© Paris je t'aime - Marc Bertrand
Eternal France is written with a capital F in this festive bistro, with its red-checked tablecloths, aligot and the lady who butters the inside of the well-baked baguette with a huge lump visible behind the counter. Homemade terrine is also available as a sandwich filling.
The sando (Japanese sandwich) has been a hit in Paris for a few years now, and the ones at Benchy, a tiny stall, are worth a detour, starting with the tamago sando, the one with scrambled eggs and soft-boiled eggs, mayonnaise and yuzu (citrus) paste encased in a deliberately ultra-moist sandwich bread called shokupan. There are also sweet versions with cream and fresh fruit.
You're not at l’hôtel Ritz, but in the palace boutique opened next door to celebrate the talent of in-house pastry chef François Perret. In this pocket-sized place (where you can eat on the go), you'll find viennoiseries and sandwiches that are ultra-aesthetic and long on the outside. The jambon-beurre is a little gem with a flaky bread base.
Everyone knows the sweet, moist buns - the famous babkas - from Babka Zana. But the shop also serves delicious, plump and comforting sandwiches. We're particularly partial to the “Tunisian”, with potatoes, Greek olives, hard-boiled egg, crumbled tuna and a virgin sauce.
Vegetable-based sandwiches on the banks of the canal Saint-Martin, that's the promise of Alice Tuyet, a young restaurateur in vogue at the moment. Candied, cooked, raw or breaded vegetables come to hibernate in ciabatta bread. Serve with pommes allumettes. And last but not least, there's homemade ice cream with topping sauce and toppings prepared on site.
The Mega Mega is the name of the star sandwich at Snack Attack, a (takeaway only) business that you can walk past 100 times without seeing it. The Mega Mega: focaccia, tomato sauce, beef meatballs and melted provolone cheese. The brainchild of Orly Zeitoun, an American who knows what a real sandwich is.
It's also a takeaway only, but this is the kingdom of the bánh mì, a Vietnamese sandwich that fits inside a baguette with meat (or not) and crudités (always). We owe this little store, which also prepares doughnuts with a South Asian flavour, to the Singaporean coffee shop and restaurant The Hood, just opposite. In the bánh mì, the choice of protein is yours: homemade pork charcuterie, homemade chicken liver pâté, wok-fried eggplants with rice vinegar, chilli and garlic, or simply two fried eggs with butter.
We love this bistro-sandwich shop with its creative cuisine, whether on a plate or in a sandwich. There are only regulars on the premises, and they understand that we're dealing with a nugget. The star of the show is the pain brioché, with a new filling every day. On our visit: Perche lamb that melts in the mouth, sesame cream, mayonnaise, crunchy red cabbage, melted Emmental cheese... A little landscape like a cuddly blanket between two slices of bread.
La Fille du Boucher is a hangout for the neighborhood's North African Jews, but not only. A joyful atmosphere is guaranteed, and the place is usually packed with people. One of the sandwiches you won't want to miss is the boulettes de boeuf, topped with small pieces of tomato and cucumber, a cumin sauce, onions and parsley, all squeezed into a round, soft matlouh loaf (typical of the Maghreb).
In the USA, the tuna melt is a sandwichesque institution that has been delighting diners across the country since the 1960s. Imagine a club sandwich with crumbled tuna, mayonnaise, pickles and melted cheese. Janet has a whole range of sandwiches on her menu (hot dogs, egg sandwiches, pastrami, smoked turkey...) including several tuna melts. You can trust the young founder, who was crowned world champion of the lobster roll (another iconic American delicacy) on the other side of the Atlantic.
It's a brasserie with a lot going for it: aesthetically pleasing, right in the middle of the gare de Saint-Lazare and with a menu devised by the Michelin-starred chef Éric Frechon. The good news is that, from 3pm to 11pm, you'll find a buttery ham called Le Parisien, priced at a bargain (8 euros) for such an address, since you'll be seated. Fine ham (“Prince de Paris”) and baguette spread on both sides, no jealousy.
At Panade, Merouan Bounekraf's “Boulangerie-Pâtisserie-Cuisinerie” (season 10 of Top Chef), there are two permanent sandwiches with the “Maestro” at the top of the bill: organic corn bread topped with oyster mushrooms worked and smoked like kebab, a few cubes of smoked tofu, shallot confit, mimolette and garlic fromage frais. A colossus big enough for two. Don't forget the pâtisseries en trompe l'œil.
Here, the club-sandwich gets a makeover in a sixties-style orange atmosphere. The honeycombed bread is home to a Caesar-style chicken or a beef bourguignon-style composition. You can nibble standing up or at the table over a glass of natural wine in this cool neighborhood cave opened in late 2023 by four friends still in their twenties. In the evening, the menu also includes small plates to share.
Eyal Shan, une des figures de proue de la scène culinaire israélienne (et juge depuis 10 ans de l’émission MasterChef locale), ambiance Paris depuis 2013 avec Miznon ("buffet" en hébreu). Le rendez-vous des amateurs de pitas humides et moelleuses avec plus de 15 recettes à la carte : bœuf bourguignon, choux farcis à l’agneau… Et plusieurs propositions végétales. Un restaurant enfumé et vibrant, avec playlist hip-hop jazz.
Eyal Shan, one of the leading figures on the Israeli culinary scene (and a 10-year judge on the local TV show MasterChef), has been in Paris since 2013 with Miznon (“buffet” in Hebrew). The place to be for lovers of moist, fluffy pitta bread, with over 15 recipes on the menu: beef bourguignon, cabbage stuffed with lamb... and several vegetarian options. A smoky, vibrant restaurant, with a hip-hop jazz playlist.
The young self-taught chef and social networking star (nearly 400,000 followers on Instagram), who also runs the Balcon restaurant on the toit-terrasse of Galeries Lafayette, offers hallah (a traditional Jewish soft brioche bread) at Micho (his nickname). Big, juicy sandwiches to take away via the guillotine or served by the plate and at the table. Crushed beef kebab, chicken aioli, green asparagus and wild garlic pesto... The menu changes according to the seasons.
Une épicerie dans tous les guides touristiques mais toujours authentique grâce à Solo Raveloson, propriétaire de très longue date. Le spécialiste en viandes porcines expose toscan au poivre, cebo de campo ibérique, bourguignon persillé, vosgien fumé au foin ou encore cochon noir de Bigorre (le Roll’s Royce des jambons à 200 euros le kilo)… À glisser dans une semi-baguette tradition tartinée de beurre avec au choix : fromage de brebis basque, Saint-Nectaire ou Fourme d’Ambert. Mieux vaut éviter les heures de pointe, la file d’attente peut être longue.
A grocery store in all the tourist guides, but still authentic thanks to long-time owner Solo Raveloson. The pork specialist offers Tuscan pork with pepper, Iberian cebo de campo, marbled bourguignon, hay-smoked Vosgien or cochon noir de Bigorre (the Roll's Royce of hams at 200 euros per kilo)... Slip into a semi-baguette tradition spread with butter and your choice of Basque ewe's milk cheese, Saint-Nectaire or Fourme d'Ambert. It's best to avoid peak hours, as queues can be long.
This is perhaps the best croque-monsieur in Paris. At Michelle Mabelle's corner restaurant Candide, it's served with a double dose of Emmental, Montalet ham and a blend of crème fraîche and Parmesan instead of béchamel. Buns by Thierry Breton, pulled pork or veg depending on the season, are accompanied by addictive pommes pailles sprinkled with Cajun spices.
Gargantuan buns to sip on after a workout. That's the promise of Silo, a coffee shop with a basement gym. For lunch, the brioche buns are topped with marinated, pulled pork or the winning trio of chicken, bacon and avocado. For early risers, the breakfast bun with scrambled or fried egg is the perfect way to start the day.
New York-style bagels could be Bake's currency. Céline Tran, who has worked Thierry Marx and the acclaimed Parisian bakery Ten Belles, kneads and bakes her hole-in-the-wall loaves every day. In the window, traditional salmon-cream cheese or egg salad coexist with a more original banh mi bagel. Sausage rolls and sourdough focaccia make even the most indecisive come back for more.
This spot of sandwiches is still too little known by Parisians. On rue Sedaine, Simon innovates daily with brasserie-style “plat du jour” items. Rosbeef-green beans, hot dog with Alsatian knack or bun gorgonzola-pears, you can come back every day of the week without ever eating the same “dwich”.
Sometimes you just need to make an excellent sandwich to be a good sandwich shop. And Solal has mastered the art of the sabich - the traditional Jewish sandwich served in pita bread. This unique sandwich is filled with fried eggplant, marinated hard-boiled egg, potatoes, crudités and no less than four sauces (hummus, tahini, amba and zhoug).
Every morning, Elodie picks up a huge loaf of bread from Utopie (a multi-prime bakery), which she cuts up herself to transform it into a "bistronomic sandwich ”. She relies on the excellence of the products in her grocery-sandwich store, and she succeeds! The classic (ham on the bone, 24-month Comté, caramelized onions, semi-salted butter and spinach shoots) is a must-try for a lunch break in the square du Temple.
