Clove

European roasters, Paris water and cups made for the pour

The counter at Clove runs on rotating European roasters, house-made ceramics and a clear preference for patient filter coffee. The coffee programme is the reason to climb up here before thinking about the pastry case. The bar works as a multi-roaster, with coffees from Dak Coffee Roasters in Amsterdam, The Picky Chemist in Belgium and Swerl appearing in the rotation. Espresso, filter, cold brew, plant-based milk, beans to take home and tea from Artéfact give the menu more range than the small room suggests.

Water has been treated as a serious part of the work here since 2023, adjusted for espresso rather than left as a fixed background detail. Fermentation-process coffees, especially from Colombia, have been a point of interest, so filter is often the more revealing order. The cups matter too: they are made in-house, short off-white ones for double espressos and larger brown-swirled mugs shaped for filter coffee.

A small counter built for staying just long enough

The room is compact and deliberate: black machines on white counters, exposed brick, and small ceramic pieces set into the wall’s broken spots. It does not work as a laptop camp, and that is part of the point. There is enough seating to slow the pace, read a little, talk quietly, or sit with a filter while the bar works through the grind and pour.

The service has a hosted quality, less about pushing a queue through and more about keeping the cup, the vessel and the person in front of the bar aligned. Come earlier if the window seat matters to you, because the Montmartre foot traffic builds as the climb towards Sacré-Coeur fills. The room handles that better than many cafés nearby, not by becoming louder, but by staying small in its gestures.

Order filter first, then see what the case has kept

Start with filter coffee if there is a roast on that suits the day, because the water work, the European rotation and the handmade mug all show up there. Espresso is the shorter, more direct read of the bar, served in those off-white cups, but filter gives more room to understand the coffee and the house preference for clarity.

From the case, look for a cardamom roll or cinnamon roll when they are on. Those are the bakes to choose first, with enough spice and weight to sit beside a clean filter without flattening it. Cookies, flan and babka also appear, so the food order shifts with the case rather than a fixed kitchen rhythm. If beans are on the shelf, this is a good place to take home the same coffee the bar has just handled for you.