Paris Bakikar: A taste of Paris in the Middle East

The business

Stepping into the Paris Bakikar bakery boutique from the bustling streets of Jerusalem is like stepping into another world. Lovely music and French aesthetics complement a wide array of sweet and savory pastries and dishes, bringing a little taste of Paris to the Middle East.

Despite a clean and inviting venue and the classic French music playing in the background, Gal, who opened the store with his co-founder, prefers to stay out of the spotlight as much as possible and to let their delicious food speak for itself. Which it certainly does.

Desserts

For sweets, Paris Bakikar’s extensive repertoire of delicious creations includes a range of impeccably decorated croissants: pistachio, mascarpone, strawberry, almond, chocolate mousse with cacao meringue, and dulce de leche, to name a few. In addition, the wide array of cakes includes an exquisite tricolad (triple chocolate) cake, and snow-white cheesecake with Chantilly cream, crème de cassis, and wild berry sauce. Paris Bakikar also offers a variety of macarons, eclairs, brioches, confits, and more, each more delicious, creative, and elegantly presented than the last.

As you sit in Paris Bakikar, sipping tea or coffee, enjoying the ambience, and doing your best to pace yourself and not just devour your gourmet-level croissant and macarons all at once, one thing that might occur to you is how delicate everything is.

Even if you decide to sample a wide range of items on the dessert menu, which is an unavoidable urge in a place like Paris Bakikar, you’ll likely find that no item is even remotely heavy. Rather, due to their ultra-fresh ingredients and the immaculate way in which they are assembled, the dishes at Paris Bakikar leave you perfectly satisfied but still wanting more. For a place with such an extensive a menu, that’s quite impressive.

Savory

The savory options at Paris Bakikar, such as a croissant-bread sandwich with mozzarella, pesto, tomatoes, sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds, are delicious enough that if that’s all that was offered, it would still be more than enough. Yet Gal and his co-founder have taken the boutique lunch idea a step further. From his visits to France, Gal developed a new approach to modern, busy, post-COVID life.

Many people, Gal explains, want a classy, elegant meal, but due to busy schedules or health reasons, they may not want to sit down to eat in a restaurant. For this reason, Paris Bakikar has an entire section of flavorful meals to go, enabling customers to grab a pre-packaged, restaurant-quality meal that they can take home or to work and enjoy at their convenience.

“We decided to go for a concept of self-service in a very high-class place, thus saving the customer the service and waiting [time]. The truth is that it really works well,” Gal says.

This self-serve approach also means that Paris Bakikar hires fewer serving staff, thus meals are available at a lower price. The offerings, such as lox brioche, quinoa salad, and a variety of delicious sandwiches and quiches, are both fancy and affordable.

The background

“We’ve actually been open for almost a month,” Gal explains. “The place was ready right before the war started on Oct. 7, but [owners and the staff] were all drafted to the reserves, and [even once some of us were back], there was no desire to open a new place while our friends were being killed.

“But... in the end, life is stronger than anything, and with all the difficulty we picked ourselves up and decided to open.”

Regarding his vision for the business, Gal says he wants to create a place where people can experience the delicious culinary traditions of France in an accessible way. Part of his goal is for “people to come into our café and feel that they are in Paris.

“We express this in design, music, and flavors,” he continues. “We have three French confectioners working with us, and we use the highest quality ingredients. It is important to us to work on freshness and bake every hour [so that the food is always as fresh as possible].”

Paris Bakikar’s owners attend to the finest details, and as I plan my next visit I can confidently say that this makes a difference that you can definitely taste.■

• Name: Paris Bakikar
• Address: 62 King George Ave., Paris Square
• Owner: Noema family
• Kashrut: Halav Israel Rabbinate
• Hours: Sunday-Thursday 7:30 a.m.- 8 p.m.; Friday 7:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
• Social Media: @parisbakikar on Instagram