Monday, August 12, 2013

Ma Cocotte: new restaurant in the Paris markets of St-Ouen

This summer in Paris, my best find has been Ma Cocotte, the fantastic restaurant in la puces de Clignancourt et St-Ouen.  This new place to eat makes a pleasant change to the more traditional restaurant fare in this little corner of Paris.  Annually so many people make a pilgrimage to the most famous of Paris' flea markets, that frankly it was about time that a beautiful and modern Paris restaurant has found it way there!

{image vintage finds}
Created from the ground up by French design royalty Philippe Starck, equally well known as an interior designer and for his industrial design and consumer goods, this restaurant could never fail to please visually.  And it also hits the mark wonderfully for a perfect lunch time meal on a sunny Sunday stroll at the markets!

{image unknown source}
Starck has personally sourced items from the flea markets of St-Ouen - thus - far from creating a modern restaurant at odds with it's surroundings - the restaurant sits so comfortably within the markets of Paul Bert and Serpette you could think it is a newly opened vintage store!

Starck in his restaurant
His inspiration was the dealers' own lunch time meal tables laid out to share with their friends, their laughter and chatter.  He wanted a place of his own to eat on his regular trips to the markets, with his own friends to share laughter and chatter.  From this modest plan, comes the transformation of an industrial building to a 'market must-do'!

{image Sarah Lavoine}
And hopefully you won't be as naive as I am, to the video art installation! On the back wall, against the natural bricks are two artworks framed identically, one photographic, or rather I thought both were - until the image of a person leaning on the glass partition appeared different each time I looked away and then looked back!

{image via Ma Cocotte}
The surprise downstairs in this vintage styling utopia, are that the bathrooms are a sea of utilitarian white tile and 'public bathhouse' styling that have been said to resemble something from Kubrick's 2001!

{image The Wall Street Journal}
Last year when I was there this building at the entrance to the Paul-Bert market could have been mistaken for a cement parking garage.  Starck refers to the building as a 'monopoly house' which now houses this two-story hip restaurant with so much Parisian design cred.


From the vintage furniture selection to the wood and steel panel lift garage doors, a contemporary and deliciously simple menu, arranged to share with friends; this is an exciting new addition to the traditional brasserie fare of St-Ouen.

Hope you take the time to enjoy on your next visit!
Jennifer.
x


MA COCOTTE
106, Rue des Rosiers 94400 Saint-Ouen
T: 01 49 51 70 00

OPEN DAILY
12pm to 3pm and 7pm to 11pm Weekdays
8am to 11pm Saturday and Sunday

3 comments:

  1. Aaron Allen is widely recognized as one of the world’s most sought-after and prestigious restaurant consultants.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jen, I love the mix of chairs and gallery wall in the second photo! The mint green chair is especially tres chic. We're headed to Paris in April, so I'm going to have to look this place up for sure!!
    ~Kristen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kristen - yes I love these too! And especially loved that it's so harmonious you first read them as 'matching' and then realize that the chairs around the table in the first pic are in fact 4 different colours! Just lovely! x

      Delete

I love reading your comments and feedback, thanks for taking the time to respond!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...