One new place for me was Kapunka Vegan, a vegan Thai place where everything is gluten-free apart from the beer. The place is small - there's a handful of tables, so book in advance. The menu is pretty small too - five starters, four mains, four desserts.
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| the tofu satay and summer rolls at Kapunka Vegan |
We chose the summer rolls and the satay tofu. The summer rolls were bright and fresh, and just the sort of entree you need on a boiling summer night in Paris, as it was when we visited. The satay was also served cold - I'd been expecting hot, but maybe that was no bad thing given the weather. The tofu in tofu satay is basically a vehicle for satay sauce into your mouth, so I was a bit disappointed with the sauce - it was a bit sweet, a bit thin, a bit bland. I still enjoyed it, but for a homemade sauce, I was really looking forward to something a bit more exciting.
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| Yellow and red curries with rice at Kapunka Vegan |
I went for a mitaki to follow, a yellow curry. On the menu, it's marked as a 'a bit spicy', but it felt more on the mellower side of spicy. I was quite happy to work my way through the rich bowl of veggies and tofu in creamy sauce, with enough rice to make sure none of the coconut-rich sauce went to waste. I can't remember what the other dish here was - maybe a red curry? The bowl looks about half the size of the mitaki, so if you're hungry, make sure you go for that.
Kapunka Vegan
4 Rue de Damiette, 75002 Paris, France
+33142337899
Another of the stops on our vegan-gluten-free eating tour was Riz Riz, which is also both entirely gluten-free and vegan - another win for me!
It's not the first time I've been there - I last visited a couple of years ago - and it looks like the menu is almost exactly the same. Like last time, we ordered the 'rice table' - a selection of eight individual dishes with rice on the side, all meant for sharing.
There were a few dishes that stood out, and few that just didn't hit the spot.
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| The rice table at Riz Riz |
Normal tabbouleh is made with cous cous - which contains what. The Riz Riz version swaps it out for rice instead, with tomatoes, mint, onion, chick peas and vinaigrette. I think of tabbouleh as something fresh and vibrant, loaded with mint and parsley, cucumber and tomato. The Riz Riz version's rice to everything else ratio was way off, and it felt a bit bland. The chotpoti - a Bangladeshi street food mix that's sour and full of spice - had a similar problem. The Riz Riz chotpoti is served with corn chips, which swamped the chotpoti's flavours, which were already muted and lacking the traditional sour note of tamarind. The beetroot hummus was nice enough, but I would have loved a more interesting cracker as an accompaniment than rice cakes.
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| The rice table, with the Black Panther at the front And onto the winners - I loved the sweet potato waffle with guacamole. I would love to come back for brunch and eat waffle after waffle. The 'black panther' is a tiny buddha bowl with lots of elements to love - five spice smoked tofu, edamame, avocado and black rice. There's a spinach dahl, which is gentle and comforting as you could ask for from a dahl. And there are two curries as well - a dragon curry, inspired by Thailand, and a mango curry, as a nod to India. The dragon curry is described as hot, but your mileage may vary - I must have missed the chill in there, because it didn't feel spicy to me. I enjoyed both curries nonetheless. |
Most of all, I enjoyed that ordering the rice table was a chance to try everything on the menu. Well - almost. After eight dishes and some rice on the side, I really didn't need more food. Which was a shame, because there were a lot of vegan, gluten free desserts (the cheesecakes looked particuarly great) that I'd have loved to have tried, but didn't have room for. Next time maybe I'll start with dessert and work my way backward through the menu, so I can finally try everything on the menu.
Riz Riz
contact@riz-riz.com
221 Rue Saint Martin, 75003 Paris +33 1 83 89 39 70
66 Rue Hauteville, 75010 Paris +33 1 45 81 36 42
Most of my lunches and breakfasts were from Copains, an entirely gluten-free bakery chain, where you can pick up cakes, pastries, sandwiches, and other baked goods. Not all of it is vegan - I think maybe a quarter to a third of the menu - but there's lots of interesting things to try, like this pistachio croissant.
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| Copains' Redwan pistachio croissant |
I ate at Copains quite a few times recently, in both London and Paris branches, and you can read my full review of all the vegan options here. I think my favourite thing I tried was this vegan quiche - I think it's only available in the French Copains branches at the minute, so if you're in Paris, definitely get yourself one of these. Copains isn't cheap, but if you're vegan and coeliac, it's a real life saver to be able to find yourself gluten-free and vegan food pretty much across Paris. Worth checking out, as long as payday wasn't too long ago!
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| Copains' vegan quiche |
Copains
Branches across France
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