Ina Garten's Favorite Parisian Café Has A Rich History

In true Ina Garten style, all of her favorite Parisian haunts are as chic as they come. The Barefoot Contessa and husband Jeffrey have been vacationing in the city of love for years, even before Garten found fame. In fact, when they first visited Paris in the '70s, they could only afford to camp outside the city, but now the couple owns a gorgeous top-floor apartment in the 7th Arrondissement.

During her trips to Paris, Garten apparently loves to frequent gourmet cheese shops, delectable bakeries, specialty food stores, and of course, cafés. One of her favorites is Café de Flore. Here, an off-white awning with forest green lettering shades round tables and red upholstered chairs outside. Inside, you'll see intricate patterns on the floor made up of mini tiles, and you can also spot arched mirrors, dark wood, and a loaded pastry case — it's about as quintessentially Parisian as it gets. 

The Boulevard Saint-Germain establishment has also been a regular stop for other notables like Ernest Hemingway, Yves Saint Laurent, and Albert Camus, among others, and is known as a place where great minds of art, literature, philosophy, politics, and fashion often come together over an aperitif.

Café de Flore was founded around 1887 and has had a long reputation as a gathering place for liberal thinkers. It's here that poet Guillaume Apollinaire once coined the term "surrealist," referring to a type of artistic expression that is "beyond reality" (via Tate). It's said that, at the café, Apollinaire gathered a meeting with writer André Breton and other like-minded individuals to really define the movement, one that had little regard for moral preoccupations or traditional aesthetic ideals and instead focused on tapping into the subconscious and the irrational world of dreams. Other important figures like dadaist poet Tristan Tzara, fashion mogul Hubert de Givenchy, existential philosopher Jean Paul Sartre, actress Brigitte Bardot, and artist Pablo Picasso all once enjoyed frequent visits to Café de Flore as well.

The delectable meeting spot has also been the location for iconic photographs shot by the likes of Dennis Stock, as well as the setting for fashion shows for major brands like Chanel, and the motif for advertising campaigns for companies such as Longchamp and Lancôme. It remains a popular hangout for Hollywood idols like Sharon Stone, Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, Robert de Niro, Jane Fonda, Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, and Cher. The café even has its own literary prize, the Prix de Flore, awarded annually to promising young authors.

Café de Flore is a classy joint, where simplicity and tradition go a long way. Ina Garten's go-to orders shows as much. On Instagram, she shared a charming photo of herself and Jeffrey at the café enjoying a Perrier with lemon, a plate of perfect potato chips, and rosé in a simple wine glass embossed with "Café de Flore" in the signature green color.

For breakfast, you might want to order a "café pot" so your coffee will be served in a charming carafe. Ask for boiled eggs and grilled bread and a typical croissant au beurre. Or, maybe a French omelet with a flute of champagne, considered the perfect meal in Ina Garten's opinion. There's also the options of confit duck, salade Niçoise, a croque Monsieur, or Welsh rarebit, the latter a dish with toast topped with a Cheddar cheese and beer sauce. 

All can be washed down with essential French wines — Pouilly Fume, Chablis, Bruilly, or Bandol. For dessert, pair a decadent glass of Sauternes with a slice of classic tarte tatin, a French cheese board, or the Coupe Flore, a sundae with dark chocolate and pistachio ice-creams, pear sorbet, chocolate sauce, and chantilly cream, and you can finish out the perfect Parisian day with a treat that's as indulgent.