Recreating Paris in Marylebone

Back from Paris, I decided to let that Paris-feel linger a little longer, and re-create a little bit of Paris in Marylebone (the area I currently live close to). Marylebone High Street has been voted 'Britain's best High Street' in the past, and I have to say it is the nicest High Street I've ever seen in the UK, with excellent shops, both food and otherwise. One excellent feature of Marylebone High Street is that it's easy to recreate a little bit of Paris right on my doorstep.

The best time I think to visit MH street is Sunday late in the morning. The Street is buzzing with posh cars from which even posher families pour out to do their shopping. All shops are open on Sundays, and the Farmer's Market runs between 10 and 2 pm, behind the Waitrose supermarket.

La Fromagerie is a cheese treasure-trove. Filled to the brim with cheese, but also selling a host of other deli-type gourmet food, it even offers (some) room to have a brunch or lunch. The other day, I walked into a book store and saw the store featured on the cover of a book on worldwide fabulous shop interiors.

Both Paul and Le Pain Quotidien offer fab spaces to sit down, have a coffee with a croissant, and taste fabulous french bread. Both have store areas and sit-down areas, and if I had money enough, I'd have breakfast at either every single weekend!

The little sister to Conran's Orrery restaurant (I took that off the website, no way I can afford to eat there yet), Orrery Epicerie is a cute little store that is a combination of a small cafe and a traiteur.

On Marylebone Lane (which is just off Marylebone High Street), you can find the ultimate entrocote (or so I've been told) at the first London branch of Paris restaurant Le Relais de Venise. A few doors down, you can learn how to cook the entrocote yourself at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school.

La Fromagerie
2-4 Moxon Street (just off Marylebone High Street)
London
http://www.lafromagerie.co.uk/

Paul (boulangerie et patisserie)
115 Marylebone High Street
London
Website

Le Pain Quotidien
72-75 Marylebone High Street
London
website

Orrery Epicerie
55 Marylebone High Street
London
Website

Le Relais de Venise
120 Marylebone Lane (just off Marylebone High Street)
London
www.relaisdevenise.com

Le Cordon Bleu
114 Marylebone Lane
London
www.cordonbleu.edu

For more information on London shopping streets, including really good maps of exactly which stores are where go to Streetsensation.