I have a great recommendation for a casual Paris meal: Au Coeur du Marais in the 3rd arrondissement. This was a spontaneous choice; I was supposed to meet my husband somewhere nearby after my Textile Tour of Paris. But having a Paris restaurant plan is only as good as how spontaneous you can be along the way. In this case, he stopped here first for a beer while waiting for me and was made to feel so welcome that we just stayed. It was a great decision; the super-cool retro decor along with the friendly waitstaff made it a real pleasure to relax and eat there. The food was excellent, and everything aligned just so to make this one of our top restaurant experiences in Paris.
Menu
We went classic and simple: a croque monsieur for me and a croque madame for him. The croque monsieur, literally “mister crunchy” is basically a toasted ham and cheese with béchamel sauce. It’s been popular in Paris for over 100 years, ever since bistro owner Michel Lunarca ran out of baguette and substituted pain de mie, a classic loaf bread, for his sandwich special. The rest is history; Proust even mentions the croque monsieur along with the famous Madeleine in In Search of Lost Time.
But back to our meal: we the sandwiches came with a small green salad, and we each got an order of pommes frites. The fries and sandwiches were all served piping hot, and the egg yolk on top of the croque madame was perfectly runny.
Add a poached egg to the croque monsieur to make it a croque madame.
The classic croque monsieur at Au Coeur du Marais
Here’s a photo of the menu that was available at lunchtime. There’s a range of hot and cold dishes, including vegetarian. They also have a full bar.
Decor
I really loved the decor, almost a French twist on American diner type of style. Tabletops are shiny cherry red or bright yellow, red and blue geometric patterns surround the windows, and the neon touches around the bar, as you can see above on the featured photo, make it totally Instagrammable. Here’s another view:
As a note: the bathroom at Au Coeur du Marais was on the same level as the restaurant and was clean and stocked.
All fueled up after lunch, we headed off to the crazy and wonderful Museum of Hunting and Nature a couple of blocks away. Have you heard about this place? It’s also worth a stop!
Details
Au Coeur de la Marais
56 Rue des Archives, 75004 Paris, France
Has outdoor seating · Serves vegetarian dishes · Has Wi-Fi
Hours: 7:30AM – 2AM M-F and 8AM – 2AM Saturdays and Sundays
