Paris in Town, a French café specializing in crepes, sandwiches, salads and pastries, opened earlier this month at 4903 Cordell Ave. in downtown Bethesda.
The eatery strives to create the ambience of a café in France, with French artwork adorning the walls and a miniature version of the Eiffel Tower sitting on top of a bookshelf, where wines will eventually be displayed. A few customers were dining at a table Tuesday afternoon.
There is seating for dine-in customers as well as a display case of pastries and other baked goods. The cafe offers both dine-in and takeout service.
Paris in Town fills a vacancy created nearly three years ago when Fuse Taco closed in July 2019. That restaurant had opened in March 2019.
Manager Bruno Tager told Bethesda Beat on Tuesday afternoon that Paris in Town held a soft opening earlier this month and its menu continues to expand. There is another location in North Palm Beach, Fla, under the same ownership.
“We started with just pastries and coffee,” he said. “And then we added some lunch items and some grab-and-go stuff. And now we’re doing the full lunch menu. We’re working on breakfast and bringing in beer and wine, and cheese and charcuterie.”
Paris in Town’s lunch menu features baguette and panini sandwiches such as Albacore tuna, chicken breast, turkey pastrami, roast beef, prosciutto, Genoa salami and tomato bruschetta, among others. The menu also includes quiches and appetizers. Most lunch items cost $10 to $15.
The café also offers a dessert menu with nine crepes, containing fillings such as Nutella, banana, strawberries, apple compote and lemon. The crepes are topped with whipped cream. Crepes are $11 to $14.
Tager said the café workers are trained in French cooking, and at least half speak French or have a French-related background.
Both Tager and co-owner Diane Himmich say the community’s response has been positive so far.
“We love when it buzzes with curious and happy patrons looking at the art installation at the front from the local [RoFa Art Gallery], seeing we have a French book exchange on the back wall or making connections with each other at the communal table or high tops—art, books, good food, music, these are the staples of Paris in our little town,” Himmich wrote in an email to Bethesda Beat on Tuesday.
Tager said Paris in Town is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Dan Schere can be reached at daniel.schere@moco360.media