American designer and USA institution Ralph Lauren is looking further than fashion and his ready-to-wear collection this Paris Fashion Week. The Ralph Lauren brand, best known for their sportswear is thinking outside the box when it comes to expanding the Ralph Lauren power house.
Image Via : Saint Germain Des Pres
Adding to his already very successful restaurant, Ralph Lauren has added a pop up café at their Saint Germain location in Paris, just in time for Paris Fashion Week. Unlike the restaurant which carries an upscale reputation, this new pop up café has a more accessible vibe and appears to be THE place to re-caffeinate for anyone attending fashion week. What better place to get your coffee fix on the go than in the heart of the city and at Ralph Lauren of all places. Of course, it’s open for everyone, not just models, designers, bloggers and fashion industry figures but if you’re lucky, you might just spot some famous faces as you pass the time people watching – the only way to take un café à Paris.
The café takes on the catchy name Ralph’s Coffee and will be open and running until 5th March, again coinciding with the end of Paris Fashion Week. It’s not Ralph Lauren’s first venture into pop up cafés, in fact New York, Tokyo and Hong Kong all got theirs before Paris but thanks to their success, Paris has finally made the pop up list too. Last year, Ralph Lauren also broke the mould by turning their Spring/Summer 2019 show into a full café experience in its flagship store on Madison Avenue New York, giving a completely unique twist on the traditional fashion showcase. Ralph Lauren isn’t the first brand to diverge into self named cafés and we’re certain they won’t be the last! Ralph Lauren joins the likes of Armani and Maison Kitsuné who also have their own cafés as a prominent part of their brand.
Image Via : The Fashion Network
At Ralph’s Coffee the ambiance is warm and inviting with round marble topped tables for a private experience or communal banquette style tables for getting to know people. The staff are all kitted out in Ralph Lauren branded uniforms, including starched white Oxford shirts, bottle green knitted ties and white aprons emblazoned with the Ralph Lauren brand logo. Their bistro style chairs compliment the iconic brasserie chairs seen all over Paris allowing the pop up café to slip right into the already long established café culture that Paris has. The only thing missing is a stylish terrace to sip your coffee on al fresco however they do already have an outdoor dining area attached the Ralph Lauren restaurant.
Perhaps if the pop up café comes back for a second season they’ll consider a small terrace – really it’s the only thing missing from this stylish coffee experience. The café is located on the ground floor of the Ralph Lauren boutique on 173 Boulevard Saint-Germain in the 6th Arrondissement of Paris so you can treat yourself to a selection of different coffees from classic espresso to trendy flat whites, hot chocolate and sweet goodies for anyone who needs a side of sugar fix with their caffeine. Of course, the star of the show has to be Ralph’s five-layer chocolate cake which has become a signature of the Ralph Lauren brand. Afterwards, you can head on upstairs to the boutique and feed your fashion addiction too!
Image Via : The Tatler
You would be forgiven to think that Ralph’s Coffee prioritises style over substance but in actual fact the coffee served is actually top of the range USDA organic coffee. Their organically grown beans from Central/South America and Africa certainly doesn’t go unnoticed and makes all the difference to the Ralph’s Coffee experience. Standard Parisian coffee available from any brasserie has a reputation for being very bitter and it’s a love it or hate it type of situation. Ralph’s Coffee is a breath of fresh coffee beans for the city, it’s certain to be missed once Paris Fashion Week is over. We can only hope it will return again in time for the Spring/Summer 2020 shows, fingers crossed!
Ralph’s Coffee has seen nothing but five star reviews since it opened and it’s no surprise considering the permanent restaurant receives the same high praise. Over in the restaurant at the same location, it’s a mix of classic American and Parisian dishes, ranging from fresh lobster and cobb salad to buttery mashed potatoes and rib-eye steak. Being in Paris it’s obviously dog friendly meaning your little (or large) pooch can join you while you dine too! You might not find the latte art we all so desperately crave for our Instagram accounts but we’re pretty sure the fact that it’s Ralph Lauren coffee (and it tastes great!) should be enough to elevate this coffee experience to insta-worthy levels.
