Trombone, the neighborhood coffee shop nugget in the 20th arrondissement.

For once, we're off to the 20th arrondissement to discover Trombone, a local coffee shop! Do you know many coffee shops in this area? Anyway, we're off to meet William, the founder of this cosy and charming place.

A former Sales Director, William wanted to have his own "Home Place", as he calls it. At first, he didn't really know what he wanted, except that he wanted his own spot where he could meet people and create social links. During the Covid crisis and the proliferation of video meetings, he felt useless and sorely missed the contact with people. Before reaching burnout, he decided, 4 years ago now, to launch his coffee shop, a neighborhood coffee shop with the aim not of making a profit, but of creating a social link in the 20ᵉ, where he lives.

So he took over a somewhat derelict (even squatted) Town Hall premises to turn it into a meeting place open to all. Trombone, that little object made to assemble sheets of paper of all sizes and from all horizons, seemed a natural fit. To realize his project, William is happy to tell us that he has been tremendously well supported. The most important thing, he tells us, is to be well surrounded. The furniture was designed by Kann Design, a childhood friend (they also have a coffee shop called Résidence Kann Coffee Shop). To design the space, he called on his cousin, José Pascal. Émile, the talented barista who now runs the place, is a neighborhood buddy.

William then began barista training at Lomi, followed by hygiene training. The rest went very quickly, and within a month and a half of construction, the place opened. Today, after just a few weeks open, he's happy to say that this no-frills place brings people together.

At Trombone, don't expect avocado toast or boiled eggs like you'd find anywhere else. The idea here is to create your own identity. Very family-friendly, the café is kid-friendly, baby-friendly and even dog-friendly, William tells us. Teleworkers are welcome with their computers and open wifi, with no time limit. You can sit inside oron the sunnyterrace , enjoy the space and even meet people, every day except Monday, from 8.30am to 5.30pm on weekdays and 9.30am to 6pm at weekends.

The place brings together local families, nearby business incubators, students from the Cours Florent and people who got lost near Place de la Réunion.

So that's all well and good, you may ask, but what do you eat and drink at Trombone? For starters, you'll find great coffee from Arbre à café. Specialty coffees that you don't usually find in coffe shops because they're more expensive than others, but it's a bias that William has adopted. A good feeling and a true philosophy, transparency of origins, but also excellent advice were decisive in this choice. Le Trombone, which is constantly being tested, offers espressos and filter coffees that are consensual and not too strong to suit all tastes.

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There's also a fine range of teas from Clément & Pekoe, the Irish suppliers where the barista used to work. Green tea, roibos and black tea are added to ice tea recipes. The menu also includes Turkish Eggs (soft-boiled eggs with zaatar, William being of Lebanese origin). Zaatar is also found in the house's signature cookie, regularly brought in by his sister from a producer in Lebanon, along with the dried mint that sprinkles the dishes.

The fresh granola stands out for its low sugar content, with no honey. It is enhanced by raisins rehydrated with rosewater. There are two cold sandwiches on the menu, a tuna sandwich with lemony green apples, fromage frais and fennel, and the ham Parisian, retwisté with zaatar butter. On the hot side, there's the Veggie Grilled Cheese and the Veggie Shawarma with shredded oyster mushrooms, worked like meat. The bread for the sandwiches is delivered daily by the excellent boulangerie 57, rue d'Avron.

The sweet side is homemade and changes every 2 weeks. Cookies, banana bread and lemon cake were present when we visited. We loved our lattes, both matcha and coffee, the turkish eggs that we ended up sautéing with bread, the grilled cheese with its good bun, cheese and pickled vegetables to spice things up, which we gobbled up with pleasure.

As for prices, the good news is that they're not excessive, despite the quality of the coffee on offer. They range from €2.50 for an espresso to €5 for lattes, either hot or iced. As for the main course, as William says, it's a happy medium between bakery and bistro prices. Count on €8.50 to €11.50 for a dish or sandwich. Desserts are between 3.5€ and 4.5€.

In short, if you're looking for a welcoming place to have a good time, to relax, to work or just to chat over a cup of coffee and a slice of cake, you've come to the right place.