Café Les Deux Gares
Heidi Ellison of Paris Update ate hake in a polenta crust at Café Les Deux Gares in October 2022 and found it
a dream with its crunchy coating.1
Why go
The café opened in 2021 as a preview of Adrien Gloaguen's Hôtel Les Deux Gares, with Jonathan Schweizer from Sauvage at the stove (Do It In Paris). Schweizer told Aaron Ayscough's Not Drinking Poison podcast in April 2025 what he wants it to be: What we try to do at Café Les Deux Gares is make a bistrot or restaurant like we would like to find if we were going to another city.
(Not Drinking Poison) David Lebovitz ate on the terrace in July 2022 and wrote that Schweizer isn't reinventing French cuisine but is taking it in his own direction.
(David Lebovitz)
At dinner here in October 2022, Ellison recognized two habits she remembered from his cooking at Sauvage: raw fish paired with fresh seasonal fruit and Espelette chili pepper in desserts.
That night the raw fish was line-caught white tuna with tomatillos and figs. In the verbena ice cream with Espelette cream, she wrote, the heat was not evident at first, but soon made itself felt in a pleasant way.
(Paris Update)
Eat on the terrace over the Gare de l'Est tracks at sunset. Emily Monaco of The Infatuation wrote in April 2024: It's no Eiffel Tower, but that's why we (and all the other locals) love it.
(The Infatuation)
The weekday set lunch cost 22 to 26 euros in July 2023, and dinner à la carte ran 52 to 66 euros (Le Fooding). Paris by Mouth called the cooking affordable and really well-executed modern bistro fare
in May 2022 (Paris by Mouth).
Meg Zimbeck of Paris by Mouth dropped the café from three stars to one after a disappointing visit in 2025 (Paris by Mouth). Lebovitz still kept it among his Paris favorites in July 2026, where he wrote that many of the diners, myself included, go for the food.
(David Lebovitz)
Order this / avoid
The menu changes daily.3
- Order: mussels with lovage (livèche). David Lebovitz, July 2022, glossed the herb as
a celery leaf/parsley-like herb
and called the disha wonderful, if copious, starter
at 18 euros.2 - Order: Galabar blood pudding. Emily Monaco, The Infatuation, April 2024:
seared to a perfect crisp and plated with golfball-sized sweet peppers.
4 - Order: chicken thigh. Le Fooding, July 2023:
crispy chicken thigh on a bed of pointy cabbage and spring onions, dressed in an intensely flavorful crab bisque.
5 - Order: lamb sweetbreads. Heidi Ellison, October 2022:
crunchy breading covering the succulent sweetbreads,
with raw fennel and basil.1 - Order: pork shoulder. Ellison, October 2022, on the carrots beside it:
probably the most wonderfully flavorful carrots I have ever tasted.
1 - Order: hazelnut crème brûlée. Lebovitz, on his 2026 favorites list:
a big-enough-to-share hazelnut crème brûlée with vin jaune
(yellow wine).3 - Avoid: pork loin (échine de porc). Randy of Paris Missives, April 2023:
very grizzly and fatty, difficult to eat.
9 - Drink: natural wine by the glass or the 50cl carafe (about three-quarters of a bottle), from a list Lebovitz called
gently priced
in July 2022.2
What locals & experts say
- Paris by Mouth, May 2022:
worth the journey, Especially on a Monday night.
7
Good to know
- Days: lunch and dinner Monday to Saturday, shut Sunday.11
- Booking: book on the café's page on the hotel's site, or call +33 1 85 73 11 83.11
- Finding it: the café stands across the street from the hotel, at 1 rue des Deux Gares between the Gare du Nord and the Gare de l'Est. Lebovitz calls the neighborhood
a little rough around the edges
in 2026.3
Verdict
should-visit — Take a table on the terrace above the Gare de l'Est tracks for Jonathan Schweizer's daily bistro menu. Weekday lunch was a 22 to 26 euro set in 2023. Paris by Mouth came away disappointed in 2025.