There is a little air ofEmily in Paris on place Dauphine (Paris 1st). Even on this sunless day. If there are no tourists in designer dresses or with berets on their heads, you can hardly hear French spoken at this end of the Île de la Cité, just behind the courthouse. The three people playing petanque at the end of the square certainly don’t have the accent of Pagnol or even that of a titi and even less the skill required to make a diamond. The presents, however, have a taste for sugar and that’s good. The terrace offers pastries from chefs Philippe Conticini and Jeffrey Cagnes.
How was the place imagined?
Initially, the place was a bookstore in which Philippe Conticini and Jeffrey Cagnes opened their Gesture to Emotion Workshop where they offer masterclasses. These being on break during the summer, the chefs had the idea of an ephemeral terrace “on this square in old Paris”, according to Jeffrey Cagnes to offer their pastry creations.
The dish not to be missed?
Everything will depend on your gluttony and what will be in the window. La Terrasse wants to “avoid redundancy, it’s never the same tea time”, announces Jeffrey Cagnes. The chefs pick the cakes of the day from their respective shops. When we came, we melted for the Gran Cru Vanille by Philippe Conticini (16 euros) and the blueberry tart by Jeffrey Cagnes (12 euros). And there was still room for a coffee macaroon and another with chestnuts (assortment of five macaroons 11 euros).
And for those who want to eat something salty before switching to sweet, Philippe Conticini and Jeffrey Cagnes have imagined a “small” card “without fuss” with simple dishes such as arrabiata pasta, avocado toast or Niçoise, vegan or Caesar salads.
The dish that we can redo at home?
The shell risotto (20 euros) without hesitation. To prove it, Jeffrey Cagnes launches before us in his preparation. Once the pasta is cooked, he adds plenty of fresh cream, parmesan, diced ham or salmon, finely chopped parsley, powdered nutmeg, salt and pepper. “It’s a regressive dish. I love doing it for my kids. »
The bosses’ argument for coming?
Place Dauphine, “a discovery” for Jeffrey Cagnes. “If all Parisians knew about it, there would be a lot of people,” smiles the pastry chef. The place allows you to take a break from your visit to Paris. By crossing the Pont Neuf, we go from the right bank to the left bank, if a detour by Notre-Dame is possible, we go to the square René-Viviani to admire the oldest tree in Paris and the pretty little church of Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre with a turbulent history.
How to get there ?
Nothing’s easier. The nearest metro Pont-Neuf (line 7) is a three-minute walk from 27, place Dauphine. The Cité (line 4) or Saint-Michel-Notre-Dame (RER B or C) or Châtelet (lines 1, 4, 7, 11 and 14 or RER A, B or D) stations are less than ten minutes away. We go there in the morning for a classic (9 euros) or continental (28 euros) breakfast, at noon for a dish with a pastry or at 5 p.m. for a tea time for two: two pastries, two viennoiseries, two biscuits and two hot drinks (62 euros).
La Terrasse is open 7 days a week from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. until the end of August, then will return to Saturday to Monday mode until the end of October.