After party
Pochana, Jardin du Luxembourg listings, Poilâne, Heimat by Wairis Dirie, Hotel Lutetia, best Côte d’Azur hotels, Bistrot des Rosiers, MORE
RESTAURANTS • First Person
Réservations via dm
“Have you been here yet?” I DM’ed my friend Jon Bonné, sending the Instagram profile for Pochana. The 10-seater debuted in December in the natural wine-heavy stretch of the 11th arrondissement straddling the Marais and Oberkampf, an easy bar hop from Folderol and Delicatessen Place. The restaurant’s Instagram grid showcased a mere trio of photos — no details on the menu or chef, no website or telephone number — just a simple bio: “Thai bites et vins sympas.”
“Ha, no… I tried to go Wed and Thurs but they were fully booked,” texted back Jon, a fellow food and wine writer who owns an apartment in the neighborhood. “Dying to go.”
I DM’ed for a reservation. Nothing. Followed up the next day. Still nothing. As loyal as my friends and I are to our neighborhood haunts like Bistrot Paul Bert and Martin, we’re always craving something new — a guest chef, a pop-up. I asked around and couldn’t find a single person in my friend circle who’d dined at Pochana. But everyone had the same response: “Dying to go.”
When husband-wife proprietors Rémi and May responded about an open table for the first seating that Wednesday night, I jumped. A wooden cocktail table and sole silver stool were the only indicators marking the restaurant’s entrance in an otherwise deserted alleyway near République. A counter faced the expansive windows looking out at the cobbled street. Three tables lined one side of the wall across an open kitchen, where May infuses Chinese touches into her family's Thai recipes, which are paired alongside Suntory Toki whisky highball cocktails or Rémi’s selection of natural wines.
We started with a bottle of gently macerated Sons of Wine pét-nat from Alsace and picked four of the five dishes on the modest menu. Jazz hummed softly in the background in rhythm with May, who was grilling chicken for the gai yang and pork neck for the namtok moo yang salad in the terracotta-tiled kitchen. Along with two designer friends, the couple dreamt up the intimate space themselves, inspired by an izakaya they used to frequent in Japan.
Plates of triangular pork and Chinese chive dumplings drizzled with chili oil and a Thai pork omelette laced with fermented pork sausage crowded our tiny table in the back. I wished there was a lazy Susan, since we kept passing dishes back and forth, sampling bites of each with chopsticks. The symphony of spice hit at the right moments, none overpowering or competing.
The handful of 30-something couples and duos of friends slowly started clearing out as the finale of first seating approached. A stream of stylish Japanese influencers (it was fashion week, after all) slowly filled their place. We finished dinner but weren’t being rushed out — the energy felt more like an after party, everyone gathering once the runway shows wrapped up. The music escalated with the new crowd, and we slowly made our exit, back out to the calm alley you’d never randomly stumble down — unless you knew what was shielded behind Pochana’s buzzy glass vitrine. –Lane Nieset
→ Pochana (Oberkampf/Marais) • 1 Passage du Jeu de Boules • 19h and 21h15 seatings • Book via DM.
PARIS WORK & PLAY LINKS: Canine-themed retail displays debut at Le Bon Marche Rive Gauche • Paris by Mouth visits her favorite crêperie in the city • Strolling five of Paris’s prettiest secret streets • Hot in decluttering: Norwegian Life-Cleaning.
REAL ESTATE • On the Market
Three properties for sale near the Jardin du Luxembourg in the 6th:
→ A bright 5-bed apartment (6th arr) • 5BR/2BA, 208 m2 • Ask: 3.4M € • apartment on second floor of 1930s building, including parquet flooring and fireplaces • Annual property taxes: 7055 €; annual maintenance fees: 7900 € • Agent: Delphine Cohen D’Aynac, Daniel Feau.
→ Family apartment on garden level (6th arr, above) • 4BR/2BA, 137 m2 • Ask: 3.59M € • family apartment on ground floor, with 110m2 private garden • Annual property taxes: NA; annual maintenance fees: 7200 € • Agent: Ariane Dubar, John Taylor.
→ 5-storey house (6th arr) • 3BR/1BA, 324 m2 • Ask: 6.6M € • townhouse with lift and ground-floor swimming pool and hammam • Annual property taxes/maintenance fees: NA • Agent: Muriel Melinand-Jegou, Barnes.
WORK • Friday Routine
Family affair
APOLLONIA POILÂNE • baker and CEO • Poilâne
Neighborhood you live and work in in: Saint Germain des Prés
It’s Friday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
It’s the earlier hours of the day, as I turn into Rue du Cherche-Midi, the delicious smell of the bakery infusing the air. Could you think of a better way to draw an end to your week? I typically enter the store to say hello to each person on the team working that morning.
Poilâne was started by my grandfather, Pierre Poilâne, back in 1932. Over the years, we’ve gained recognition in our neighborhood and beyond. For now, we’re getting our orders ready to serve our clients eager to have a croissant on their way to school, a whole loaf to escape the city for the weekend, or the lovers of our ‘pâtisseries boulangères,’ like our apple tart. My office is just above the bakery, so the smells of the different productions from our wood-fired oven act like a clock throughout the day.
What’s on the agenda for today?
Today, my focus is two-fold: wrapping up the winter season while simultaneously fine-tuning our spring and summer to come. I’m guiding a visit of our bakehouse to friends of friends in town. I love to share how each baker hand-shapes each loaf and is responsible for their entire batch’s production, furthering the love and care we put into our craft.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
I’ll have lunch or dinner at Sauvage on Rue du Cherche-Midi, for a French local and seasonal meal. Or Le Cherche Midi (also on Rue du Cherche-Midi) for a fresh pasta fix. For apéro, I could splurge at Hotel Lutetia with live music or a beer from the Café de Flore’s tap with a Welsh rarebit if the weather is cold enough.
How about a little leisure or culture?
I’m a cyclist on weekends and tend to go out on Sunday mornings with friends. When we go all out, we may end up at Le Barn for a mid-morning coffee before returning to Paris. I also take my dog for a walk in Champs de Mars or Les Tuileries so we both get our ‘sorties’ for the weekend. And I love to visit an exhibit, galleries, or see a show. I recently went to the Musée Maillol, which presented the extraordinary work of Nadiah Léger. And I loved the retrospective of the centennial Galerie Larock-Granoff.
I’ve also taken my nephew to a great experiential place for children at the back of the Chantelivre bookstore. It’s an indoor playground featuring books from their collection. Honestly, it’s just as much fun for an adult as it is for a child.
Any weekend getaways?
While Alexandre Gauthier’s fine dining restaurant (La Grenouillère, close to Montreuil-sur-Mer in Pas-de-Calais) was flooded last year, his sister restaurants and rooms offer just as delicious an escape from Paris.
What was your last great vacation?
I went to Cancale in Bretagne, West of France, where I would recommend the area ‘Pays Malouin’ at large — the Maisons de Bricourt, more specifically. If you have the time, and the season and weather are right, I would go to the nature-focused Îles Chausey for the day.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
My neighbor Lola makes custom-made bomber jackets, which have been a dream since I slipped into one of her Cafe de Flore editions.
Photo credit: Manuel Obadia-Wills.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Fly Away
Lenny Kravitz • Paris La Défense Arena (Nanterre) • Sat @ 19h • section c, 91 € per
Marina Satti • Le Trianon (18th arr) • Sat @ 19h • balcony, 41 € per
Tomorrow X Together • Accor Arena (12th arr) • Sun @ 19h30 • section A, 197 € per
GOODS & SERVICES • FOUND Fitness
Elevated emporium
→ Heimat by Wairis Dirie (16th arr): Set in an unassuming, airy building in the 16th once home to the Fondation Dapper Museum, Heimat by Wairis Dirie is a women-only, modern spa-like gym. The ownership group RSG operates several boutique gyms in multiple countries, including a co-ed Heimat in Los Angeles. Here, they’ve collaborated with human rights activist and model Dirie on a space that incorporates art from contemporary female artists.
What’s inside: A return to yourself is the mantra of the three-floor emporium that includes quiet golden-lit lounge spaces by the jacuzzi and sauna, weight rooms with state of the art equipment, and countless classes from boxing to pilates inside a former theater (with stage-like lighting intact). Multiple shower and locker areas are outfitted with Dyson hairdryers and other top-tier products and equipment.
Entry price: Monthly memberships cost 300 €, after an initial registration fee of another 300 €. Day passes are available for 100 €.
Food & Drink: Membership includes all the fancy lattes you can drink, but smoothies and other treats are extra. –Andra Zeppelin
GETAWAYS • The Nines
Hotels, Côte d’Azur
The Nines are FOUND's distilled lists of the best in Paris and surrounds. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@foundparis.com.
Hôtel du Couvent (Nice), former convent turned hidden gem boutique hotel offers tranquil escape in vielle ville w/ minimalist decor
Belles Rives (Antibes), iconic Art Deco hotel, storied history (once home of F. Scott Fitzgerald)
Auberge de la Roche (Valdeblore), nestled in Mercantour National Park, rustic yet refined auberge ideal for nature lovers
La Réserve Ramatuelle (Ramatuelle), exclusive haven near Saint-Tropez, elegant suites and villas framed by lush greenery
Toile Blanche (Vence), boutique hotel amid olive trees and Mediterranean gardens; contemporary art-filled interiors + serene pool area
La Chèvre d’Or (Eze), perched atop medieval village of Èze, breathtaking panoramic Mediterranean views
Maybourne Riviera (Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, above), modern masterpiece perched on a cliff, right by Italian border and Monaco
Les Roches Rouges (Saint-Raphaël), retro-chic hotel on the water, known for saltwater infinity pool and vibrant, vintage-inspired interiors
Lily of the Valley (La Croix-Valmer), wellness-focused retreat nestled in hills above Gulf of Saint-Tropez, holistic spa, health-conscious cuisine
GETAWAYS LINKS: New Hilton LXR Hotels & Resorts property in 7th arr, Sax Paris, plans spring opening • Air France unveils redesigned La Premiere suites • Greek hotel Sandblu Santorini reopening next month after upgrades.
GETAWAYS • Strasbourg
Slow food
The Skinny: A charming, 20-seat restaurant run by Bérengère Pallisard and Anne-Sophie Barth, Bistro des Rosiers is a restaurant whose ‘cuisine de marché’ offers a beautiful blend of simplicity and sophistication.
The Vibe: As you enter, Anne-Sophie stands behind the bar, bathed in the glow of vintage glass lamps and wine magnums. Behind her, an alcove frames a view through the kitchen of Bérengère, surrounded by clouds of fumets. The red, wavy frame of the picture window opens to the street. Thrifted, wide, communal wooden tables invite you to share a seat, but the tables are so spacious (and the acoustics so well-designed) that you’re neither elbow to elbow with your neighbors nor hearing too much of them.
The Food: Refined and generous, showcasing beautiful vegetables brought together by incredible sauce work. At lunch, a classic entrée-plat-dessert incorporates all the local seasonal produce of the region. A roasted pointed cabbage bathes in a saline broth with toasted buckwheat and mustard seeds. Rockfish wears a perfect pearly finish and charred skin. A warm blanket of velvety squash purée pairs with wilted cavolo nero, all harmonized by an impeccable fumet emulsified with Alsatian saffron.
For dessert, a simple yet complex orange salad accompanied by pistachio granola and clementine curd evoked Udaipur — its foggy blue sky above the palace in the middle of the lake, and the face-painted elephants nonchalantly lumbering along the promenade.
The Drink: In alignment with the restaurant’s ethos, the wine selection features predominantly local and natural options. The non-alcoholic beverage selection is 'symples' — fizzy organic plant infusions made in France. There’s also a 'Margarita of the Moment,' which sadly didn’t quite fit the theme of our specific lunch (but that I’ll be back for).
The Verdict: Pallisard and Barth are perfecting and elevating the neighborhood bistrot, making each visit feel familiar, novel, and deeply special. –Candice Chemel
→ Bistrot des Rosiers (Strasbourg) • 68 Rue de Zurich • Mon-Wed 12h-15h, Thu-Fri 12h-15h & 19h-23h30.
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