Paris, like a good steaming cup of tea, offers perennial pleasures that remain little changed over the years. And though Paris is a coffee city, it’s also true that the world’s most widely drunk, oldest, and consistently comforting beverage–tea–still holds its own in this city. Paris is also a city of diversity–in neighborhoods, fashion, and food–and so, too, with tea. Indeed, there’s a tea spot for every vibe. Here’s a small sampler of some of the best places to get afternoon tea in Paris, from tea shops, to full-service salons de thés, to spectacular high-tea rooms.
Parisian Salons de Thé (Tea Houses)
Ritz Paris
After enjoying madeleines in the Salon Proust, with its high ceilings, red velvet chairs, and glass bookcases, you certainly won’t be forgetting your tea time at the Ritz any time soon. One of the most iconic hotels in Paris, the Ritz’s tea time (called their Goûter Française), offers a three-tiered display of cookies and sweets, enjoyed with tea served in a white tea set. Prices range from 75€ to 115€ depending on how gourmet your selection is, and if you’d like to add a glass of champagne.
Thé-ritoire
Just one block from the bustling Boulevard Saint-Germain, you can duck into Thé-ritoire, a word play on “territory,” a cozy old-world sanctuary of tea that you’d expect to find in Britain rather than off the Boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris. Customers can hunker down in a space comfortably cluttered with British and French tea accessories, cups, saucers, pots and more. The cozy salon offers an impressive selection of around seventy teas: white, green, black, Puerhs, parfumés, and reds. The food menu is more limited but plenty tasty: scrumptious scones with jams and clotted cream, lemon cake, fruit crumble, and bread and butter pudding. Savory tea snacks include traditional finger sandwiches, vegetable tarts, and a soup-of-the-day. Now you’ll be recharged and ready to stroll the nearby Luxembourg Gardens and beyond.
Marie Thé
On the Rue du Cherche Midi–a great street for strolling, window shopping, eating, and drinking–you’ll find Marie Thé, something of a hybrid tea salon and restaurant. The collection of tea pots on the wall, and the tiered counter stacked with fresh homemade pies, cakes, and scones, makes getting a cuppa feel non-negotiable. Sitting at a sidewalk table enjoying a very generous slice of chocolate cake and a pot of Oolong tea while people watching in this artsy neighborhood would make for a great late afternoon break on a lovely Paris day.
L’Heure Gourmande
Paris is full of age-old side streets, cozy culs-de-sac, and hidden alleys. The Passage Dauphine, a pedestrian stone-paved street-alley dating back to 1607 under Henry IV that can be accessed only through discreet doorways on the Rue Dauphine and the Rue Mazarine, is one such hidden gem. Nestled off this beaten path in the 6th arrondissement is L’Heure Gourmande, a charming tea salon that is off-the-eaten path. While all of the home made pastries are delicious, for a perfect outdoor tea experience try the seasonal fruit crumble with one of their twenty teas.
Le Loir Dans la Théière
It’s hard not to feel immediately at ease at Le Loir dans La Théière, with its mismatched tables and chairs, theater poster-lined walls, and long marble counter covered with over twenty stunning homemade cakes and pies, including a lemon merengue pie, a chocolate pear tart, and a tarte Tatin thick as a fist. Located on Rue de Rosier, the fun-yet-funky vibe is the perfect complement to an afternoon of strolling and museum hopping in the Marais district. The savory is as good as the sweet here, making this is a great place for lunch or brunch as well as afternoon tea. According to their website, Alice in Wonderland was the inspiration for this family-owned eatery.
Hôtel Plaza Athénée
At La Galerie at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée, you can sample the craftsmanship of Meilleur Ouvrier de France and World Pastry Champion, Angelo Musa. Musa’s delicate creations are offered in three versions: Le Goûter Angelo Musa (which comes with pastries and a non-alcoholic beverage for 64€), Le Goûter de la Galerie (pastries with a non-alcoholic drink and a champagne cocktail for 74€), or Le Goûter du Plaza Athénée (pastries, sandwich, and non-alcoholic beverage for 84€). You can also order teas and pastries à la carte if you prefer.
Salon de Thé, Grande Mosquée de Paris
The Tea Salon at the Grand Mosque of Paris is the perfect respite from a full day of walking in Paris. You will sigh with relief as soon as you step off the rue Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire into the honeycomb of nooks, corners, and multi-leveled terraces, with an abundance of trees and greenery, that make up this oasis of tea, pastry, and hospitality. As soon as you take a seat at the copper topped table, a server brings you a refreshing cup of sweet mint tea. The menu offers up a cornucopia of North African sweets and savory treats, priced at 2€ each. Why not indulge and try a bit of everything? Stand-outs include: Makrat, Pistachio Ghoriba, honey and almond crescent shaped cookies, ice cream, and sorbets. A seasonal fruit salad is 8€, and crêpes are 4€.
Café Antonia
For high tea, we’d recommend Café Antonia at Le Bristol Hotel, under the helm of three Michelin-starred chef Eric Frechon. Under Frechon’s supremely talented Pastry Chef, Yu Tanaka, we can guarantee your expectations will be surpassed. Everyone is greeted and treated like royalty from the moment you walk in the door, and the sweets, savories, and service that follow are indeed fit for a king or queen. Sumptuous settees and period armchairs are set at crisp white-clothed tables, which are spaciously spread throughout the grand room. The vibe is definitely stately French elegance par excellence. One classic High Tea (which starts at 79€) plus dessert is generous enough for two, making high tea at Le Bristol an accessible opulence. You will be dazzled by the three tiered tea tray, a triptych of tasty sweet and savory treats. Delightful finger sandwiches on the bottom, a chocolate éclair and the moist “Vanilla Key Ring” signature dessert in the middle, and a lovely lemon meringue pie sits enticingly on the top plate. To accompany the Classic tea, we’d recommend the caramel crisp mille-feuille. A delectable sugar dusted nut and dried fruit scone–served with jams and clotted cream–as well as the cannelé nestled in the same silver basket–are pure perfection.
Four Seasons George V
During tea time in the Four Seasons George V’s La Galerie, a piano player will set the mood. The afternoon tea menu is so comprehensive, you won’t have to have lunch; each comes with an hors d’oeuvre, starter, pastries, and baked goods. The George V high tea menu (95€), offers a lobster roll, parmesan & tapioca cromesquis, or mimosa egg & truffle tart; then a “pre-dessert” of pine buds and wild strawberries; an assortment of pastries; and a final dessert to share. The menu also comes, of course, with a hot beverage, and a glass of champagne (or non-alcoholic sparkling beverage).
Where to Buy Tea in Paris: The Best Tea Shops
Dammann Frères
Just two blocks off of the Champs-Élysées at 12 Avenue Franklin Roosevelt is Dammann Frères, purveyor to kings and tea lovers since 1692. The oversized black, red, and yellow classic tea tins in sleek, dark wood and floor to ceiling shelves give the shop an elegant traditional vibe and the assurance you’ll find fine teas, a knowledgeable staff, and an array of tea related products and gifts. Pick up some Houicha, a subtle Japanese tea with vegetal notes, which pairs well with macarons. There’s also the house’s popular Jardin Luxembourg blend–a flowery blend of hawthorne (a medicinal plant), aloe vera, rose, jasmine, prune flower, and acacia. One stand out gift from the shop: a delightful and delicious Madame Dammann tea jelly.
Palais des Thés
By contrast, the relatively young Palais des Thés has a decidedly more contemporary vibe. Founder Francois-Xavier Delmas, tea researcher and expert, has created a very mindful brand with a strong emphasis on corporate social responsibility and education. Palais runs a tea school which offers a wide range of classes and tastings. In the “Cooking with Tea” class (135€), Chef Nathaly Ianniello teaches how to make a three-course meal with tea as an ingredient, while a tea sommelier guides tea pairings for each course. There are tea and chocolate, tea and cheese, and tea mixology classes. Their informative website includes information on world tea ceremonies, tips on selecting and caring for a tea pot, as well as a large selection of accessories and tea ware.
The modern Palais des Thés shops, with lime green, mustard yellow, and white bulk tea tins lining the walls, and numerous tasting stations throughout, are vibrant and inviting ways to discover, taste and learn. In front of each blend is a small bowl of crushed tea leaves covered by a glass cloche which you can lift to inhale the fragrance.
Betjeman & Barton
The vibe at Betjeman & Barton is inviting tea lounge-meets-laidback classroom. Laurence, the tea-bar’s boundlessly knowledgeable and amiable director, and her new protégée, Natia, clearly enjoy revealing a world of teas to their customers. They get to know your tastes, then give thoughtful advice and share fascinating backstories about their extraordinary teas. As Laurence put it, “we try to help people explore and find new teas, and to make them accessible.” And that they do.
Try the silky Wulong Milky tea, which is fermented in milk at 86 degrees, accounting for its milky taste and notes of caramel. It pairs perfectly with simple cakes like madeleines. It should be infused for five minutes, and, like most teas, you can reinfuse it up to three times, adding thirty seconds each time that you do. Another stand-out was the Oolong Jing Shuan, a robust tea with leaves that are hand-rolled thirty-six times. It’s also produced by a woman-owned and run business. You also shouldn’t miss their smoked teas, like their Korean and Japanese Lapsangs, which pair perfectly with cheese.
The impressive array of small artisan produced teas, as well as the tea accessories and sweet and savory packaged treats, are carefully curated by Agnès Defontaine, the company’s General Director. She has also co-authored a wonderful sixty-five-page paperback cookbook featuring recipes from leading French chefs using tea as an ingredient, as well as tea pairing suggestions. It’s no wonder a fast-growing number of restaurants, tea houses, and hotels carry the brand.
Other Paris Tea Shops
Other shops to consider visiting: Comptoirs Richard, the most ubiquitous brand served at restaurants and cafés around Paris, has lovely shops around town. Their boutique on Rue du Cherche Midi has a coffee and tea counter in the back. Thé Marriages Frères is the most famous and biggest French tea brand, with fifteen hundred shops in sixty countries. Méert, in the Marais district, is rich in history and charm, and has homemade packaged sweets not to be overlooked.
Philip Ruskin is an External Lecturer (ESSEC Bus. School), Consultant (food & travel marketing), writer, drummer and regular contributor to Frenchly. He loves to bike around his adopted hometown of Paris. Find him here, on Instagram.
