Being plant-based in Paris has never been easier! In this blog we’re going to share some of our favourite places we visited during our brief time in the City of Light.
The words vegan and Paris still don’t often appear in the same sentence together, but thanks to a few plant-based pioneers across the French capital, being vegan in Paris is now easier than ever. We spent 72 hours in Paris, snacking, dining, and staying in plant-based bliss, checking out the up-and-coming vegan scene in the city.
Hotel HoY
We arrived in Paris from London via the Eurostar into Gare du Nord in the centre of the city. Only a twenty-minute walk west from the station, however, lies Paris’s first entirely plant-based hotel—Hotel HoY. HoY Paris offers the Parisienne boutique hotel experience, in a way that foregoes excess, while never compromising on conscious luxury.
The rooms are fitted with soft linens woven and dyed in France, as well as the iconic Parisian floor-to-ceiling windows that not only invite light in, but also encourage you to lean over the balcony and gaze onto the courtyard or out over the street below. Small touches throughout the room, including a ceramic ‘speaker’, refillable toiletries, and a glass decanter of water, filtered with Japanese binchotan charcoal from the Kishū region (or Kii Province), make the room feel like a micro health retreat in the middle of a bustling part of Paris without creating waste.
The hotel's 22 rooms also encourage mindfulness in energy consumption too, eschewing televisions and minibars (unless otherwise requested) to save energy in empty or fully vacant rooms.
Air conditioning and heating too can be controlled by the front desk at the guest's request, ensuring that wonderful springtime breezes can flow freely through open windows without wasting air conditioning, and so that those sticky summer days are kept outside when guests want to be cool indoors.
From ethical, non-toxic decor to energy saving integrations that encourage guests to be mindful throughout their stay, HoY's sustainability commitments are ever-evolving. Learn more on HoY's website here.
HoY's Mesa Restaurant
Sitting in the heart of the 9th Arrondissement (or district) of Paris, and surrounded by the beautiful boutiques, boulangeries, flower shops, and fruit bodegas of Rue des Martyrs, Hotel HoY also boasts a flower shop in its lobby by artist Chiaki Kokami, offers yoga classes for all levels every day the attached YUJ yoga studio, and an incredible restaurant, called Mesa, that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day to both guests and the public alike.
Mesa's dishes are plant-forward, flavourful, and nutrient-dense, offering those dining with them unique culinary experiences, while also showcasing truly delicious food rooted in Latin American flavours. After one of YUJ's sweaty infrared yoga classes too, a quite bite at Mesa is the perfect way to make your body feel good both inside and out.
On one particularly rainy evening in March, we stayed in and enjoyed dinner downstairs at Mesa, where we feasted on starters of tempura enoki mushrooms with chili mayo, lemon, and dill, and a corn tortilla with avocado, beans, salsa, and plenty of greens; as well as mains including slow-roasted aubergine with tahini, frekkeh, and roasted kale, and rösti with smoked tofu and cress. The atmosphere in the restaurant is intimate, comfortable, and casual, but doesn’t compromise on rich, wholesome flavours.
To learn more about Mesa, its seasonal menu, and the people behind the equally beautiful and delicious plates, be sure to visit Mesa's website or their Instagram @mesa.paris.
5 Restaurants Making Plant-Based in Paris Easy
Visiting Paris for an incredible sustainable solution conference called ChangeNOW, we shuffled across the city in pursuit of delicious vegan food before, after, and in between the conference's events, checking out as many plant-based eateries we could fit in a day. After many miles walked and various sites marvelled at, we found several cafes, restaurants, and lunch spots brimming with exciting, different vegan dishes and twists on comfort classics alike. In no particular order, here are a few more of our favourite plant-based finds in central Paris:
Land&Monkeys
If the first thing you picture when you think of French cuisine includes flaky pastries, glossy fruit tartes, and tiny cakes so perfect you almost feel guilty eating them, then we can definitely be friends. Land&Monkeys delivers on all of these mouthwatering concepts and more, with its 100% plant-based lineup of all things patisserie. From savoury baguette sandwiches and tofu-based quiches, to elegant apricot tartes and divine chocolate meringues Land&Monkeys will blow your mind when it comes to vegan pastry and desserts.
We had to give ourselves a pep talk before ordering so as to not just ask for one of everything, but in the end we chose a slice of the Quiche Lorraine, the Azahar (a heavenly pistachio pastry with pistachio pieces and crumb, pistachio nut butter, and a light cream), the Apricot Tarte, and the 'Bacon and Egg' baguette to enjoy in the cafe. Since we'd be sightseeing that day, we also took a pesto and tomato roll, a pain au chocolat, and a slice of their potato quiche to go too--because why not!
Faubourg Daimant
This chic restaurant is perfect for date nights and catch-ups with friends. Serving small plates of diverse dishes, Faubourg Daimant's cool atmosphere makes you feel like a local. They recommend 2-3 plates per person, so we ordered two each plus a dessert to share. We started with the Bourguignon Style ('Meat')Balls with glazed baby carrots and Daimant Brussel Sprouts with a ginger, miso, and soy glaze, before moving onto our second round of plates which included the Croquettes Cochonnes stuffed with mushrooms and smoked tofu, and the Zucca e Pepe conchiglioni pasta in a creamy, peppery squash sauce. Finally, we split the Snickers des Faubourgs for dessert and floated back to our hotel with a full belly. You can view their full menu here.
Cloud Cakes
This cute cafe on a quiet street in Paris's 2nd Arrondissement, is the perfect place to sit down and relax after a long day of exploring the city. With both indoor and al fresco seating like most cafes in Paris, the treats offered at Cloud Cakes are anything but ordinary.
The menu has hot and cold drinks, as well as large plates for both breakfast and lunch (think: pancakes + grilled cheese), but its sweet counter is what we were after. With almost too many options to choose from, we settled on a slice of their carrot cake (Ben's favourite), a slice of their rhubarb and strawberry cake, two perfectly chewy hazelnut macarons, and a perfectly spiced chai latte with oat milk. The atmosphere is super cosy, and we look forward to visiting again soon!
Les Tontons Veg
Recommended to us by a friend, Les Tontons Veg is putting funky twists on vegan comfort food like burgers, fries, and nuggets. With unique sauce mixes and toppings, this is definitely THE place to take your hungry friends who have never been to a vegan restaurant before for lunch.
We shared their crispy nuggets, fries covered in herbes de Provence seasoning, and ordered individually the Weon burger (a seitan 'chicken' patty with peanut sauce, cheese, and caramelised onions) and the Arlette burger (a Beyond Meat patty with pesto, slow-roasted tomatoes, and cheese with herbes de Provence). It ended up being so much food that we took the rest of it home with us, but we would absolutely visit this place again to try some of their other burgers.
Addis Ethiopia
I want to note that this restaurant is not entirely vegan or vegetarian and does also serve meat, but I couldn't talk about great restaurants in Paris without mentioning this little family-run, hidden gem off Rue Blanche in the 9th Arr. near HoY Hotel. After a long first day of to get to Paris, we wanted something hearty and comforting, yet not greasy or too fancy. One of our all-time favourite cuisines, Ethiopian food never disappoints and consistently ticks all the boxes for us.
At Addis Ethiopia, the dish we ordered is called Yetsom Beyonetu, which consists of two different lentil stews, slow-cooked spinach, mixed vegetables seasoned with six spices traditionally used in Ethiopian cooking, and a salad. The platter can be made for 2-3 people, and fortunately comes with lots of injera -- a traditional Ethiopian flatbread that has a texture similar to a crepe, but more of a savoury, almost fermented flavour. It is essential for mopping up all of the stews and mixed vegetables with your hands, and properly enjoying this wholesome meal. If you've never tried Ethiopian food before, I highly recommend Addis to be your first visit, you definitely won't be disappointed.
Once known solely for its animal-centred dishes, Paris is evolving to be more accommodating to vegans from around the world, and I know it won't stop anytime soon. This list is by no means exhaustive, and we hope to visit Paris again soon to see all the plant-based restaurants we missed this time around. I hope this inspires you to be open to trying new things when travelling, and exploring the possibilities of what can happen when tradition meets innovation, and when food meets compassion--regardless of where in the world you may be.
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