Chez Aline

Chez Aline occupies a narrow storefront on Rue de la Roquette that still bears the tiled decoration of its former life as a boucherie chevaline, a horse butcher, a common sight in working-class Paris neighbourhoods before the trade declined through the twentieth century. The space was converted into a sandwich shop that has since built a serious reputation among Parisians for elevating the humble baguette sandwich well above the standard boulangerie offering. The bread is sourced from a well-regarded bakery and filled with combinations built around quality charcuterie, roast meats, and thoughtful condiments such as shallot confit or mustard vinaigrette rather than the mayonnaise-heavy fillings found at less careful counters. A short list of old-fashioned French salads — céleri rémoulade, carottes râpées, lentil salad — is available as a side or a light meal on its own, and a daily quiche rounds out the small savoury menu. The shop is tiny, with only a handful of stools and a narrow counter for eating on-site; most customers take their sandwich to nearby Square Maurice-Gardette or eat while walking, which suits the shop's brisk, practical character. Chez Aline keeps a strictly weekday, daytime-only schedule, closing entirely on weekends — an unusual choice for a food business in a Paris neighbourhood that is busiest with weekend foot traffic, but one that reflects the shop's identity as a genuine workday lunch spot for the surrounding 11th arrondissement rather than a tourist destination. The prices remain modest for the quality on offer, and the shop has become a benchmark reference for what a well-made Parisian sandwich should taste like.