Sesame - A Rare Seed

The cute and cosy Sesame Cafe is perched on the side of the Canal in the somewhat grungy yet cool part of Paris, and my second favourite of Paris' 20 arrondissements - the 10th (cough - I live in neighbouring 11th).

The staff here have a certain casual and friendly style which is a breath of rare fresh air in Paris. Donning denim and Dr Martins they wip around on this particular packed out Saturday delivering various 'fait a la maison' (home made) baked goodies to the equally chilled patrons. The lemon infused creme fraiche that accompanies the carrot cake should have its own place on the menu - give me a bowl of that HOT DAMN deliciousness!

I have been here 3 times now and can recommend the carrot cake, the chai, the cheesecake and of course the coffee. I am yet to lunch here but the salads look great and they also offer an array of freshly squeezed juices and smoothies. I seem to always finish and then think - oops forgot to take a photo (may be the reason why I have to keep going back). So this morning I took a photo of the remnants of our delights....not much to see, sorry.

A great place also to catch up on the emails or facebook or skype - love a bit of free wifi. The cafe also offers a table of books which is always a good sign - book table in Parisian Cafe = Welcome to stay as long as you like....as long as noone is waiting - in which case, order up or ship out...but otherwise Welcome. Easy to order up here - between 3 people we had 3 coffees, 3 cakes and a bagel - all for under 30 euro.

The booth seat at the front of the cafe is the prime seat to sprawl out - its busy on the weekends but the perfect place to burn a few hours during the week when this little gem is strangely not so packed..shhhhhh we like it this way.

If you are in the mood afterwards for a little caffeinated shop shop, pop down the road to Omaya Vintage - today they had a great 25 euro boot sale (unfortuantely big sized 42 foot over here had a very limited selection to choose from)....only a 10 minute walk from Sesame - and better still its in the 11th ...just

Sesame
51 Quay De Valmy
Paris 75011

Metro: Republique