485249 Fri Feb 01 00:22:56 -0800 2008 19 49 France 0 3354651 Budget is no issue. Should be romantic and delicious... Fri Feb 01 00:22:56 -0800 2008 138372 spacesasha 1 3354673 Hm... I'd say Ladurée or then, one of the hotel palaces like Le Crillon and Le Meurice. As for myself, I really like the terrace of Le Dôme for breakfast. They do have a formula for about €9 which includes a hot beverage, a fresh OJ, a baguette tartine, jam and three small and super delicious mini pastries (croissant, pain au chocolat, pain au raison). Lots of regulars in the mornings, not overly touristy and romantic to some extent. I like it best among the Montparnasse cafés for breakfast. Le Sélect is more expensive, La Rotonde doesn't serve anymore the fresh OJ with the formula and La Coupole is not my cup of tea. As a matter of fact, you may find the little café around the corner as romantic and nice as the famous cafés like Le Flore, Les Deux Magots, etc. L'Heure Gourmande in the Passage Dauphine, 6th arr., is a gem away from any ttraffic noise, but they only open at around 11:30 AM or so. Lovely brunch there and superb salted and sweet tarts. Fri Feb 01 01:35:33 -0800 2008 3354651 13522 Dodo 2 3354706 La Durée was actually my first thought but I was wondering if their was something better. It is for a friend who is giving her fiancé his engagement gift, so it should be a special place. Fri Feb 01 03:34:36 -0800 2008 3354673 138372 spacesasha 1 3354689 Le Bristol. Without hesitation. Fri Feb 01 02:56:46 -0800 2008 3354651 96547 souphie 1 3355194 <Budget is no issue. Should be romantic and delicious...> after many trips to Paris, I would not categorize breakfast as a "romantic" meal. Certainly the French do not indulge in "romantic" breakfasts... A yogurt, a croissant or brioche, a cafe creme... Fri Feb 01 07:36:27 -0800 2008 3354651 52499 ChefJune 2 3355345 Amen, ChefJune. I am happy with my café au lait and my buttered baguette, when going to a café. At home, definitely a yogurt and some fruit. Maybe, the 'event' should be moved to the evening hours with a glass of champagne. Fri Feb 01 08:18:41 -0800 2008 3355194 13522 Dodo 3 3357935 Sorry to say it but you two are bit off about the whole breakfast thing. The two friends are both French and with the exception of now living between London and Paris have both lived in Paris all there lives. As for the breakfast thing thanks to places like pain quotien, coffee parisien, and a couple of other places breakfast among friends on the week is becoming a huge deal among the under 40 set. It is probably an American export. I am in Paris once a month and every time I am invited for business lunch or on the weekend what we call "petit dej grand kif" Sat Feb 02 00:39:57 -0800 2008 3355345 138372 spacesasha 1 3355919 Do you know where your friends are staying? And what month will they be in Paris? I have a number of thoughts but they would be different depending on the season. I have to disagree with the blanket statement that the French don't do romantic breakfasts (sorry ChefJune!). I do think there is a difference between the kind of breakfasts one has before starting the workday, and when one is on vacation or a weekend. For me, I can think of a number of breakfasts I've had in France that I would categorize as romantic, atmospheric, makes me smile just to think back on them. Fri Feb 01 10:24:02 -0800 2008 3354651 153308 souvenir 2 3357937 Dear Souvenir, Thanks for backing me up (see post above). Actually the friends are having breakfast as we speak. They are Parisians with cars so the location doesn't matter. In the end I think she took him to cafe marly because it has significance. Sat Feb 02 00:42:43 -0800 2008 3355919 138372 spacesasha 2 5042639 I only have a few hours on a long layover in Paris this November and would like to know your suggestion for a breakfast that you would "categorize as romantic, atmospheric, [or that] makes [you] smile." I spent a couple of months in Paris a decade ago..but probably never ate before 4pm ;) and thus need advice. I want to show my travel partner, who has never been to Paris, a nice 5 hour mini tour maybe something in Sacré Coeur, Saint-Michel, or Montparnasse. The only meal that our time will allow is breakfast so... please advise:) thanks! Sat Sep 19 15:49:10 -0700 2009 3355919 1110514 mammals 3 5043262 Get croissants at one of the good bakeries where you are, e.g. Le Grenier à Pain in Montmartre, Gérard Mulot in Saint-Germain, or Des Gateaus et du Pain in Montparnasse, and sit at a café with a nice view. You'll find good bakeries on my map of bakeries on the left hand side of my blog www.julotlespinceaux.com Beware of closing days. The best breakfasts in Paris otherwise are palace breakfast (Le Bristol, le Cinq, Plaza-Athénée, etc. ). Breakfast is not a serious thing for the French, even if croissants and coffee are. Sun Sep 20 00:27:54 -0700 2009 5042639 96547 souphie 4 5043396 Des Gateaux et du Pain (on rue Pasteur in the 15th arron.) has fabulous croissants and wonderful breakfast-type pastries (to be found in the front counter, as opposed to the back counter where the more dessert type pastries are located). There was one made with croissant dough baked flat with strawberry preserves that made for a wonderfully buttery breakfast. Sun Sep 20 06:00:39 -0700 2009 5043262 139694 Nancy S. 5 5043435 DGDP has an outstanding Bostock too (also known as Brioche aux amandes). Sun Sep 20 06:25:22 -0700 2009 5043396 96547 souphie 4 5156156 So, you can bring your own pastries and breads to a cafe and sit and eat it if you buy coffee? Wed Nov 04 14:10:44 -0800 2009 5043262 20544 sjjn 4 5158427 I will second Souphie here. I found the breakfast at the Plaza Athenee to be completely and wonderfully over the top; much more so than Le Bristol. Equally as beautiful is the breakfast at Le Meurice. Thu Nov 05 10:46:59 -0800 2009 5043262 272474 parislovernyc 3 5043302 I wonder why nobody has mentioned Fauchon in this thread. This famous delicatessen on the Place de la Madeleine has an upstairs dining room where breakfast is served, or at least it did a few years ago when I was there. I'll never forget the scrambled eggs--the best I've ever tasted! Of course the pastries, coffee etc. were all very good as well. And I enjoyed the view out the window--great people-watching! Sun Sep 20 03:51:47 -0700 2009 5042639 266399 fanoffrance 4 5045247 The upstairs dining room is still open. You've given me an idea for my trip next week! Thanks. Mon Sep 21 01:01:59 -0700 2009 5043302 11939 zuriga1 1 5156826 Sticking strictly to spacesasha's parameters of no budget, romantic and delicious, I would suggest breakfast in one's room, room service of coffee and juice to accompany whatever treasures one has brought in the night before. Works for us. Wed Nov 04 18:18:57 -0800 2009 3354651 1107357 mangeur 2 5158687 I would never accept pastry from the day before. But other than that, I'm with you. Thu Nov 05 11:59:31 -0800 2009 5156826 96547 souphie 1 5166399 I love that this post is still going. The people in question are now married, and the wife expecting. The hotel room would have certainly worked for the occasion in question except that the were staying with their respective parents in Paris. Mon Nov 09 01:37:30 -0800 2009 3354651 138372 spacesasha