Original artisanal ice creams in Paris: a frosty pop-up at La Samaritaine this summer

Throughout the summer of 2025, the Parisian department store La Samaritaine will be hosting a pop-up by Café Isaka, the famous artisanal ice-cream maker offering original Asian flavors in jars or mochis, made in Paris. We're off to the department store, on the ground floor on the Rivoli side, to chill out and sample these icy treasures.

Located in the heart of La Samaritaine, accessible via 77 rue de Rivoli in Paris's 1st arrondissement, Café Isaka offers an ice cream break in a spacious, air-conditioned space, ideal for cooling down during the sales and all summer long. This artisanal ice-cream maker, already well known in its original café, unveils its flavors from Asia in a larger space, ideal for tasting at the table. Here, you'll find the pandan ice cream we all love here at the editorial office, black sesame ice cream, and White Rabbit ice cream, inspired by the Chinese candy with a condensed milk flavor, as well as iced mochi prepared right before our eyes.

The principle is simple: you choose your flavor, and the team shapes a mochi by coating a scoop of homemade ice cream in fresh mochi dough. Flavors include purple ube, a purple yam with sweet notes of coconut and vanilla, and matcha, the classic Japanese green tea.

As for sorbets, the flavors are just as exotic, including strawberry with Thai basil, passion fruit, lychee and mango. All these sweets are made with milk from the Île-de-France region and cream from Normandy, in their Paris workshop. For those with a sweet tooth, you can add a homemade chantilly (+1 €). Count €3.60 for one boule, €6.50 for two, and €7.50 for three.

Also on the menu is a selection of rare-flavored lattes and cold drinks, including ube latte coco, milo latte (malted chocolate) and peanut latte. We, of course, choose the pandan latte, which we adore. All are available in shaken, vegetable or decaffeinated versions, with prices ranging from €4.60 to €6.20 depending on the option. These original drinks, with their delicately sweet or toasted taste, are the perfect accompaniment to ice creams.

The advantage of this pop-up is that it is more spacious than the original café. It also has a tasting area just behind the bay windows, where light is the order of the day. And best of all, it's air-conditioned and away from the hustle and bustle of Paris. It's a great place to chill out and enjoy an ice cream that's out of the ordinary.

To extend the experience, the corner also offers Japanese Kit Kat, White Rabbit sweets, Pokémon chewing gum and Taiyaki waffles to share or take away. In a cheerful, powder-pink atmosphere, this little corner of freshness becomes a place where you can travel without leaving Paris.

The Café Isaka pop-up can be discovered at La Samaritaine until September 28, 2025. A great idea for a gourmet, artisanal break this summer, in the heart of one of the capital's most beautiful locations.

This test was conducted as part of a professional invitation. If your experience differs from ours, please let us know.