chips (the former beer battered and the later cooked thrice), and tender beef Wellington, finished off with wicked double-baked chocolate cake and sweet sticky toffee pudding. It’s what I’d been missing out on for almost a decade. And there’s more. They also do a hearty Sunday roast, and there’s even a full English breakfast at brunch on Saturday and Sunday until 4pm. It’s a one-stop-shop for everything you could possibly want in a restaurant - and pretty much everything except the Lea & Perrins sauce and Coleman’s mustard is homemade with French produce.
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