Bältis, the Lebanese organic ice cream parlour that awakens the Marais

Do you love ice cream , especially good, original, organic ice cream? How about discovering Bältis? The brand-new ice cream parlour with Lebanese flavours. Right in the heart of the Marais district, between Place des Vosges and Bastille, this new gourmet spot is sure to tempt foodistas in search of freshness.

Gone are the industrial ice creams with their dubious ingredients; this is an artisanal workshop-boutique. All the ingredients used are organic and rigorously selected, and an in-house natural stabilizer has been developed to ensure the smoothest possible mouthfeel.

The store was founded by Jean-Michel de Tarrazi and Nadim Kettaneh, two cousins born in Lebanon, whose ambition was to offer ice creams and sorbets with Levantine flavors. Note that all the ice creams are made on site in the lab hidden behind the boutique.

To develop the recipes, the duo called on Jean-Thomas Schneider (World Pastry Champion 2017, World Ice Cream Champion 2018 and Meilleur Ouvrier de France Glacier 2019). It took the trio several months to perfect the right texture, revealing Lebanese flavors by combining it with the finesse of French techniques.

Here, taste comes first, and the ice creams, which are low in sugar but rich in raw ingredients, particularly fruit for the sorbets (60% fruit), explode in the mouth.

So, what kind of ice cream can you find in this store? Among the flagship flavors is the unmissable achta, made from milk cream scented with orange blossom and pistachio sap, to which an orchid root has been added to give it a unique texture. This is the store's star ice cream, available coated in pistachio, spun cotton candy or as a bite-sized treat on a bird's nest.

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Other travel-inducing flavors include pistachio, almond, rosewater sorbet, orange blossom andhalawa, an ice cream made with white sesame paste and pistachios, also known as halva.

Of course, you can't go past the intense chocolate, the vanilla, which excels in all its flavors, and the strawberry and apricot sorbets that we loved.

The store offers a few seats inside and a terrace outside, but you're free to stroll over to Place des Vosges or Parc de l'Arsenal. In any case, you'll have the chance to discover a fine range of traditional house beverages. Let yourself be tempted by traditional Lebanese coffee infused withcardamom, herbal tea with aniseed or the famous "café blanc" (orange blossom infusion).

For extra freshness, opt for homemade lemonade with orange blossom, or rose or blackberry water in a granita version for hot weather. Note that you can also discover a selection of traditional artisanal cookies, imported from Lebanon as part of a fair trade approach. From the aniseed-flavored Yensoun to the pistachio and sesame-flavored Barazek and the Lebanese shortbread-like Ghraibe, these sweet treats are the perfect accompaniment to your drinks.

Let's go and make some new gourmet discoveries?