Staying in the 1st arr. between Madeline and Le Palais de L’Élysée and looking for recommendations for places to do light grocery shopping, bread, cheese, charcuterie, veggies. We have usually stayed in the 6th and loved shopping at the shops of Rue Cler, or La Grande Epicerie de Paris, bread at Poilane, etc.
Would love some recommendations near our current location.
Thank you!
There ia a MONOP at Madelaine (9 BD DE LA MADELEINE) where you could pick up the items you list. Limited choice but usually something that fits a category. We love shopping the bigger Monoprix food halls. The venue at 26 rue d’Astorg (43 boulevard Malesherbes) should be more comprehensive.
1 Like
Thank you - I know that MONOP!
I am looking for more ‘gourmet’ fancy options.
Don’t underestimate ‘regular’ supermarkets in Paris. I was positively surprised by the Franprix in the 6th - excellent veggie, meat and wine section.
3 Likes
Indeed. Also look for upmarket branded cheeses, superb house brand charcuterie (like rillettes), and excellent cultured house brand butter and, and…
1 Like
Google maps says you are 15 minutes by foot to Galleries Lafayette food hall.
2 Likes
You’ve chosen a very rarified/ boring patch of Paris to stay in… mostly commercial/ offices and a tiny resident population too small to sustain much in the way of food shops.
After years of passing through it to avoid traffic jams, I can’t remember seeing even one neighbourhood boulangerie or food shop other than the combo boulangerie/ pâtisserie/ épicerie fine/ salon de thé/ resto Bread & Roses on rue Boissy d’Anglas… limited and expensive but well chosen selection of breads, pastries (the pain au chocolat is A+), confitures, charcuterie, cheese, wine, olive oil etc but no fresh veggies.
BTW, between La Madeleine and the Palais de l’Elysée is part of the 8th, not the 1st.
You are so right on all accounts!
Appreciate your input.
Guess we will not be doing fancy grocery shopping near our base, which is ok, we can get on our bikes and go places!
Have you considered the local street markets, while maybe not gourmet, they are a awesome experience and the food can be pretty yummy. The one near the Bastille usually has a take away “of the day” which I get and have for lunch or dinner in the apartment,
Absolutely! Love the market on Boulevard Richard Lenoir on Sunday (i think) mornings.
You’re not far from the big, excellent Monoprix at Saint-Augustin. With the Caves Augé nearby for wine, you’ve got everything you need in the area.
It is also just as fancy as is necessary, La Grande Epicerie and Lafayette Gourmet having become no-go zones owing to their insane prices, and no longer having necessarily better stuff than you could find in a good Monoprix or even Carrefour location.
2 Likes
If you are biking, the rue Lévis market street (daily except all day Mon and Sun PM) is your best bet for an excellent cluster of traditional greengrocers, boucheries/ charcuteries, boulangeries, cheesemongers, fishmongers, etc. An easy 2-km pedal up the boulevard Malesherbes from your neighbourhood. Maybe a little more fun and and a better example of la vie parisienne than a visit to a supermarket.
Although just a little further away and trickier by bike from your quartier because of the one-way streets, I find the rue Poncelet near place des Ternes even better as a traditional market street and certainly much better for breads and pastries. Special mention for Boulangerie Liberté. And an excellent under-the-radar traiteur/ épicerie fine/ deli just around the corner on avenue Ternes. http://www.maisonpou.com/
Rues Poncelet and Lévis market streets are both good for cheese. 2 or 3 cheesemongers and/or affineurs each. But my own particular favourite is Martine Dubois on rue Tocqueville near rue Lévis. Maybe others prefer Fromagerie Alléosse on rue Poncelet or Fromagerie Beillevaire around the corner on rue Bayen.
1 Like
Martine Dubois’ walnut coulommiers is worth travelling across Paris for.
1 Like
Carmenere, have you ever gone to the Coulommiers Foire in, well, the town of same name? A short train ride out of Paris. Many makers, a handful of other local craftspeople, like fabulous candied fruit and an amazing chocolatier. And of course the famours cheese. Worth the ride.
1 Like
This is perfect! Exactly what I was looking for. If in a hurry, Bread and Roses, if have time will go to rue Levis.
1 Like
Totally agree. Have been staying around the area around La Grande Epicerie for the past 3-4 years or so, and could never set myself to buy anything there. The quality on display doesn’t justify those prices.
Not that the quality is poor, but anyone with access to wholesalers will have the same feeling. The only time I was tempted to buy something at La Grande Epicerie was a few years ago on the day before Christmas, when they had lots of special items of meat, ready for the oven.
1 Like
I agree as well, the prices have gone insane! There is no way I would be shopping there routinely. However, the shop is beautiful and once a year as a tourist, maybe.
2 Likes
No, I have never been to the foire de Coulommiers, but I can imagine. I’ve been to weekly markets in Meaux, Melun, and Nangis, and they are cheese lovers’ wet dreams. All avatars of Brie cheese from the fresh version — which is the best of all cream cheeses — to little-known brie noir, and much more.
1 Like
