Breizh Café – Paris’ Best Crêperie?

Breizh Café – the Parisian café revered for having best Breton crepes this side of Rennes. I had heard about this place for ages from the likes of trusted Paris food bloggers such as David Lebovitz. But the best crêpe in Paris? Let’s find out.

First off, I have to give a nod to the café’s ambiance; it was warm and bright, crowded and convivial. I had to make reservations and there were certainly a lot of tourists, but I get it- this café has quite the reputation.

And of course no French café is complete with out the omnipresent chalkboard with the specials du jour, now is it?

I was excited to meet up with Kate, from Adventurous Kate, for the first time. And I knew I was in good company when we immediately agreed to order a carafe of hard cider. Being as my host family in France owns an apple farm, I’m no stranger to apple juice in all of its wonderful and fermented forms, and this cold, apple-y concoction did not disappoint.

Next came the galette de sarrasin (just an fyi- a galette is basically a savory  crêpe made with buckwheat flour). I ordered mine as a a galette complète which comes packed with jambon de pays (country ham), a fried egg and gooey gruyère cheese. For a fall touch I also ordered mushrooms on top.

I hate to sound like a snarky food critic, but the galette was a dissapointment. First of all, the fried egg was completely cooked through. And really, is there anything better in life than a runny, golden yolk? So that was already strike-one for this yolk-lover. Also the texture of the galette was very dry and the ingredients were just decent.

Next, it was time for dessert. When I suggested to Kate that we split a dessert crêpe to save a few euros, she politely declined- and I will be ever thankful for that.

When I tasted the salted butter crêpe with apple filling and vanilla ice cream, I practically forgot my name. It was ah-may-zing. Salty plus sweet plus creamy plus cold = taste bud nirvana.

So my final review of Breizh? Delicious crêpes worth writing home about (or on your blog about, ha) but only so-so galettes. And the prices rapidly increase if you order your galette with anything but cheese and ham. Another downside is you have to make reservations- something that kind of annoys me when you’re eating at a crêperie, the most casual form of eatery on the French restaurant totem pole.

So here’s my advice; have lunch beforehand, and then come here for dessert and order apple cider and crêpes. The café is located in one of Paris’ best neighborhoods, Le Marais, so walk off the crêpes after by exploring a trendy neighborhood full of Jewish bakeries, street art and hipsters.

Psst! Here is my personal recommendation for the best galettes in Paris, Crêperie Cat’Man. And you don’t have to make reservations.  

[learn_more caption=”Location:”] Breizh Café 109, rue Vieille du Temple (map) 01 42 72 13 77 Breizh Café is closed Monday and Tuesday, but open continuously throughout the day the rest of the week. Reservations are highly recommended. They also have a café in Cancale (Brittany) and Tokyo.[/learn_more]

Did you love Breizh? Am I totally off-base? Feel free to tell me how wrong I am in the comments!