South Austin just picked up a bit of Paris. Alice Poulain Café, a Parisian-inspired patisserie and café, quietly opened this month on South First Street, bringing fresh croissants, quiches, and classic French sandwiches to the 78704 strip. Co-owners Julian Buscicchio and Sebastian Menard describe the tiny spot as a "third space" where dogs and remote workers can settle in, operating out of a compact storefront at 2214 S. First St. and serving from breakfast into the evening.
Menu and hours
The menu starts with a Parisian breakfast of toast, a croissant, scrambled eggs, and coffee, then shifts to a pastry case filled with pain au chocolat, cinnamon brioche, and rotating cakes. For later in the day, the café serves omelettes, quiches, and sandwiches such as the Croque Monsieur and a Salade Niçoise, along with cheese and charcuterie boards and a selection of French and American wines, according to Toast.
Founders and inspiration
Buscicchio, a trained pastry chef, built much of the menu from his grandmother Alice's recipe book. The opening was announced in a news release last Thursday, and he summed up the vision simply: "In France, the café is where your day begins and where it slows down," he said, as reported by Community Impact.
Where it sits on South First
Set at 2214 S. First St., Alice Poulain slips into a corridor already lined with neighborhood bakeries and cafes in South Austin, while operating what the team describes as daily morning-to-evening hours. The shop's online ordering page lists menu details and shows the current schedule as 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., per Toast.
According to Alice Poulain Café, the website still displays a "Launching Soon" banner even as pastries and sandwiches roll out at the South First storefront, and the owners are sharing menu updates on Instagram.
