Lunch at Mama Shelter Paris

Yanique Francis

12 years ago

Mama Shelter Paris is more than a trendy Parisian Hotel ? I?ve discovered it has a cool restaurant, terrace and cozy ambiance to lunch, dine or take a break in the Pere Lachaise area.

Last week I had the opportunity to circulate around the 20th arrondisement of Paris a bit. In between meetings I was starving and trying to find a place to lunch off the hunger pains, and Mama Shelter popped up on my iPhone GPS in my search to find the nearest restaurant.

I’ve heard of Mama Shelter before from out-of-town friends who’ve stayed at the hotel. They?d posted some lovely photos on Instragram, and I was intrigued about the d?cor of this hotel that seemed to me to be in the middle of Far Far away (it?s almost on the outskirts of Paris). So I decided to give it a try.

Click to see more photos and info after the Jump…

Lo and behold, I rode past 109 Rue de Bagnolet twice before finally realizing that the inconspicuous building was indeed a hotel / restaurant. The smallish silver letter fonts saying ?MAMA SHELTER? only jumped out at me when I went to take a closer look at the building number on the Library next door. I’m guessing other people with 20/20 vision could have missed it too.

As I pushed back the entrance doors and smiled at the ladies at the reception desk I searched for the restaurant. It was on the left and on first impression seemed like a long dimly lit space filled with tables, chairs and playthings.

As I ventured past the smiling waitresses that greeted me, in a somber, massive dining area filled with fuse-ball tables, a well stacked Bar in the middle of the room, a reading area and very funky or somewhat kitsch looking dinning decor – I headed to the terrace area that spanned the entire left side of the building, giving way to an amazing amount of light from the blazing sun that Paris was experiencing that week. I could almost hear Nina Simone signing “Here comes the Sun”!

Preface to this story: I’m not a big fan of pizza.

So after being seated and being told by my waitress that was the only option available on the menu that ?time of day? ? it was roughly 3pm. I sort of cringed and she suggested I give it a try – I didn?t really need convincing – I was already too comfortable in the sun and too hungry to find another place to eat, so I started with a small salad and ordered the Vegetarian Pizza.

?La petite salade? could have been a meal by itself – it was a light mix of arugula, Parmesan and cherry tomatoes. I was delighted and took in the other folks eating, having coffee or working from the terrace. A woman probably in her late 40s with reddish hair was gibbering on her telephone, while having coffee, about how lovely the weather was and what a pleasure it was to be able to work in such an ambiance in Paris.

My Pizza arrived – thin crusted and delicately topped with eggplant, roasted peppers, mozzarella and spinach. Nothing fancy, but simplicity can make for a delicious pizza sometimes. This one was…ok. (remember when I said I’m not a big pizza person?) I wouldn’t go out of my way to go back to the 20th to eat here, but if I lived in the area I can see myself having coffee on the terrace quite often, and possibly stopping by to see what the vibe is like when the DJ is in the house at nights.

Mama Shelter Paris restaurant is a pricey location in the 20th arrondisement of Paris that offers great service and a cozy ambiance to have lunch or dinner in a kitsch playful atmosphere or a serene ambiance on their long terrace on warm days and nights.
They also have DJ nights where you can chill, play a game of fuse ball or dance the night away with friends.

Have you been to Mama shelter, if so what are your thoughts?