This is one of my new favorite lunch spots in Paris. Breizh Cafe Paris specializes in Breton-style galettes and crepes. Galettes are thin pancakes made from buckwheat flour.
Breizh Cafe originally started in Japan. French chef Bertrand Larcher moved to Japan and opened Japan's first creperie in Tokyo in 1995. Soon after, he opened more and more creperies, eventually opening Breizh Cafe in locations throughout Japan and France.
Breizh Cafe Paris offers a variety of crepes (wheat flour based) and galettes (buckwheat flour based) served with various types of toppings. There are sweet dessert ones, savory ones that could double as lunch, and even vegan ones.
The first time I went I visited the Breizh Cafe in Le Marais, a trendy district in Paris filled with narrow roads, small shops, and numerous cafes. I tried a simple galette topped with salad, goat's cheese, and honey. I fell in love with the balance of savory and sweet from the goat cheese, salad and the honey.
The galette itself was thin, crispy, and had a really nice toasty flavor from the buckwheat. I was hooked.
I virtually never do this while I am on a trip, but I actually sought out the other location of this cafe (in Batignolle) and walked there the next day for lunch.
This time my eyes caught a bright green salad chock full of avocados (yum!) at a neighboring table. I essentially told the server "I'll have what she's having."
It turns out she was eating a vegan galette piled high with a gorgeous avocado salad. Although the salad was delicious, the galette did not have the same light, crispy texture as the normal galette. It was much gummier and soft, and frankly, not particularly to my liking.
In order to get my galette fix, I order a dessert galette, probably my favorite item on the entire menu: a buckwheat galette topped with honey, buckwheat ice cream, and puffed grains.
It was AMAZING. I may be biased because I love ice cream so much, but this was really the perfect combination. I absolutely loved the warm, toasty galette served with cold ice cream and honey. The crunch from the puffed grains was a plus.
We didn't expect it, but we found ourselves back in Paris in February 2020, just two months later. I brought Bryan to my favorite cafe (again - third time for me!) and I tried yet another delicious savory galette filled with spinach, pumpkin, and eggs.
Loved it.
This time, Bryan got the 3-course set lunch, which included a galette, a drink, and a crepe for dessert. Even though I love galettes, I discovered that their crepes are fantastic too!
This simple one, just topped with butter and sugar, was perfect. Even though I would not have ordered a crepe (I think I'm too in love with the galettes), I was pleasantly surprised to find out how much I enjoyed it.
General Thoughts - Breizh Cafe Paris
All in all, I have nothing bad to say about this place. I love both locations in Paris and have enjoyed excellent galettes at each place. The menus are somewhat different, although there is a decent amount of overlap. For example, the goat cheese salad version I ate my first time in Le Marais was not available at the Batignolle location.
The cafe ambiance is cozy and feels very French. The staff are friendly and they even have English language menus. In Batignolle there is a shop next door that sells buckwheat-themed items. I bought some fun artisanal buckwheat flatbread as well as a bag of buckwheat tea (sobacha), which I really, really enjoy.
Highly recommended!
Breizh Café Le Marais
109 Rue Vieille du Temple, 75003 Paris, France
Breizh Café Batignolle
Z31 Rue des Batignolles, 75017 Paris, France
