This will be the laziest review I ever write in my life. I live literally over the road from Café Oberkampf, on Rue Neuve Popincourt. I did have to put on shoes to come for my coffee, but that’s about it. Despite living just over the road, I’d never actually visited before, which has been a terrible oversight.
Café Oberkampf is great! It’s small, sure, but today this was no problem as it was just myself and another customer seated at the tables, plus a couple of people using the window leaners. You could probably seat about 20 people inside, but that would be fairly noisy and a bit cramped. On nice days they have a few benches outside, and everyone is so nice that a little squashing can’t really hurt.
It’s run by a jovial fellow named Guy, who is largely responsible for all the creative food being served (more on that below). The menu is a bit light on description, but as the food started coming out, I was disappointed I hadn’t come for lunch.
First, the coffee! I noticed the barista weighing the coffee for my flat white – actually placing the portafilter on a little set of scales, and removing the excess grains. I’ve never seen that before, but it must have worked, because the flat white was excellent. Strong and hot, which is not always a given. Apparently she was trained in Sydney, and the coffee was easily as good as I’ve had there, or back home in New Zealand. They get their beans from Café Coutume, another great café featured on this site.
The décor is very bright, the music suitable to my tastes (The Smiths, then Fleetwood Mac, then The Monkees, then Lauryn Hill), and the service very friendly. They all seemed to speak English which made my life easier, not that I ever hold it against the French when they want to speak, you know, French. In fact everyone who came in seemed to speak English, which also made eavesdropping a little easier. Much of the conversation centred around how to improve café culture in Paris, how to engage with the best coffee roasters, and how people don’t understand the true value of a barista. These people are passionate about what they do! [The barista actually just said “I never realised that I had such a passion for coffee.”]
There are also delightful little references to antipodean life: “Marmite vs Vegemite” scrawled on a glass partition, and a picture of the saltwater pool at Bondi Beach in Sydney.
I wanted something light to eat with my coffee. I’m usually a scone person, where scones can be found. Today, however, it had to be banana bread. They served it toasted, which I’d never considered, and it was glorious! The sugars in the bananas caramelised wonderfully on the edges, and the middle was still soft and spongey. And, of course, I could taste bananas, which is sort of important.
The muesli is homemade, the “toast” looks and smells delicious (a large piece of bread covered in cheese and tomatoes served with a roasted carrot salad), and the sandwiches also look splendid. And then someone ordered something that made the whole café stare (no exaggeration): roasted pears with cinnamon on ricotta toast. I’m distraught that I didn’t get a photo of it! If you want this, you have to be quick. Guy (the food guy) said he was planning to change next week to an equally-delicious-sounding spiced pumpkin and ricotta on toast.
This is the perfect place for a great coffee and a light-to-medium-sized bite for lunch. There is no “kitchen” per se, and you won’t find a poulet roti or an enormous Parisian salade. But Guy can work wonders with his sandwich press, and the conversation and caffeine left me perfectly satisfied.
Words By Patrick Whatman
Twitter: @mrwhatman
Images from: Café Oberkampf Facebook
