Image by Carmen De Falco

Like Japanese restaurants in Paris, which are divided into those for locals or tourists (generally run by non-Japanese people and serving mostly sushi) and the ones frequented by Japanese, with better quality and range of food, there are plenty of Indian restaurants in Paris, but not all can boast real Indians in their clientele.

Located in the heart of the Indian and Sri Lankan area in Paris near metro station La Chapelle, Krishna Bhavan is a vegetarian Indian restaurant, with still one of the greatest quality/price ratio in Paris (even if they recently raised their prices).

Unlike most Indian restaurants in Paris, where you’ll eat dishes from Northern India or Pakistan, the specialities of Krishna Bhavan are from South India and Sri Lanka, and are of Tamil tradition. For example, the dosa, a kind of long “crêpe” filled with different vegetables, or the thali, a full meal with several dishes and sauces. As in the Krishna spirituality, alcohol is not served, which makes the bill cheaper, wine or beer is substituted by lassi or milk-shakes (or simply tap water). The starters are not the best dishes, and a reader mentioned that the food was microwaved (see comments below). But after going there several times recently, I still highly recommend the main full dishes.

The restaurant being small, the atmosphere is convivial, and it’s not rare to chat with neighbouring tables. It’s also possible to buy food to take away in the Krishna Bhavan tearoom, on the other side of the street.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Krishna Bhavan | Restaurants (Indian) | Full thali € 10.00
24 rue Cail | La Villette | +33142057843
11:00 – 23:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris

Image by Frédéric Moussaïan

It’s incredible how sometimes the large and ugly stands next to the small and cosy. But yet this is the case in Place des Fêtes’s area, near Buttes Chaumont park: right behind the five huge blocks of concrete which host many of the last remaining working class families of Paris, about 20 villas (here, villa = alley, lane) concentrated around Rue de Mouzaïa, constitute one of the most charming residential area within Paris’s boundaries.

Also know as “Carrières d’Amérique” – plaster produced from old gypsum quarries ( = carrières) was exported to the USA and is believed to have been used in the White House construction… – this area has a deep working class background. Back in the 19th century, this area was part of the East suburban industrial neighbourhoods, and this sloping site (unstable because of quarry exploitation) could only host fragile two-floored constructions.

More than a century later though, it surely is one of the most picturesque and intimate areas of intra muros Paris, which will ravish not only flower enthusiasts but also cat lovers: cats are indeed the real sovereigns of the villas, and as a poetic homage to their feline fellows, some of their owners have put funny signs on their door (most of them in Villa Sadi Carnot) such as “chat gentil” (= friendly cat), “chat lunatique” (= quirky cat) or “attenti ai gatti” (Italian for “beware of the cats”). A delicate warning, isn’t it?

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Les Villas de la Mouzaïa | Relaxing
Rue de Mouzaïa | La Villette
24 hours daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris

Image by Frédéric Moussaïan

As you may know if you have read my articles about La Campagne à Paris (check the La Campagne à Paris article) or Les Villas de la Mouzaïa (check the Les Villas de la Mouzaïa article), I really like picturesque and bucolic areas in Paris, generally surrounded by modern buildings, but which look like a village or a suburban residential neighbourhood.

That’s why I want to make you discover the Butte Bergeyre, one of the least famous of these areas.

West of Parc des Buttes Chaumont, this sector is accessible only from one zigzagging street for the cars (rue Georges Lardennois), and from three staircases for pedestrians located at 52 rue Simón Bolívar; 19 rue Manin; and 40 rue Mathurin Moreau (they are the thin lines on the map). Once up the hill, you’ll find a residential and peaceful area where you’ll find more cats that cars…

The architecture of the buildings is not as uniform as in the other sectors previously mentioned, but there’s still a good harmony between buildings and vegetation, and there’s even a nice collective garden taken care of by the inhabitants of the area.

Last but not least, your efforts to climb the stairs will be rewarded by one of the best views on Montmartre and the Sacré Coeur, but don’t count on me to show you a picture, you’d better go there!

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Butte Bergeyre | Art & culture, Relaxing
Rue Georges Lardennois | La Villette
24 hours daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris