Angelina in Paris, France

Whenever I travel, I love visiting small local restaurants as well as popular (many times overpriced) spots that attract tourists. When I went to Paris for the first time, I looked up different must-see lists for the city and Angelina was a common destination on many of them.

If you haven’t been there before, Angelina’s Paris location markets itself as a tea room and dessert café. Located not far from the Louvre just north of the Tuileries Garden, Angelina has an elegant feel that attracts a lot of curious tourists. They’re perhaps most well-known for their hot chocolate and it’s the perfect spot for an afternoon snack or sweet breakfast.

When I went there, I ordered their famous hot chocolate. It was one of the best, if not the best, hot chocolates I’ve ever had. The thick and creamy chocolate was the definition of rich, almost as though a chocolate bar had been melted in a cup. And the whipped cream they used provided a nice balance to the drink. With it, I paired their signature dessert: Mont Blanc. From their website, it’s a “crispy and dry French meringue under a smooth creamy dome of light whipped cream, covered by chestnut vermicelli.” If that sounds intriguing to you, you should try it when you go!

Overall, I’d recommend a trip to Angelina. It’s got a bit of a whimsical feel especially in the front where they display a lot of their confectionaries. On a subsequent trip, I got an iced chocolate to go that was perfect. And if you can’t make it to Paris, Angelina opened a location in NYC a little over a year ago.