Named after the François Truffaut film of the same name, Les 400 Coups is surely the hippest named kids cafe in the world. Close to Jourdain station on the Metro line 11 in the 19th arrondissement, it was a bit of a trek for us to get to, but well worth the journey. As soon as we walked through the door we were greeted by the incredibly charming art installation ‘Le Dortoir Des Doudous’ by Karin Nussbaumer and Frank Visser. A tribute to the ‘doudou’ (the French word for a comfort blanket or security teddy), the touching scene of little handmade dolls tucked up in their beds sleeping in a small wooden ‘dormitory’ room, can be viewed by peeking through a spy hole or over the wall. Something about it kind of reminded me of the animals in the Michel Gondry film ‘The Science of Sleep’. Loosely translated, the write-up for ‘Le Dortoir des Doudous’ reads:
“Night falls on ‘Le Dortoir des Doudous’. Perched on the moon is a funny character. He is colourful and cuddly… He is my doudou! A button for an eye, an ear of felt, glitter, sequins, ribbons… Voila! my imaginary friend. Rabbit, fairy or pirate… It’s up to you, the doudou of your dreams, who will accompany you to the land of the sand merchant.”
What an introduction to a kids restaurant! Truly adorable.
The restaurant is on 2 levels, with a smaller, quieter area downstairs (maybe for parents to sit in peace while their child is attending one of the many organised activities upstairs) and a larger dining area on the upper level. We sat upstairs where the main play area was, at the epicentre of absolute mayhem, but it felt great to be able to enjoy lunch with the kids in an environment where we were almost entirely unperturbed by our daughter throwing a tantrum and our son throwing half his dinner on the floor.
The space upstairs was incredibly bright and airy with huge windows and skylights, plenty of seating, a good sized play area and an additional room that is reserved for classes, special events and birthday parties. The food was quite good, though of the 5 choices on the lunch menu my first 2 selections were unavailable and the cost was a little high, but it was nice and healthy and the service was good. I had a tasty, if nothing to write home about, salad for 13.5 euros and the kids lunch meal was 11 euros (fish cakes with potatoes and beets, chocolate cake and a juice). Wine of course was notably cheap as always, with a glass of red costing 80 cents less than coke or perrier. Overall, for the kids meal, plus 2 salads, 2 desserts and 2 glasses of wine, the bill came to around 50 euros. As a side note I am wondering if it might eventually become rather unhealthy for me to live in a country where wine is cheaper than water as my money-conscious side can’t help but opt for wine at pretty much every opportunity. Sure, it’s a tough lifestyle, but my bank balance calls for it…
Since going to Les 400 Coups, and meeting other parents here I have actually discovered that family friendly cafes in Paris are not quite as rare as I had initially thought. I now have a pretty good list of other places that also apparently cater to young families, so I am planning on trying out as many of these as possible over the next few months. I will post details if I find any others worth checking out.
