Montpellier By Taste

Montpellier, after Bordeaux and Toulouse, was my third city stop during my four months abroad in France. The town felt small and medieval, however it seemed more international than the former two I visited. First, the cuisine wasn’t as dominated by its country. More than once, I stumbled upon cafés serving avocado toasts, vegan lunch bowls and smoothies. Second, I heard more English than in any of the other places. That’s probably due to Montpellier’s six universities – Montpellier is quite the student town. However I used my few days not too study, but rather went café hopping, optimizing on where to eat in Montpellier.

Below I will give you my curated tips: coffee shops, breakfast & brunch cafés, healthy lunch spots, best cafés with Wi-Fi and some last local tips.

Coffee Shops in Montpellier:

As usual, to give my days structure, I planned them around Montpellier’s top coffee shops.

• Café BUN – local specialty coffee roaster, only spot brewing AeroPress
• Coldrip Food & Coffee – Scandinavian roasts, great for Aussie breakfasts
• Extra Shot – Cafe BUN roasts, great to work with Wi-Fi (closed Mondays)
• The Coffee Club – medium roasts, lavish American pastries, super tiny interior
• Bonobo – medium roasts, mouth-watering breakfasts and lunches (closed Tu-Wed)
• (Le Hood – I didn’t make it here, but they seem to have great coffee, breakfast & lunch.)

One thing that stood out to me, in Montpellier’s coffee shops, was the dirty chai lattes. Almost every coffee shop made them. They were much more common than filter coffees. Montpellier’s coffee scene is dominated by espresso based drinks. The only Chemex you will find is at Extra Shot, and for AeroPress, go to Café BUN. This latter is also the town’s only specialty coffee roaster. Luc, a quantum physicist, now BUN’s roaster and owner has mastered this new science outstandingly.  Before I drift off: If you’re more interested in the coffee scene, read the article I wrote on European Coffee Trip here!

My Favorite Breakfasts in Montpellier:

In contrast to breakfast at Bordeaux’s coffee shops, Montpellier’s didn’t take shame in representing the Aussie coffee shop culture. My few mornings didn’t allow me to try all pancakes, smoothie bowls and eggs benedicts, but the two breakfasts I chose were magnificent.

Coldrip Food & Coffee:

My first choice was Coldrip Food & Coffee. It turns out that the owning couple, Kaleigh from New Zealand and Sam from Montpellier, at first were quite sceptical about their success. However they had no reason to be. Coldrip Food & Coffee has become a hotspot, especially for English speakers and Instagrammers. But luckily the language and the looks are just bonuses, because the food and coffee is top-notch.

Sam has been a cook in Montpellier since he was 17 and knows which market stands to source every ingredient from.  Kaleigh has been a barista since the same age.  They met in Australia, which is also where the influence behind Coldrip’s menu comes from: sweet or savory pancakes, e.g. with bourbon butter and maple-glazed bacon, Eggs Benedict, granola bowls . . .

I CHOSE THE SMASHED AVOCADO ON TOAST: That was two slices of fluffy, seedy bread from Des Rêves et Du Pain.  That’s the best local baker in town, ask @passiondupain. It was covered by beautifully smashed avocado with ricotta and lemon, poached eggs, feta, dukkha, seeds and leafy greens. The taste still lingers on my tongue now. It was mouth-watering.

For breakfast I tried the matcha (which was great by the way and that latte art is with almond milk!).  But Coldrip is more famous for their coffee, which is just as superb. The head barista will prepare the fruitiest flat whites in town with specialty coffee roasted by Belleville, Five Elephant or April.

4 Rue Glaize, 34000 Montpellier – Mo-Fr: 9-16

Bonobo:

Bonobo was my second choice for a breakfast in town and bo-y what an ending this was to my stay in Montpellier. This place didn’t tempt me from its first looks. So that if you feel the same way, please prove your impression wrong. Bonobo is AMAZING!

It’s run by two couples. Nick (also the owner of Coffee Club) and Gemma along with the cooks Julie and Kevin. Julie has profound experience in Montpellier’s restaurant scene and long worked at Hollybelly in Paris. Kevin learned to be a chef in Canada. This gives them knowledge from the modern kitchen over-seas which they can combine with the finest local ingredients.

For breakfast I narrowed my choice down to:

1. smoothie, granola or chia bowl
2. sweet pancakes
3. savory pancakes with maple bacon, bourbon-butter fried egg or
4. eggs any way with sourdough and sides (like hash browns, humus and leafy greens).

Me and decisions don’t go well together. So I let myself think it over on a long morning run along the Lez river and eventually decided on the eggs. However when I arrived, I mistakenly stated my indecisiveness and so Julie and Gemma convinced me out of my choice. I got the seasonal pumpkin pancakes.

Those pumpkin pancakes were scrumptious: topped with homemade chai whipped cream, caramelized pecans, toasted almond slices, maple syrup, and fruits. Those pumpkin pancakes were soft and bursting in flavour by contrasting ingredients.  Those pancakes were luscious.

It might sound like quite the rich breakfast, but it was perfectly executed and had just the right sweetness. I couldn’t but scrape up the last bite with a big smile from the inside out.  And from my nibbles and looks around me, I think every other dish would give me the same feeling.

46 Rue Saint-Guilhem, 34000 Montpellier – Mo, Th, Fr: 9-20, Sa-Su: 10-20

Other suggestions for breakfast:

• JOY Healthyfood: vegan & gf pancakes, chia pudding, smoothie bowls
• Le Hood: avocado toast, smoothie bowl, eggs and bacon, sweet or savory pancakes
• The Coffee Club: avocado toasts with trout, granola bowls
• Des Rêves et du Pain: best bakery in town, so here I would have tried a simple French breakfast on the go here (aka a buttery, flaky croissant)

Healthy Lunch Spots in Montpellier:

That was the other thing I was astounded by: the amount of “healthy” eateries, serving vegan and gluten-free dishes in Montpellier. The only spot I really had lunch was JOY Healthyfood. However Hybride (more below) and Le Hood looked great too.  And I bet Bonobo would have blown my mind again.

JOY Healthyfood:

Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food – Hippocrates

JOY Healthyfood is what I imagine a balanced, healthy and calm “zen” place to be like. On one half it has the THEYOGiINME yoga studio (with English classes), on the other half it has its café. Here, everything is homemade, seasonal and local, organic, gluten-free, lactose-free, trans-fat-free and vegetarian (often vegan). For lunch they start small with soups and fine sweet potato sticks and get quite sumptuous, e.g. with colourful seasonal buddha bowls or a black bean burger. It’s not cheap, but I was happy to have invested my money in this lunch. The atmosphere was beautiful, and the food was delicate whilst heart-warming nevertheless. 

Here I chose the “velouté” and sandwich combo. A velouté is like a thick soup, here of pumpkin and coconut, topped with various seeds and sprouts.  My sandwich had a superb gluten-free bread surrounding avocado and sweet potato. Simple, but super.

JOY Healthyfood: 55 Rue Estelle, 34000 Montpellier – closed Monday, lunch 12-15:00

Other suggestions for lunch:

• Le Hood: breakfast menu extended by spinach-feta-walnut quiche; seasonal soup & salad; beetroot, sweet potato,quinoa,feta bowl; sandwiches // lunch 12-15:30 // Sunday only brunch, closed Mondays
• Bonobo: daily changing menu, example: artisan grilled cheese sandwich, slow-cooked lamb leg with barley risotto and roasted veggies, vegan bowl with beetroot humus, sweet potato, toasted buckwheat, smoked tofu, green beans, cabbage in pumpkin seed oil pesto, greens // lunch 12-14:30 // closed Tu, Wed
• Hybride: daily changing menu with a lunch plate, bowl or salad, sandwiches, soups // Sunday only brunch, closed Mondays

Working Cafés with Wi-Fi in Montpellier:

The last major aspect that I noticed in Montpellier was the lack of wi-fi in its coffee shops. Theoretically I think this is pretty cool, however when travelling I sure do like to profit from this source. Four out of Montpellier’s five specialty coffee shops, didn’t have wi-fi! So if you want to get some laptop-work done, I recommend the following:

Hybride:

Hybride reminds me of the Hallesches Haus in Berlin. Come here for good coffee, vegan lattes, fresh juices, or gluten-free pastries.  Come here to browse between coats, coffee table books and lingerie. Or come here to snatch a cozy spot on the couch and make use of their fast, free wi-fi. I combined all at Hybride.

gf carrot cake muffin with whipped cream & matcha latte

Other suggestions for wi-fi:

• JOY Healthyfood: half yoga-studio, half health-food canteen (closed Mo.)
• Extra Shot: specialty coffee shop where you’ll feel at home with your laptop 😉 

Now of course that isn’t all of Montpellier.  There’s the craft beer store I remembered for my craft-beer fanatic relatives.  La Coutinelle is a gluten-free restaurant specialising in burgers. Locals recommend Mezzanine to me: for vegan dishes and a cozy atmosphere.

Lastly I want to absorb more French cuisine the next time I visit Montpellier.  Maybe that’ll be with a smoked or goat cheese Raclette – can’t decide – at the cheese bar La Fine Mouche. The name literally means “a cute/smart cookie”.  Sounds like they want me to go there too 😉