Café Rhubarbe, where fashion meets good coffee

Summer is flying by, and so are our food columns. Last week, we popped over to the Auberge Hiriartia, in the heart of the village of Ahetze, where Jules Dupouy is breathing new life into the spirit of the restaurants of yesteryear. A new spot every week – that’s the promise of the Guide du Pays Basque. Episode 8, and today we’re treating ourselves to a coffee break on the banks of the Nive.

Café Rhubarbe, where fashion meets good coffee

Twenty years in fashion, a career change at Ferrandi, and one obsession: choosing the best products. Laurent has settled in Bayonne and opened Café Rhubarbe. We're fans.

Head to the blue and white city of Bayonne, home of Aviron Bayonnais, to discover the brand new Café Rhubarbe. Located in the former Andy café, on the banks of the Nive, it enriches the local offering of specialty coffees and well-sourced light meals in a setting of exposed stone, vintage objects and filled with the comforting aroma of freshly ground coffee.

At its helm is Laurent, who, after twenty years working as a buyer in the fashion industry, decided to change course and apply his appreciation for beauty and quality to the restaurant business. Thus, Rhubarbe was born, a name chosen with affection, in memory of the fruit he adores and which grew abundantly in the garden of his holiday home, where he used to pick the stalks to make homemade cakes. And while Rhubarbe has only just blossomed in Bayonne, the story began in Paris in 2023, after a solid career change at Ferrandi, where Laurent rigorously trained in pastry, savory dishes, and a more modern approach: plant-based, less sweet, and more mindful. A lover of the Basque Country for decades, he finally settled here, with one simple obsession: to choose the best products. The ham comes from the Codega butcher shop, the bread from the Etikoa bakery, the coffee from the Azéria roaster, the chocolate from Mr Txokola, the teas from Kodama, while the fruits and cheeses are gleaned every Saturday from the generous stalls of the Bayonne market.

The result: a simple, clear, and incredibly effective menu. It features homemade grilled sandwiches filled with cheddar, Ossau-Iraty cheese, and wild garlic pesto, or a version with Bayonne ham, perfect to accompany a specialty coffee, chai latte, or matcha, all available in iced versions. And soon, savory muffins will complete the offering for those quick but discerning snacks.

Finally, because a proper café would be nothing without its sweet display, it's impossible to miss the perfectly domed cookies, coconut macaroons, the cake of the moment and, of course, the rhubarb cake which marks the house as a gourmet nod to its history.

Laurent opens his doors to you from Tuesday to Saturday, from 9am to 5pm, so many opportunities to come and taste his distinctive coffees and a gourmet selection just waiting to be devoured.

📍 Café Rhubarbe — 6 quai Augustin Chaho, 64100 Bayonne

➡️ Next week, we're heading to Bidart for a legendary spot that has just changed direction and promises a whole day of fun facing the waves.

Article written by Anaïs de Garbure & Xipirons.

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