At Home French Cafe
If you are looking to host a cozy, intimate get together with friends that is more laid back and stress free- then scratch the dinner party and instead create an at home cafe! Transform your kitchen into the trendiest Parisian coffee shop with coffee, easy breakfast bites and the cutest cozy decor.
Dinner parties can be stressful to host. With multiple meal courses, a sit down dinner at the dining table and signature cocktails. They are a lot of work and I totally understand that it can be scary to host one with all the complications that they entail. If you are looking to ease into hosting this is the perfect party theme for you to try- an at home cafe. It requires low maintenance drink options, easy breakfast bites and relaxed seating.
Host this at home coffee shop with ease using my free party guide below where you can find everything you need to host this 🥐☕
From croissants to baguettes, to coffee to champagne, to mood lighting with candles and macarons for desert. This is a really relaxed party to host in the comfort of your own home. I am here to take the guess work out of planning your next at home cafe! You’ll find an editable invitation below as well as all the recipes & amazon links so you can easily recreate everything that I did.
LOW MAINTENANCE DRINK MENU ☕
For the drink menu, think easy coffee’s that you can whip up on just about any machine that you have. From espresso to latte’s- these drinks are very simple but can be made more sophisticated using flavored syrups (homemade or store-bought).
What really makes the drink selection special, is the drink MENU! To make it fit with the theme, I used kraft paper (this is food safe as well, where you will see I put my pastries down on it to serve to “customers”) to craft up a menu that was easy and personal for my guests to order off of. All you need is kraft paper and a sharpie to make this menu.
Think of a fun name for your at home cafe and write the drinks options below. It really is that simple!
For cups and glassware, don’t worry if you don’t have matching mugs or glassware. You can really play onto the mismatching coffee mugs as part of the decor. Really anything goes in your at home cafe.
EASY BREAKFAST MENU
The great thing about hosting this French cafe is that your menu doesn’t have to be complicated! Think sweet & savory pastries, colorful macarons and croissants wrapped in bows for that extra Parisian touch. I bought some of my pastries and made others in advance- I found that this made it really easy for me to have a low maintenance menu with less time in the kitchen cooking and more time spent with guests! No need to be cooking between dinner courses, because everything for this at home cafe will be made the day before or the morning of really easily.
SET THE PARISIAN MOOD
If you’ve been to Paris or anywhere in French you’ll know that there cafes are not just a coffee shop but an entire CULTURE. The cafe culture in France is about taking time to unwind, socialize, people watch and sip slowly on your coffee.
I wanted to make my at home French cafe feel simple, yet elevated with a few decor touches! Here is what I did:
- Kraft paper menu and pastry display
- Baguette and croissant candle holders (really easy to make on a budget)
- Parisian table and chairs (we’ve had this in our backyard for years, so I cleaned it up and added it in my kitchen)
- Champagne sink bucket with a champagne doorbell (because you know the French love their champagne any time of day!)
- Macaron tower (you can make a big or small one)
You can find links to everything I used here.
French cafe food menu- RECIPES WILL BE LIVE ON 06/06
You can really play around with what you’d like to serve up at this at home cafe but I think a mix of sweet and savory bites is ideal to hit on all flavor profiles and have a variety for “customers” to pick from. Find what I included below and recipes to make them.
Almond Croissant
Chocolate Croissant
Fresh Fruit Salad
Plain Croissants
Macaron Tower- Find everything you need to make this here.
President Cheese is the # 1 cheese in France, which is why I have to include it in a few of my savory recipes! Their feta cheese crumbles are tangy, salty and fresh. They are so much more than just adding to your average salad. The crumbles are easy to whip, melt, bake or use as is from the fridge. I hope these feta cheese recipes inspire you to make them for your next dinner party or at home cafe!
Below you will find an editable invitation to make hosting this blind wine tasting party that much easier! Simply add in your party details and send out the invitations to friends 🥐
