Taking a leaf out of Cosimo’s book – the tree-dwelling hero of Italo Calvino’s The Baron in the Trees – the Waedemon-Baugniet brothers (Michka and Kolia) and chef Elliot Baccarat have dreamed up a place to keep the world at arm’s length without missing out on the buzz of human connection. Rather than take to the treetops, they’ve anchored their endearing little hideaway on a street corner: a café, bar and bookstore rolled into one, with a blue-painted wooden storefront, thrifted light fixtures and shelving units crafted by their carpenter pal Lounès Pezet. A book in one hand (novels, essays and choice reads on natural wines) and a drink in the other: a muscadet from Hélène Landron, a blonde beer from Brasserie de la Senne or homemade iced tea, to sip alongside a soup-and-sandwich lunch deal (€17-19, drink included) or with a few nibbles come evening, all stitched together by chefs Margot Kengen and Salomon Bekefi. Enough to keep you happily perched until the end of the world… · Alistair Ehmer

Ordered: A glass of chenin from Domaine Hauts Baigneux (€5.50) and a well-made vegan amaretto sour (€11), deftly paired with oysters gratinéed with leeks (€12.50) and juicy meatballs begging to be dunked in mint and dill fromage blanc (€10.50).