A New Kind of Food Court in Paris: The Ultimate Guide
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Food courts in Paris have distanced themselves from the takeout counters originating in North American shopping malls. Paris food courts offer the best in street food, but also top-notch restaurant meals. Gastronomy from around the world goes hand in hand with the opportunity to interact with the neighborhood. Many Paris food courts offer diverse cultural programs and lively evenings, creating what is called a third space, a welcome place — neither home, nor work — that urban apartment dwellers crave.
There’s plenty of competition regarding which food court is bigger, but it’s about the vibe and the variety, not the size. The interior design of these spaces — many of which have been repurposed — is often cutting-edge and adds architectural awe to the culinary experience. A far cry from McDonalds.
courtesy of Food Society Paris/ Ateliers Gaîté
Food Society
The Food Society concept originates from the foodie town of Lyon. The Paris outpost opened its doors in 2022 in the Ateliers Gaîté building in Montparnasse. The family friendly, 3500m²-food court has 15 unique restaurants, three bars, and a grocery shop.
Open daily, from 9 am until just before midnight, Food Society offers sushi, pizza, burgers, and healthy bowls, originating from far-flung locations like Thailand, Lebanon, and Japan, as well as traditional French crepes and desserts.
Food Society offers an organic menu in a no-plastic environment. The industrial design by green architect Lionel Jadot adds to the innovative vibe of Food Society. Communal wooden tables repudiate the traditional orange décor of “fast food nation.”
Like many of the food halls found in Paris, Food Society- as underscored by its name- is a place for meeting people, not just dining. Long chats and lingering over board games is welcome. Free musical events happen weekly, with Salsa evenings, after work DJ sets, comedy nights and family days, boasting animation, circus spectacles, and games.
Orders from the many locations can be placed on one’s cell phone. Although ingeniously lit, some customers at this busy locale think the space needs more natural light.
Address: 68 avenue du Maine, 14th
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Ground Control
Ground Control is a cross-purpose place to eat, drink, chill out, or psych up. This hip venue found near Gare de Lyon, and the Coulée verte, can make you feel like a cool kid, at any age. The vast, 6,500m² space, a former SNCF postal sorting center, has around 10 food counters offering examples of world cuisine that diners can tuck into at big wooden tables both inside or outside among the olive trees. One of the kitchens is Résidence du Refugee Food which welcomes chefs, some in exile, offering homemade bites from Syria, Tibet, Afghanistan, and Algeria. Other restos have roots in India, Greece, Taiwan, and local food from France. Four bars serve artisanal beer, wine, and cocktails. Everything is organic and plastic free.
Ground Control’s exceptional urban décor features life-sized images of SNCF trains, a mock-up of a plane, repurposed vans and buses, some of which dispense the food. Banks of pinball games, rotating popup shops, shops that sell board games and books, line the interior.
Various workshops are offered throughout the day, as well as cultural exhibitions, roller skating lessons (yes, it’s that big), yoga classes, children’s workshops, dances and concerts. The future is told by tarot card readers. The buzz of onsite podcasts emanates from Ground Control Radio, sharing ideas and encouraging debate. Ground Control’s record shop Major Tom is another reference to the iconoclast David Bowie. Ground Control is a way of reconnecting through many dimensions. The place really rocks, but can get very busy.
Address: 81-87, rue du Charolais, 12th
La Communale
This huge hall in Saint-Ouen is dedicated to both gastronomy and community building, and at 13,000m², it may actually be the biggest in the Paris region. Built in a former train factory, it’s now a massive hangar of polished concrete and metal beams where natural light illuminates a colorful patchwork of global cuisine. La Communale is extremely well received in its neighborhood.
The church-like central nave is divided into two spaces. First, the food court itself, with 12 stands of affordable street cuisine from around the world – Korea, Morocco, Taiwan, and Mexico. Also available are burgers, pizzas, vegan dishes, and homemade pies all made by local chefs. Part two is a well-stocked organic food market, with 10-plus dedicated greengrocers, cheesemakers, butchers, and fishmongers, offering fresh and seasonal products. There are gourmet food items and flowers to take home. On-site is a craft brewery. In addition, there’s wine. How civilized!
With its glass ceiling and girders, La Communale could be compared to the bygone market of Les Halles, once the central market of Paris.
A 500-seat concert hall hosts music and films. On-site are games for kids and adults: ping-pong, pinball, and fussball. Also offered are a range of lessons: labs for kids and adults alike. There’s always the thump of DJs and impromptu dancing! La Communale is adjacent to the new eco-friendly heart of Saint-Ouen, the Grand Parc des Docks de Saint-Ouen, and approximately 1.5 km from the Marche Aux Puces. Everyone’s welcome except dogs.
Address: 10 bis Rue de l’Hippodrome, Saint-Ouen
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Boom Boom Villette
This food court/fun hall is situated in Paris’ La Villette district, near the Cité des Sciences et Industrie. This is an event space and mini mall, which also invites visitors to try the best in street-food. Opened in January 2024, Boom Boom Villette is a playful new venue; its 4,000m² include 20 food kiosks and three bars. There’s Pingwoo with its extra cute 3D coffee art. Burgers, rotisserie, and hand-held foods give way to organic Poke bowls and healthy salads.
The place is another communal space to get out and enjoy one’s self. It’s a destination rather than a neighborhood experience. Included here is a movie theater, a wind tunnel experience, escape games, sport zones, kids’ play areas with laser games and trampolines, and a beer garden called Vats. It’s a self-proclaimed “temple to pleasure,” and part of the arts programming includes a drag show on Thursday nights. The décor is a fusion of mall-core and colorful art installations.
Address: 30 avenue Corentin Cariou, 19th
La Félicita
Near the rail lines wedged between the Bibliothèque Francois Mitterand and the Salpêtrière Hospital, is the huge 4,500m² La Félicita. This food warehouse is the creation of the Big Mamma Group, so there’s a lot of over the top Italian flavors here. There’s fresh pasta at the trattoria counters, plus pizza, burgers, an amazing array of sweets, croissants and pastries. If it can’t be imported from Italy, then it’s sourced locally. In addition to the half hectare of floor space, there’s a large terrace, three bars, and five kitchens which are open non-stop until 1am.
La Félicita is located in Station F, a former railway warehouse in the 13th arrondissement, and the décor even includes rehabilitated rail cars. The floor space, mosaicked with colored carpets and tables of every size, is festooned with vines and multi-colored fairy lights. It’s a very bohemian, young space. A curated musical soundtrack ties it all together.
It’s a profound transformation of the neighborhood. Station F itself provides office space for 1000 start-up businesses, which during eight years have created thousands of jobs. It also houses French offices for Microsoft and Facebook. Because La Félicita is under the auspices of one company, it can claim the title of the biggest restaurant in Europe. Note: there may be a long wait for food.
Address: 5 parvis Alan-Turing, 13th
Track 119
The mission statement at Track 119 is “Here we taste, we drink, we mix.” Only open since March 2024, Track 119 has successfully created an innovative, warm place that combines good food, art and music. This locale doesn’t boast a big food footprint. It has a smaller selection of food to choose from, but spicy or sweet, vegetarian or not, there’s food for every taste.
Once a former printing factory, this 400m²-hybrid venue successfully brings together food, music, and art. At Amorcito, Daniel from Mexico and Marta from Spain fuse a unique culinary experience. Deb’s Street Food company features Indian food where diners sample delicacies from out of stackable tiffins. The Lebanese kitchen RAAD Four has traditional dishes like Man’ouche and kibbe or the turmeric cake sfouf. Maison Soré dishes out new African fare. The cuisine is ever evolving and revolving. Turntable Kitchen is an innovative concept where young chefs in rotation, participate in a culinary revolution. Also rotating are the tunes from the DJ booth. 9.1.1 Emergency Drinks provide refreshing signature cocktails.
Track 119 has an events and arts space, with comedy and visual arts. It’s another place where orders are placed by phone. Track 119 hasn’t yet made it onto Google Maps, but the entrance is next to the “pharmacy.”
Address: 119 rue du Chemin Vert, 11th
Bonjour Bichat
Bonjour Bichat is a food experience on a more human scale. At just 450m², there’s a small sampling of flavors at hand. Savanne & Mousson’s amazing-looking African themed bento-boxes take fusion cuisine to the max! There’s Crrsp’s crunchy burgers, a variety of bistro plates, and dessert too. Located in a former carpentry workshop on a side street in the 10th arrondissement, Bonjour Bichat tries for a warm and green 1960s vibe. Customers cans sit up to the bar, sit at a communal table, or at a conversation nook. The bright rooms with 130 seats spread over two floors is also a “work from home” space. There are plenty of well-equipped work stations here. There’s a billiard table too. Tying it together are the ubiquitous DJ sets.
Address: 29 rue Bichat, 10th
Beaupassage
On Rue de Grenelle, Beaupassage is probably the most chichi of the food courts. Not quite fitting the definition of a food hall, Beaupassage is an open conglomeration of exceptional food artisans. This crisp, contemporary venue is home to the leading lights on the French food scene.
Star chef Yannick Alléno shows his love of Japanese cuisine. Japanese barista and world champion of latte art, Junichi Yamaguchi, has opened a coffee shop here. Anne Sophie Pic’s daily picks are gourmet entrees served in small glass jars for eating in or taking away. Nicole Barthélémy’s legendary fromagerie complements the bread and pastries of Thierry Marx. Also located here are Alexandre Polmard’s butcher shop and bistro, Oliver Bellin’s seafood restaurant Mersea, and the maestro of macarons, Pierre Hermé. Another draw is the Champion Spirit gym and spa opened by Abdoulaye Fadiga, world champion athlete and high-level physical trainer.
While trying to recreate the feel of the 200-year-old passages of the Right Bank, Beaupassage has succeeded in creating a sleek gourmet terrace of cream stone under open skies. It’s sophisticated, pretty, and peaceful. à chacun son gout – to each their own taste!
Adress: 53-57 rue de Grenelle, 7th
Lead photo credit : La Communale Saint-Ouen. Photo: @Marina Viguier
More in beaupassage, Boom Boom Villette, Food court, Food Society, Ground Control, La Communale Saint Ouen, markets, Street food
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