It used to be that the Right Bank was the home of the richest Parisians, the aristocracy and nobles, the haute bourgeoisie who lived in palaces with views of the Palais Garnier. You can see it even today, in the way the city is laid out: how cramped the Latin Quarter is as compared to the wide avenues near the Louvre.
But the times, as they say, are a-changing – the Right Bank has become a hub for novelty, and the youth of Paris now tends to live north of the river, which means that most of Paris’ hippest coffee shops and restaurants lay a good 40 minutes’ commute from my home.
Not that I’m complaining: I love discovering new neighborhoods, and it’s no skin off my back to trek to the 10th or the 11th to find a new favorite address. But as a Left Bank resident, I also love discovering new spots on my side of the river, and Judy is one of them.
Judy is an Australian flexitarian restaurant just a few steps from the Jardin de Luxembourg (which, incidentally, was my stomping grounds about seven years ago.)
With its yellow-and-white striped awning, huge windows onto the rue de Fleurus, and a vegetal, light wood interior, Judy is a welcoming spot to enjoy a meal, a coffee, or a smoothie, whether it’s for a quick lunch date or an afternoon of writing.
The diminutive menu changes frequently with the seasons, but there are a few standbys: the smoothies, which are delicious (my favorite features matcha and date); the ever-evolving Buddha bowl, which is the house specialty; a tasty coconut curry served on cauliflower rice that you can see up top; an enormous avocado toast that could easily serve two.
I loved this simple roasted vegetable salad with house-made pesto and thin slices of sheepsmilk cheese; on a different occasion, I tucked into a bowl of simply pan-cooked mushrooms that was equally divine (and equally simple – proof that good ingredients take you a long way.)
While I’m not generally a dessert person, I do have to give Judy a nod for the allergen-free baked goods like this tasty banana bread with coconut oil icing. As someone with a very rare allergy (buckwheat), I also really appreciated the fact that they keep recipe cards on-hand, so you can check if your own allergy or intolerance is on or off the list.
While finding a place to get a top-notch açaà bowl might not be on the to-do list of a lot of folks visiting Paris, this is a great vegetarian-friendly find for natives (or veggies who are sick of ordering salads everywhere), and it’s definitely one of my go-tos on the Left Bank.
Judy – 18, rue de Fleurus, 75006