For great design, sometimes all you need is good friends, superior coffee, and some really cool stools. Of course, a hip Paris location doesn't hurt either.
Discovered via Anknels and Burblets, Ten Belles, the latest shop to enter the burgeoning coffee scene in the City of Lights, is already a local favorite. Fans praise not only the brewing prowess of barista Thomas Lehoux, who learned his art from an American, but also the homemade fare offered up by Alice Quillet and Anna Trattles of the equally popular Le Bal Café. Add to this winning combination fresh design concepts like a bouquet of raspberries on the bar and signature foldable stools and you have a recipe for coffeehouse bliss.
Photography courtesy of Anknel and Burblets (except where noted).
Above: Ten Belles owner Thomas Lahoux has been described as "the best barista in Paris." Photograph by Justin Chung.
Above: At Ten Belles, everything is fresh, even the bunch of raspberries on the bar.
Above: Extemporaneous groupings are made possible by a proliferation of folding stools inside and out, designed by Pierre Hourquet.
Above: Conceived by the owners (with some advice from architect friends), the design of Ten Belles was purposefully simple and straightforward. Photograph via Petite Passport.
Above: A spare shelf needs nothing more than a menu and some good grounds (and those raspberries again).
Above: If the smell of Ten Belles' fresh roasted coffee doesn't temp you, Alice and Anna's baked goods are sure to. Photo via Substance of Style.
Above: Something for the chocoholic.
Above: Ten Belles' sign was painted by Jacky, a 70-year-old Frenchman who has been hand painting shop signs his whole life. The branding was done by David Rager.
Above: Effecting his most convincing Seattle vibe, Thomas Lahoux stands outside his new venture. Photograph by Justin Chung.
N.B.: Heading to Paris? See 40 of our favorite places to shop, eat and stay in The City of Lights.