Paris Caliente

Tango, tacos, arepas, olé! The City of Light has a new flavor—and it speaks with a Spanish accent.

- Elaine Sciolino

The salsa and tango dancers who liven up the banks of the Seine on summer evenings will be back in June. But in the meantime, you can feel the Latin mood in Paris year-round, thanks to a boom in Latin American, Spanish, and Portuguese food. Now these restaurants are among the hottest places in town, where you can rub shoulders with in-the-know locals (and take a break from the French food).

There was a time when Latin restaurants were practically nonexistent in Paris. Then a few years ago the taqueria Candelaria (quixotic-projects.com) opened in the Marais with a small counter and four tables. In a room hidden behind the kitchen is a bar and lounge that has become an insider hangout for drinks and dancing. (Colin Field—the legendary bartender at the Hemingway Bar who was on leave from the Ritz during its renovation— mixed drinks there one night.)

Since then, a host of Latin spots have opened all over town. You’ll see a particular concentration in the Ninth Arrondissement. Les Grands d’Espagne (lesgrandsdespagne.fr) is a Spanish fine-foods store that sells charcuterie, wine, paella rice, Manzanilla olive oil, and exceptional pata negra ham (it’s better than the jambon de Bayonne at the French place down the block).