Paolina Caffè

About Paolina Caffè

Espresso steam curling off a tiny porcelain cup, the sound of Italian chatter spilling onto Rue de Turenne. Paolina is a Milanese coffee bar dropped into the Marais, the kind of place where the barista actually knows what extraction means and the pastries come from someone who grew up eating cornetti, not croissants. It is small, standing-room sometimes, and that is the point. You drink your coffee like they do in Milan: fast, hot, leaning against the counter. The afternoon aperitivo hour is worth building your day around. Do not sit outside if you want the real experience. Stand at the bar, order a macchiato, and pretend you have somewhere to be.