Occupying the tip of the Cité de la Musique, this quintessential Costes bros café is a swish combination of velveteen and beechwood chairs, gentle curves and straight lines, marble or wood panelling, huge aquarium windows and velvet curtains. It’s cool, but not offensively so – the quietly stylish crowd are largely too engrossed in conversation to observe the rituals of see-and-be-seen, while outside, battalions of aluminium tables and chairs mass under the cantilevered metal and glass awning, providing a fine view out towards the Grande Halle de la Villette and eight bronze lions spewing water into the fountain basin. Live jazz on some weekday nights.
