The New Friends’ Table is a secret eating and meeting club which occupies several tables across Paris. The tables all belong to a group of friends of several nationalities (French, English, American) who welcome new friends from across the world to meet and enjoy a few hours of damn fine food and joviality. We realise that although 1000’s of people visit Paris every week, many of them are looking for a taste of micro-Paris.
You may find yourself in a beamed apartment in the middle of the Marais, enjoying an aperitif in front of a roaring fire, before eating a classic French dish, enjoying the wine chosen by your French host who will chat easily about life in Paris.
You could share a number of hearty feasting dishes with 9 others in a small atelier loft jammed with midcentury furniture and hear where to find the best vide grenier bargains.
Or you may find yourself sharing a large table and a great dinner in the Latin Quarter in an apartment with the atmosphere of 'old Paris', which has been in the same family for over 200 years.
The tables vary in size, the food varies in style and the hosts are of course individuals, but the guiding principle is shared: good, fresh and seasonal ingredients, prepared and cooked with enthusiasm and feeling and sometimes bravado, bringing together a group of strangers around a table, who all share an interest in food, travel and people.
So, how do I get an invitation?
Send us an email to newfriendstable@gmail.com telling us a bit about yourself and your interests. What languages do you speak? What kind of food do you love and MOST importantly –please tell us IN ADVANCE if you have any FOOD ALLERGIES and let us know if you really can’t eat a certain food.
What dates are available?
Our next available date is Saturday April 2nd but we will be announcing other dates soon for April, May and June so let us know when you are in Paris and we will contact you if we have a dinner scheduled for that time.
26th March - now fully booked. Please email if you want to be put on a waiting list. We do sometimes have cancellations.
26th March - now fully booked. Please email if you want to be put on a waiting list. We do sometimes have cancellations.
How do I find the table?
Once we receive your email enquiry we will tell you if you have a place at the table, then you will receive an email/ text a few days before the dinner, which will tell you the address.
What can I expect?
No two dinners are the same. Ingredients in the market place change week to week. We welcome our new friends with an aperitif and canapés, followed by a three course dinner plus cheese and wine, tea or coffee and chocolates or petits fours. The dinners are held from 7.30 - 11pm – usually three times a month. New friends come from across the globe and social range. We hope that you will make new friends and that it will be a memorable part of your trip.
Food styles vary from table to table and even course to course. Classic French, true grit American and proper English puddings are all on the roll call, it's all part of the fun of coming to The New Friends’ Table: you may make friends with dishes you never tried before.
We do occasionally arrange vegetarian suppers but unless we indicate this in advance suppers will usually contain meat, fish and dairy. Many of our ingredients are organic such as eggs and milk. Our cheese often comes from small producers using unpasteurised milk. Our vegetables come from our local market and meat and fish comes from the suppliers we know and trust.
Is there a cost?
We currently ask for a cash donation of 50 euros to cover the costs of the meal and wine, although from time to time we hold more elaborate dinners, when the cost can be slightly higher.
