A la renaissance
elevated bistro classics in a beautifully restored old café — self-service lunch buffet to candlelit dinners
Century-old Parisian café reimagined by the Candelaria duo, serving elevated bistro classics from a self-service lunch buffet to candlelit dinners. Original tiles meet fresh frescoes in this playful yet timeless neighborhood spot.
In Roquette, Paris. Easy to fold into a morning or a longer afternoon; there's usually something else worth a stop within a few minutes' walk.
À La Renaissance is a century-old café at 87 Rue de la Roquette in Paris's 11th arrondissement, revived by the team behind Candelaria and Le Mary Celeste with chef Min Wou Choi (ex-Le Dauphin). The Infatuation calls its food genuinely good 'for the first time in at least 30 years,' praising the beef tartare with fries and a bearnaise-soaked flounder, with a vegetarian vol-au-vent also on offer. Lunch runs as an affordable self-service buffet (oeufs mayo, beet salad) with a daily-changing main, while dinner is a moodier, cozier candlelit affair; the terrace draws espresso-sippers by day and natural-wine drinkers by night. The main drawback reviewers flag is the loud noise level, notable even at early dinner. Signals are well-corroborated between the curator notes and press.