Angelina Rivoli

Gold detailing, painted decoration and an ornate salon give Angelina on rue de Rivoli the character of a destination tea room. Founded in 1903 opposite the Tuileries, it is a place where the setting makes a seated pastry stop feel different from buying a cake across a counter. The decorative interior is part of the visit, with mouldings, medallions and frescoes shaping the rooms.

Pastries and the house hot chocolate

Pastry is the central attraction, accompanied by the house's well-known hot chocolate. The selection offers a reason to look beyond a single signature order: a cake to share, an individual pastry and a longer afternoon tea create different kinds of visit within the same address. The restaurant also serves savoury dishes, so it is possible to make this lunch rather than only an afternoon sweet stop.

The salon, takeaway shop and Tuileries

There are two useful ways to experience the Rivoli branch. Table service gives time in the salon; the shop offers cakes, pastries and packaged delicacies to take away. The latter suits a visitor who is more interested in the baking than the room, while the former makes sense when the historic setting is the main attraction.

The Tuileries immediately opposite provide a clear connection to a central Paris day. Angelina's appeal lies in that meeting of pastry and place: an elaborate indoor room facing one of the city's great open gardens, with the food substantial enough to be the reason for stopping.