Garden Perk (CLOSED)

We'd be lying if we said that we didn't fancy having our own trusted local coffee joint just like Central Perk in 'Friends'. Well, our wish has been granted (almost). Garden Perk, a New York-style coffee shop, is our new base on the Rue Cujas. Brick walls, soft sofas, low tables and a menu revolving around bagels and fruit smoothies: you'd be forgiven for thinking that you're in the Big Apple. But although the place is kitted out to look like the TV series' hangout spot, the atmosphere is altogether a bit more studious, as it's only steps away from the Sorbonne. The throngs of students squished together on the sofas, revising for whole afternoons at a stretch, can make it difficult to get a seat in this shoebox-sized café. The hardened cookies and multicoloured doughnuts (€2) – not to mention the sickly-sweet smoothies (€5) – are a far cry from the homemade treats on offer in other coffee shops. Consolation comes in the form of generous mugs of hot chocolate laden with whipped cream and the big comfy sofas. If you're itching to experience a bit of Brooklyn, you could do worse than this.