1. Testing the best creperies in Paris
According to research, Paris has 190 creperies. It’s less than the pizzerias (430), but more than enough to get lost in, right? As a professional crepe maker I decided to help you with my selection of the best creperies in Paris.
Who did the test?
A la cool. It’s me, Bertrand, and my friends. We booked for 8 to 10 people and we tasted a maximum of different dishes. In a cool way.
How are the creperies selected?
Word of mouth, guides (Figaroscope, Fooding, etc.), social networks, Google Maps and tips from my suppliers. Only genuine creperies are selected that respect my definition of the traditional Breton galette and the authentic wheat crepe. So you won’t find any kebabs, franchises or takeaways here.
How does the tasting go?
We dine anonymously with our eyes wide open and our taste buds ready. The classics – the egg, ham and cheese galette and the salted butter caramel crepe – are systematically tasted for comparison. We watch the crepe maker at work whenever possible, we chat with the staff and the other customers. And, we pay for our meals, of course…
How is the ranking done?
There is no ranking, it is in alphabetical order. No notes, just quality. And no comment on the service, as staff changes far too often. It’s random to report an experience that is unlikely to be repeated.
Anything odd to mention?
Yes, I’m often hungry when I come out of a creperie. So I decided to weigh the crepes and galettes and calculate the price per kilo, just to put things into perspective. Some of my table neighbours were surprises by my kitchen scales…
2. Map of the 10 best creperies in Paris
Over the next few weeks, new places will appear like “Le Goéland d’Aligre”… so see you soon for the next part!
3. The best creperies in Paris in short
Crepes and galettes
– the most copious: Josselin, takeaway: Alain Miam-Miam (525g !!)
– the most innovative: Galbar and Breizh Café
– the most Instagrammable: Crêperie Gigi, Galbar and Rond
– the best best quality fillings: Breizh Café, Galbar, Crêperie Gigi and Tanguy
The cheapest classic galettes* per kg: Alain Miam-Miam (18€ for sale to take away) Josselin (28€) Galbar et Caramel Sarrasin (32€) … Breizh Café (49€)
*The classic galette is traditionally filled with an egg, ham and cheese
Cheapest caramel crepes per kg: Galbar (31€) Josselin (51€) … Tanguy (65€)
Galette with sausage on the menu: Breizh Café, Crêperie Gigi, Krügen et Tanguy
The best apple juice: Crêperie Gambetta
Nutella, no thanks: Breizh Café, Galbar, Crêperie Gigi, Krügen, Rond et Tanguy
Sweet buckwheat galettes on the menu: Breizh Café, Caramel Sarrasin, Crêperie Gigi et Krügen
The most beautiful decor: Breizh Café, Galbar et Tanguy
The owner cooks: Alain Miam-Miam, Caramel Sarrasin, Galbar, Rond et Tanguy
My favourites: Galbar, Rond et Tanguy
BREIZH CAFE Paul Bert
I discovered the first Breizh Café in Paris in 2010, in the Marais district, shortly after the Fooding Guide gave its creator, Bertrand Larcher, an award. It was a very VIP evening: I met Florence Foresti (French humorist) walking her dog in front of the restaurant, we took the table where Mika (the singer) and his friends were dining, and 20 minutes later Bob Sinclar (famous DJ) sat down next to us with a bimbo. Since then, the “intello of the galette” has opened numerous venues in France and Japan, both restaurants and cider bars, a crepe making school, a shop dedicated to buckwheat, etc. Finally, a small detail that makes all the difference: Bertrand Larcher is a farmer and produces his own buckwheat and apples.
Setting: superb. Cosy-rural. Traditional-modern. The most beautiful creperie in Paris. Lots of wood and a beautiful display of bottles to order or take away. A table d’hôtes opposite the open kitchen seats 12 guests (no unpleasant smell). The staff wears a sailor’s uniform with a small embroidery “Cancale – Paris – Tokyo”. So chic…
Menu: inventive. Industrial products are banned (jams, Nutella etc.). Each ingredient has its pedigree (Bordier butter, organic eggs, charcuterie from the Basque country, spices from Roellinger, Valrhona chocolate, etc.) and two great Breton classics not found in Paris are offered: the sausage galette and the buckwheat galette with salted butter caramel You can also order oysters, scampi and algae butter. Incidentally, Bertrand Larcher, married to a Japanese lady, lives partly in Japan. It is therefore not surprising to find influences from the land of the Rising Sun (shiitake, seaweed, wasabi vinaigrette…).
The classic egg, ham and cheese galette: complete with cured ham at €12.50 (254 g). The ham is absolutely perfect (from the Aldudes valley, in the Basque country) and the Comté cheese is just right. On the other hand, the batter was a big disappointment: soft and dry. When sitting across from the kitchen, we spotted why 😉 : the chef quickly applies three brushstrokes of salted butter before serving. That’s all there is to it. Far from the crispiness I like and the overwhelming taste of the browned butter – my markers of a successful Breton galette.
Crepe : homemade salted butter caramel at €6.80 (ginger caramel) (128 g). Very good, colourful, but also lacking a little butter. The toppings are not added during cooking but at the end: the result is prettier (the caramel is visible), but it’s still slightly better when the topping has risen in temperature with the crepe and the caramel has boiled briefly.
What else can I say? A great terrace and the caramel sweets served with the bill are insanely good. The presence of buckwheat seeds is just too yummy.
Breizh Café Paul Bert, 23 rue Paul Bert, 75011 Paris, open 7/7 from noon to 10.30pm, website, delivery
CARAMEL SARRASIN
The name of this creperie often comes up in the selections of the best creperies in Paris, like the one in the Figaroscope. I went there one evening at 10pm to make a reservation for our little tribe of gourmands and I came out 90 minutes later with Brittany in my eyesa kilo of flour and a jar of salted butter caramel offered by Stéphane, the chef and owner.
Parisian creperies – including the best ones – fill their crepes with purchased ingredients. At Caramel Sarrasin, on the contrary, a maximum of fillings are homemade: dried or grilled vegetables, chestnut cream, jams, caramel (no less than 6 different flavours)… including the cider vinegar! Pine nuts, almonds, coconut and sesame are roasted on site. Stéphane is constantly developing new recipes that revisit some of the classics such as madeleines or tabbouleh (his buckwheat version is a killer!). Let’s just say that you are in good hands here.
Setting: pleasant, with exposed bricks and decoration on the walls. The room is a bit long and not noisy.
Menu: traditional and full of ideas, note the “surprise” galette: “Tell us what you don’t like and let the Chef do the rest”.
All the wheat crepes for dessert can be made with buckwheat at no extra charge.
The classic egg, ham and cheese galette: €9.50 (292 g). The creperie works with the Roupsard mills in Normandy, whose reputation is well established. The really dark colour of the batter is explained by a very long rest in the refrigerator (between 2 and 6 days). Finally, the chef adds a little pepper to reinforce the flavours of the buckwheat. An inimitable taste.
Crepe: homemade salted butter caramel at €5.00 (100 g). A delight, even if I would have appreciated a little more butter 😉
We ordered a good ten crepes for dessert which were almost all served with a different folding: in 4, in a triangle, in an inverted triangle, in an octagon, in a rectangle… A treat for the eyes!
What else can I say? This creperie reminds me of the inns of our regions: a passionate owner, loyal customers, friendly suppliers… where freshness and local suppliers are not a trendy pitch, but a tradition.
It is possible to privatise the premises for dinner at the beginning of the week and to participate in culinary workshops in the afternoon.
Caramel Sarrasin, 47 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre, 75009 PARIS, open from Monday to Wednesday (11am-3pm) and from Thursday to friday (11am-3pm and 6.45pm-9.45pm), website
CHEZ ALAIN MIAM MIAM
The Marché couvert des Enfants Rouges, created in 1615, is the oldest food market in Paris. You will find stalls of fresh produce, catering stands, tables to sit at, people in all directions and… Alain. His speciality? Good food. Crepes and galettes, but also huge sandwiches, socca niçoise and waffles to take away. It’s homemade, organic, PDO, certified and all that. This is his place, and he shows it well: he is on first-name terms, theatrical shouting, occasional hand kissing, approximate queuing and the required good mood. Very unusual for Paris, certainly in the image of this former psychologist who became a restaurant owner late in life.
Setting: Les Enfants Rouges is a wonderful place that will look great on your Instagram. Definitely, not to be missed.
Menu: concise and effective, that’s the concept. Galette just with butter at €3.50 and three filled galettes: the classic egg, ham and cheese, Italian and vegetarian. On the dessert side, a choice of 6 crepes.
The classic ham and cheese galette: €9.50 (525g). Emmental cheese, ham, candied onions and chives. No egg. The most copious of our test and most certainly in Paris. Hear the Bretons humming! No dryness, despite a good 8 minutes on the griddle. A buckwheat with a pronounced taste, a beautiful dark colour and irregular spreading. Brutal. I loved the way the butter was applied at the beginning of the cooking process: not a pad held delicately with the fingertips, but rather a chuck placed directly on the cast iron.
Crepe: no caramel on the day of our visit, so we chose a lemon one for €4 (171g). Butter, grated lemon zest and juice, brown sugar. Perfect dosage but the pancake was overcooked for my taste. 3 minutes at 230° C (450° F) is more than enough time and the burnt taste outweighs the flavour of the filling.
What else can I say? When you come by (because you will come, won’t you, gourmands?) I absolutely advise you against Saturdays and Sundays. It’s very crowded, even if you order online at the shop (45 minutes waiting time on average). On the other hand, during the week it’s as easy as any other place and the service is continuous. There are only 2 VIP chairs to sit in, so you might as well go with your booty in the square opposite the 3rd arrondissement town hall. Two small things to finish: nobody wears latex gloves (although it’s not an obligation, it’s still more reassuring) and I received a total of 21 paper napkins for my order. Since I say that Alain is generous…
Chez Alain Miam Miam, stand at the Marché des Enfants Rouges (33 rue Charlot, 75003 Paris) et restaurant (26 rue Charlot), open from Tuesday to Sunday (9am-5pm, website)
CREPERIE GAMBETTA Warning: this creperie has permanently closed!
Last year a creperie in the 20th arrondissement liked one of my Instagram posts. Out of curiosity I decided to organise a lunch at their place. Good for me, it’s a great local creperie. The business belongs to a couple, Emmanuelle and Adel, who used to work in beauty and mobile phones. One fine day they left everything behind to set up the creperie of their dreams (they now own two others, including a large “Breton-style brasserie” in Belleville that I haven’t tried).
Setting: contemporary, quite deco. It looks like an Airbnb!
Menu: 100% Breton food, mainly organic farm produce. We find the great classics of the genre that we all know. The weekday lunch menu is a gift with a galette, a crepe and a bowl of cider or apple juice (which I suspect is the excellent artisanal cloudy juice from the Kerné) for €13.
The classic egg, ham and cheese galette: €8.50 (226 g). Top notch. I carefully observed the cook behind the glass: he spreads a good layer of butter on the batter with a brush – guaranteeing the crispness – garnishes and puts a little butter on the 4 folds before serving. It couldn’t be better. As for the flour, I discovered that we were using the same one! The wholemeal buckwheat flour from Moulin de l’Ecluse in Pont-L’Abbé. A big, big crush!
Crepe: homemade salted butter caramel at €6.50 (104 g). Really perfect. The cook works a little hotter than usual (220° C/425° F) but doesn’t turn the crepe over, so you get one side more toasted than the other. The batter is flavoured with orange blossom, I love it. And brave because very few restaurant owners dare to flavour their batter, as I explain in a video on the subject.
What else can I say? Their other creperie at 29 rue de Belleville offers some very interesting ideas: Breton breakfast at €10, Breton brunch on Sundays at €22, “exceptional ciders”, and cocktail creations (Breton mojito, Breizh ginger, Celtic spritz, etc.).
Crêperie Gambetta, 120 ave Gambetta, 75020 Paris, open from Tuesday to Saturday (11am-3pm and 7pm-10.30pm), open on Sunday (noon-2pm), website
GALBAR
Getting the keys to your restaurant in the first month of a global pandemic is complicated. And taking lockdown after lockdown even more so. But what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and in this game the Galbar breaks the records. Because Mathieu and Martin have brilliantly revisited the concept of the creperie, which has become a “galette bar”: no service on a plate, but presentation in a particularly Instagrammable cone making the galettes “iconic”. Welcome to 2021!
Setting: contemporary and very successful. Raw walls with a patina finish, factory lamps, brushed metal chairs. A warm atmosphere that makes you feel instantly good!
Menu: top quality and ultra-sourced products. Here, no “in the style of ~” or “cutie pie”, but home-made creations such as the “Tonton Saucisse” (Montbéliard sausage) or the “Gauloise” (home-made breaded chicken with buckwheat crumbs). For those who don’t like finger food, the galettes are available in the evening on a plate in a “rolled” form.
The sweet side is not left out because in addition to the traditional crepes, Galbar innovates by associating the sure values of French confectionery: “Tatin” (caramelised apples, home-made Breton biscuit, fluffy cream), “Crème Brûlée”, “Lemon Meringue” etc.
The classic egg, ham and cheese galette: the “Galbar” at €9.50 (298 g). Ingredients: raw ham (from Prince de Paris, an artisanal workshop that produces the last ham in Paris with a Guérande salt brine in the 11th arrondissement), “Galbar style” organic egg (the white is cooked separately and cut into strips while the yolk is flashed in the oven), emmental cheese, lettuce, balsamic cream.
As for the galettes, they are surprisingly pre-cooked and without semi-salted butter, so they are not very crispy, but this choice favours the flavours of the filling.
Crepe: salted butter caramel at €4.00 (130 g). A touch of vanilla, nothing to add. Classic. The beige packaging is dull, next time I’ll try an “iconic” one at €8.50 (but that wasn’t the purpose of this test).
What else can I say? The “iconic” crepes and galettes are semi-gastro at a bargain price. They will be a hit. My little finger tells me that in a few years the Galbar will multiply, just like Big Fernand (burgers) that I saw open just across the street in 2012.
And if I had to open a creperie today, it would be the Galbar.
I’m in love, guys.
Galbar, 50 Rue du Faubourg Poissonnière, 75010 Paris, open from Monday to Wednesday (11.30am-3.30pm) and from Thursday to Saturday (11.30am-9.30pm), no reservation, website
GIGI
I recently worked on an event with a young caterer who was also in the kitchen at Gigi. She had nothing but good things to say about the place, so I made a reservation…
When I asked the waiter who Gigi was, he told me it was in homage to Colette’s short story. Fact-checking didn’t confirm this version. His senior colleague confirmed that it was more like… Les bronzés font du ski (a French comedy film) that I should turn to: “The Gigi crepe is a thin layer of buckwheat, cooked either side, sprinkled with warm rose petals” (1979). I had a good laugh.
Setting: nice and subdued, with wood and an Ikea catalogue feel.
Menu: very concise (9 galettes and 9 crepes, including the famous Gigi), carefully selected quality products, there are great traditions like the sausage galette or fusion with shiitake, pickles or tzatziki.
The classic egg, ham and cheese galette: €9 (269 g). Really photogenic, great colour, beautiful presentation. The buckwheat has not rested much and the galette is not too crispy, it is a style, certainly well adapted to the clientele of the upper Marais area composed of many Anglo-Saxons who find a galette too crispy, too hardcore. Special mention to the Prince de Paris white ham, also used by the Galbar, which is a killer. Last but not least, Comté cheese replaces Emmental cheese to great advantage. Good for the palate, well done Gigi!
Crepe: homemade salted butter caramel at €6 (77 g). Irreproachable. Also not very crispy, but incredibly soft. The crepes are only cooked on one side (and therefore without colouring on the inside).
What else can I say? The owners run 3 wine bars in the adjacent streets and have worked out a “crepes/cider” pairing with a “quite pronounced natural” selection, including a vintage bottle at €39.
Finally, a detail: the crepe makers are not greased with vegetable oil, but with lard. I think that in 2021 this information is not insignificant and should be on the menu somewhere. In case any vegans read me…
Gigi, 4 Rue de la Corderie, 75003 Paris, open from Wednesday to Friday (noon-3pm) and on the weekend (noon-6pm), website
JOSSELIN (la Crêperie de)
Did you know that there are no less than 22 creperies within 150 m of the Edgar Quinet metro station? Among them, one institution stands out: the Creperie de Josselin, a family business run since 1969. Here, apart from the galettes, there’s no fuss: long waits on the pavement, train station atmosphere, smell of gravel, menu translated into Japanese, lumps of butter and a bowl of caramel on the counter of the open kitchen. Immediate service, bill brought as soon as the dessert is swallowed (but the owner has offered the coffees, rare in Paris!), the tables turn time and time again, it’s like being on a Ryanair flight. Forget going on a date here… but for the rest, all the rest, it’s amazingly good!
Setting: exposed beams and castle-style wooden panelling. Charming! Ready for Camelot?!
Menu: all the great classics of a Breton creperie are here – apart from the sausage galette – including the cup of fermented milk. Crepes and galettes are made in pairs: a 40 cm disc of batter is covered with the filling and then another 35 cm disc. So twice as thick as in other restaurants. The “home-made” apple juice is in fact from the brand Sous le Pommier, which is excellent by the way, but not so home-made and sold Carrefour supermarkets.
The classic egg, ham and cheese galette: €10.50 (367 g). Insane. Rural. Perfectly rested buckwheat, strong in taste, beautiful alveoli, slightly shiny chestnut colour. Be aware that the presentation is rough and without fuss: the galette is folded in four, basta, far from the magazine image of the decorative complete galette with its egg yolk in the centre, chopped chives and a bit of stewed onions…
Crepe: homemade salted butter caramel at €8 (157 g). Great in every way: flavour, cooking, texture…
What else can I say? You have to come here at least once in your life. Rustic, but sooo French!
Crêperie de Josselin, 67 Rue du Montparnasse, 75014 Paris (not to be confused with “Le Petit Josselin” at the #59 in the same street), open on Tuesday from 5.30pm to 11pm and from Wednesday to Sunday (11.30am – 11pm), no reservations, no groups over 6 people, facebook
KRUGEN
Setting: cool, apparently, it’s “Nordic design”.
Menu: everything is just right. The suppliers are chosen with great care, especially as some of them products are produced under the restaurant’s brand.
Aside from the presence of the sausage galette on the menu (with a Breton sausage, of course), Krügen ticks all the boxes of the authentic creperie with the banning of Nutella (very brave) and the possibility of having all the dessert crepes made of buckwheat instead of wheat.
From 2015 to 2020 Krügen (in homage to the rocks of Saint-Guénolé) caused a stir in the Republique area with the menu of its colourful and mixed Breizh-Californian restaurant, its clever Instagram account, its collab’ and other good ideas (fresh pancakes sold by the packet, production of kouigns (pancakes) from the Bigouden region, Breton grocery shop and brunch, etc.).
Since its move into a tiny space at Voltaire in 2021, Krügen has clearly lost some energy and inspiration. It owes its salvation to the sausage galette, which comes in 4 terribly tasty versions…
The classic egg, ham and cheese galette: €8.70 (214 g). Beautiful and tasty, crispy and honeycombed, perfectly madean unfailing choice.
Crepe: homemade salted butter caramel at €5.50 (95 g). Unfortunately, it was too dry because it was overcooked, despite the caramel. As there were 8 people at our table I asked the rest of the tribe, and the results were the same. Was it an accident or a change in the data sheet?
What else can I say? I decided not to mention the service in this modest comparison of the best creperies in Paris (see introduction). But when we visited Krügen it was Frédéric, one of the two owners, who was present. At 7.52pm Frédéric cancelled our reservation – made 4 days earlier – at 8pm for 8 people, on the grounds that we were more than 6 (although the restaurant’s website allows reservations for up to 12 people).
Moreover, that evening the owner was alone in the dining room for 38 people and was completely overwhelmed. Another accident?
Krügen, 4 rue du général Renault, 75011 Paris, open from Tuesday to Friday (noon-2.30pm and 6.30pm-10.30pm), from Saturday to Sunday (noon-10pm) and on Monday (noon-2.30pm), website
ROND
You know, I’ve had my eye on you for a long time little creperie in Belleville… And then one fine day, bingo, we arrived with our friends to sit on your terrace, taste your entire menu and shoot for Instagram. A real pleasure!
Setting: easy-going. Formica tables, wooden chairs and exposed brickwork .
Menu: all good! Fifteen or so galettes named after towns in the west with unsurprising fillings: leek fondue, candied onions, smoked salmon.
In the sweet section, there are ten or so equally classic crepes: bananas, apples, homemade chocolate, salted butter caramel, lemon…
The classic egg, ham and cheese galette: with Comté cheese and a thick slice of ham at €8 (195 g). Marvellous! Super dark batter, certainly rested for 72 hours and fermented with honey. Huge cells. The taste of buckwheat is very pronounced. Unparalleled for the moment in Paris. Needless to say, I had a big, big, big crush!
I also loved the smoked salmon galette, which was incredibly delicate: the salmon was not sliced but rather a slab of salmon.
Crepe: salted butter caramel at €4 (90 g). My crepe was dry and over-coloured, probably cooked on a too hot griddle. The rest of the table’s crepes were also overcooked.
I tried the “mi-choco” crepe (chocolate, caramel and roasted buckwheat): an absolute killer!
What else can I say? I would be tempted to put Rond in the top 2 or 3 of the best creperies in Paris, nothing below. But a big problem: the portions are not enough and I left hungry. The weights are indeed the lowest of all the creperies in the test. Moreover, although it’s not so visible on the pictures, crepes and galettes are served in plates… for dessert! I took a little walk in front of the kitchen and you can clearly see the 30 cm discs of batter on the 40 cm crepe makers. So the reasonable prices comparable to take-away prices (€8 for a galette and €4 for a crêpe) are to be put into perspective. You might as well know!
Rond, 21 Rue du Transvaal, 75020 Paris, open from Wednesday to Saturday (noon-11pm) and on Sunday (noon-5pm).
TANGUY
When your name is Gwilherm Tanguy (typically Breton!) and you decide to open a restaurant, chances are it will be a creperie and not Hanoi Delights. Well, Gwilherm followed his Breton intuition to the delight of hundreds of gourmets of all kinds who tasted his “old-fashioned crepes” and gave it an incredible 4.9 rating on Google…
Decor: ohlalalala I love it! An old bakery ceiling painted under glass, rough walls and a counter made of laboratory earthenware. Frankly, if I open a creperie tomorrow, this is what I want. Small (and only downside): the kitchen is separated from the dining room by a partition when it would have been so nice to see chef Gwilherm on his crepe maker!
Menu: impeccable. All the classics are there, with a bonus for the savoury side: the simple butter crepe (€2.50) and the dry galette crumbled in fermented milk (ribot milk).
As for Breton drinks, the choice is vast with chouchen (fermented honey and water), Pommeau (apple juice and brandy), brandies, beers from the Trégor region and above all a fine list of carefully chosen ciders.
The products used are precisely sourced and all come from Brittany, including the eggs and honey!
The classic egg, ham and cheese galette: with Prince de Paris ham and organic tomme cheese for €9.50 (230 g). Not surprisingly, a marvel. Alveoli, crispness, colour, everything is top notch. The choice tomme made from cow’s milk, rather than emmenthal, plays a decisive role in the strength of the taste and goes perfectly with the buckwheat. The batter is beaten by hand and the crepes are basted with semi-salted butter at the end of cooking, as shown in this video on the Fooding website.
Crepe: homemade salted butter caramel at €6.50 (100 g). Very fine and incredible butter taste. Great caramel. Cooked on one side only. The presentation could be improved (pale colour).
What else can I say? With only 28 seats and no terrace, the restaurant is usually full. Reservations via the internet are therefore imperative (no telephone).
One more thing: I will exceptionally pass judgment on the service. The waiter who took care of us was particularly competent, both with the menu and the drinks, so much so that I thought for a moment that he was Gwilherm!
Tanguy, 15 rue de l’Echiquier, 75010 Paris, open from Tuesday to Saturday (noon-2.30pm and 7pm-10.30pm), website
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