La Pharmacie

I passed by this café about a year ago, on the way to Astier, and I have been meaning to go back ever since. La Pharmacie calls itself a tea parlor, a restaurant, a bookstore, an organic shop, and an art gallery - all in one! This I couldn't miss, and I had the perfect lazy afternoon during the week to go check it out. With a purse full of reading material and a friend with studying to accomplish, we headed out.

La Pharmacie is located at an adorable crossroads in the 11th, a block away from the market on Boulevard Richard Lenoir. It is on the corner; across the street from it is a bakery, and cattycorner to it is a creperie. Could it conform more perfectly to a storybook Parisian neighborhood?

When you enter La Pharmacie, the first room is the non-smoking lounge/library/tea shop:

When we arrived these comfy leather chairs were taken, so we made our way through the restaurant tables and open kitchen to the smoking lounge in the back (note the photographs on the wall - the exhibit of the moment)**:
Without even looking at the menu I knew what I would order (the place smelled like chocolate! How could I resist?):
Mmm. This huge pot of delicious, rich, hot chocolate was 5.50€ and lasted me the first hour! They also have lassis & fruit juices, a few organic beers (that's what my friend got), a huge selection of teas, and some random drinks that sound disgusting, like one made with fermented tea and mushrooms. No thanks!

As the afternoon creeped on we moved towards their wine and alchohol selection and got a carafe of Sangria, which was refreshing but sadly lacking in the fruit department. I did not indulge in any food when I was there but their pastries look like perfect accompaniments to a pot of tea, and throughout our stay we were treated to a variety of smells from the open kitchen. When we arrived it was chocolate, and as the afternoon carried on and they did prep work for the evening we were amazed by how delicious the soy cake smelled (my very carnivorous, very French friend was certain that it was beef boulettes and garlic - ha! tofupwn3d!). I will have to go back for lunch or dinner.

So if you're looking for the perfect place to go to read or just chill, whether you have tea or beer or wine in mind, La Pharmacie is for you. They also have occasional concerts, which might be something to look into.

La Pharmacie
22, rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud
75011 Paris
01 43 38 04 99

**These photos make it seem like it was totally empty, but actually I took them throughout our time there and purposefully avoided annoying other patrons by taking their picture.

tags: grub, shopping