Over the last few years, the Paris by Mouth website has become a solid resource for English-speakers trying to find a good restaurant in Paris. For example, they can help find something open on a Monday (not as easy as it sounds), or a restaurant that is “not terrible near the Eiffel Tower“, etc.

But Paris by Mouth also organise rather special guided food tours. Conducted in English (of course) with small groups, they can help you discover an area of Paris (the Marais, Saint-Germain…), help you get to know natural wines and the wine bars that serve them or help you brush up on your French cheeses… with more wine (wine is kind of a theme – we’re not complaining) and their guides are surprisingly knowledgeable.

We decided to go on a tour of the Latin Quarter with them, exploring the typical little shops on rue Mouffetard, just a few minutes from our hotels, in the capable hands of Emma Bentley. She turned out to be a mine of information, letting us taste all things sweet and savoury along the way.

Here’s our report.

Our tour, including visits to and tastings at six Latin Quarter boutiques took a little over three hourse, but the time went very quickly!

We were told to meet up at 10am in front of La Cave la Bourgogne, where our guide and the six other people taking the tour that day were waiting. Each tour can accommodate a maximum of seven people, partly because some of the establishments visited are really tiny!

Emma introduced herself, asked if anyone had any allergies or special requests, and very soon we were off to the first port of call – master pastry chef Carl Marletti, just nearby.

His lemon tart was recently voted the best in Paris (we understood why after tasting it) and his fruit jellies succulent too (we tried the raspberry one). Many of the cakes on offer are only available at certain times of year, depending on the fruit used, everything is fresh and made on site (you can see the cramped kitchens at the back). Even at 10am, many of the cakes on display looked very tempting!
We went to the square Saint-Médard opposite to share our tart and a chocolate eclair (very nice), and Emma explained the history of the neighbourhood, the church, the Bièvre (the other river that used to cross Paris until it became too polluted and had to be covered over), why the Latin Quarter is called theLatin Quarter (I’m ashamed to say, I didn’t know)…

Next, it was time to taste the macarons (not ‘macaroons’) made by Gregory Renard (here). Each of his boutiques are run by a member of the family, and the macarons are all fresh and handmade. We tasted the caramel and salted butter one, and a blackcurrant-violet one, and Emma explained the ingredients and the history of this very French dessert.

Apparently, the foie gras macaron is a big hit around Xmas!
After two sweet stops, it was time for something savoury!

First, we went to a cooked meats shop run by the same family for three generations – Aux Saveurs d’Auvergne (here). The place is pretty ugly, with Xmas decorations they never take down (and they’ve been there for a decade) but their selection of patés, hams and sausages has been keeping customers happy for a long time.

A special mention goes out to ‘Babe’, the cuddly pig smiling away in their display case.
Next, we went to the cheese shop Androuet, in a beautiful building, and filled with dozens of different cheeses, more than I ever knew existed. Each one is displayed with its region of origin, and Emma knew all about how they were prepared, with what sort of milk and even the history behind them (like Mimolette that has to be banged on the floor to get the mites out of it).

Here, as for the Saveurs d’Auvergne, we didn’t each our purchases straight away – Emma saved them in her bag for tasting at the end.
After a quick visit to the bread shop (we’d been told it was only average, and that it was odd nothing better was nearby) we entered a tiny chocolate shop called Mococha which doesn’t actually produce the chocolates itself, but has creations from three very distinguished chocolate chefs in a boutique that looks much like a jewellery shop.

Each chocolate chef has his own presentation stand and and explanation of his speciality, and the boutique also offers a range of coffee beans, ice creams, and even chocolate cakes. We tasted a couple of things including one creation called ‘complexité’ – a ganache mixing dark chocolate and balsamic vinegar. Quite the surprise…
We had now been touring for two and a half hours, and it was time to finish things off with a tasting session of our cheeses and meats, accompanied by a glass (or two) of white and red wine.

They were very cheery at la Maison Claudel Vin & Whisky and certainly know a lot about wines and whisky – there’s a vast choice, including a large champagne section, and the tables for tastings were all ours.

Now, everyone tucked into the Saucisse de Montagne, Pavé au Poivre and rabbit pâté, together with the selected cheeses – Brillat Savarin, Brie de Meaux, curly Tete de Moine, tangy Ossau-Iraty and a great Roquefort, all washed down with some 2013 Saint Pourcain and 2011 Minervois-la-Liviniere. We even got to take the leftovers home with us!
We were amazed at how well our English guide knew French cuisine and culture – probably more than the majority of French people. There was history, anecdotes, information and none of it sounded like it had been trotted out a thousand times before.

Also, keeping the group small is a really good move – you can hear all that’s being explained, ask questions and not feel like your in a coach party being herded around. Paris by Mouth can tailor the tour to your preferences or wishes if need be, and they have a few different tour on offer so you can discover different parts of the city. We really enjoyed it!

Paris by Mouth has up to three tours on offer each day (depending on the season)

Price for a 3-hour tour – 95€ per person

Click here to choose and book your tour

Website: parisbymouth.com

Facebook: here

Twitter: twitter.com/parisbymouth

To check out all our photos taken during the tour, click here.