Le Richer looks like dozens of other modernised Paris cafés, with 1960s-style chairs, exposed stone walls brightened with mirrors, and bay windows looking on to an unremarkable Right Bank street. The coffee provides the first clue that something is different: made with beans from the fashionable Left Bank roaster Coutume, it reveals an attention to detail increasingly common in bistros but still rare in the neighbourhood café. The same care goes into the inventive food served at lunch and dinner, which easily rivals that of much pricier restaurants in Paris.
Combining the warmth of a local hangout with the high standards of a modern bistro, Le Richer belongs to a handful of hybrids that are transforming Parisian café culture. Instead of contenting themselves with bitter mass-produced coffee and a predictable menu of salads, croque-monsieurs and steak-frites, these gastro cafés are allowing ambitious chefs to express themselves in a casual setting.
Le Richer was created by Charles Compagnon of the nearby bistro L’Office. His no-reservations annex might look more relaxed but Le Richer’s young chefs are turning out sophisticated dishes such as veal cheek with creamy polenta, daikon radish and grapes. Churros are a speciality for dessert, perhaps with walnut crème anglaise, prunes and figs. The chatty waiters joke with customers at the bar, while the bartender shakes up cocktails such as the cucumber slide or the kiwi-kiwi. The organic and natural wines come from passionate small producers, as does the tea served in the afternoons.