Rue du Nil: food heaven in Paris
Named after the longest river in Africa, the rue du Nil is one of the shortest streets in Paris. But what it lacks in street numbers, this narrow, cobbled way makes up for in food and drink – to buy, to eat, to drink.
The ‘Nil’ in its name is legacy to the craze for all things Egyptian in early 19th century Paris. The mania spread following the return of the artists and scientists who had accompanied Napoleon and his troops to Egypt in 1789.
Militarily, Napoleon’s campaign was a failure, defeated by the British and the Ottoman troops; culturally and scientifically, it was a success, inspiring a flow of oriental-themed French art and design across France for centuries to come.
Fast forward to today, and the culinary focus in the rue du Nil is on provenance: on where food comes from (mainly France) and how it is grown (with not a ful medames – the Egyptian bean stew served with olive oil and cumin – on the menu).
The street is in the Sentier neighbourhood, once famous for its textiles and now for its start-ups. A few minutes’ walk south, in rue Bachaumont, off the busy pedestrianised rue Montorgueil, is where Monocle, the global media brand, is opening its Paris studio, café and shop in early 2025. As authors of an annual quality of life survey, Monocle knows a thing or two about location.
Terroirs d’Avenir & Frenchie: two big names
The Rue du Nil is anchored by two big names in food.
First up is Terroirs d’Avenir (lands of the future), founded by two young men in their 20s back in 2008. Now, there’s a Terroirs d’Avenir fruit and veg store, as well as a cheesemonger, butcher, fishmonger, and bakery. You won’t find better produce anywhere in France, if not in Europe.
And then there are the ventures of restaurateur Greg Marchand, of Frenchie fame, who operates Michelin-starred Frenchie in the rue du Nil, together with L’Altro (French-Italian restaurant), Frenchie
Bar à Vin (for drinking wine) and Frenchie Caviste (for buying wine).
Coffee & chocolate: L’Arbre à Café & Plaq
My two other o favourite names in the street are about coffee and chocolate.
L’Arbre à Café (the ‘coffee tree’) supplies the best coffee in Paris (they own their own plantations) and Plaq the most divine chocolate.
Each time I visit the rue du Nil, it’s a toss up between a knock-back espresso at L’Arbre à Café – as well as buying vacuum-packed beans to take back to London with me – or a hot chocolate (made with water rather than milk) and a sliver of dark chocolate sitting on the bench outside Plaq.
Here a ‘bar’ of chocolate is called a plaq – a more sensually sounding word than tablet. Plaq chocolates make ideal gifts. Last time, with some friendly help, I plumbed for a small packet of ’pure dark sesame nougatine crunchy bites’. “We work with chocolate, that’s why we’re friendly,” said the woman at Plaq, when I thanked her for her help.
French-Italian L’Altro
I have yet to try the Michelin-starred Frenchie, but earlier this year (in January 2025), I went for the set lunch at L’Altro.
The food was excellent, the price at €29 reasonable for two courses, and there was not a table of tourists in sight; the room reverberated to the soothing babble of the French language, with its soft consonant and mellow vowel sounds.
And all the produce, so I was told, comes from their neighbours at Terroirs d’Avenir.
Other addresses close by:
Rue du Nil is in one of the best locations in Paris. From here, you can easily walk across the centre of the city. Some of my other favourite nearby destinations in and around Sentier include:
Asphalte: pre-ordered fashion brand for men and women based in Bordeaux with a store round the corner from the rue du Nil. See what’s coming next, or try on existing stock.
Bourse du Commerce: home to the 3,000 piece contemporary art collection of François Pinault, the founder of the Kering Group. This historic building was restored and redesigned by Japanese architect Tadao Ando, opening in 2021.
Fleur de Pavé: a Michelin-starred restaurant of Sylvain Sendra where the vegetables are grown by the vegetable whisperer, Asafumi Yamashita.
Pierre Frey: my favourite home furnishings brand has a showroom in Sentier, whose fabrics include a reproduction of Les Monuments d’Egypte (see below).
The Hoxton: a perfect place to meet in the hotel courtyard lobby. Each time I’ve been here, the staff have been most delightful.
If I ever move to Paris…
For sure, if I ever moved to Paris, I would want to be within stone’s throw of a Terroirs d’Avenir store. Luckily they have several across the eastern districts of Paris and in the artistic, Communist-voting suburb of Montreuil.
Another favourite Terroirs d’Avenir store is in the neighbourhood of Oberkampf, also home to a L’Arbre à Café. Oberkampf is south of the Canal Saint Martin, west of Belleville and across the Rue du Temple from Le Marais.
Oberkampf, too, has an Egyptian connection. Monsieur Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf, after whom Oberkampf is named, started production around 1808 of a fabric called Les Monuments d’Egypte at his factory near the Court of Versailles.
Inspired by the works of painter Louis-François Cassas commissioned by the French Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, the designs depict pyramids, obelisks, a sphinx guarding a temple covered with hieroglyphs, as well as the harbour of Alexandria.
Yes, there was a time when Europe looked out, towards the shores of Africa, rather than inwards to within its own borders.