A few years back, from the balcony of my Airbnb on Boulevard Beaumarchais, I noticed a freshly painted pastel-green terrace, that stuck out like an olive on a cheese board. That olive turned out to be Maison Plisson, my first stop of the day for coffee and breakfast. I returned recently to see how things had changed.
Maison Plisson is a cafe. Maison Plisson is a restaurant. Maison Plisson is a boulangerie, a fromagerie, an épicerie… you get the idea. They say never do your grocery shopping hungry, so we sit to sample the wares before dropping eye-watering amounts of coin on the produce.
Gazpacho of tomato and strawberries whets the appetite in sufficient fashion, and goes down well with a couple of the trendy cocktails, that for some reason, come pre-bottled.
The Caprese Salad’s presentation tips its hat only slightly to Nouvelle Cuisine, and its flavour is enhanced (surprisingly) buy the peppering of Pineapple.
The plating relaxes itself to the tempo of the cafe itself when the Steak Tartare arrives, crowned modestly with Parmesan and flanked by rustically cut hunks of potato that I would’t dare call a fry, nor a wedge.
The Terrace at Maison Plisson is the perfect place to watch the world go by, perhaps with an Aperol Spritz, which they do well. And once you’re sufficiently liquored-up, go grab some groceries for later! That is, if you’ve brought your Gold Amex.
I must say, however, I can attest to the greatness in quality in some of the products sold here. They have a Spanish prosciutto that will melt your face, but makes the Sydney housing market look like the first few squares of the monopoly board.
The cheese selection is comprehensive enough to cover all the greatest hits of French Fromage, whilst not being the widest selection in the city. And never fear! If you’re the kind of person who only buys carrots with the dirt still on them, you’ll find those just behind you, in the wooden palate by your feet.
So sit, drink, eat, shop and watch… Maison Plisson is almost everything this city has to offer in a one-stop-shop. Minus the Louvre maybe.
Maison Plisson
93 Boulevard Beaumarchais
75003
Paris, France