Bouillon Chartier Restaurant in Paris
Created back in 1896 with a concept of providing hot wholesome French food at a reasonable cost, this still stands true today within a building that has been classed as a historical monument where you can get a main course for only around €10.
About the Bouillon Chartier Restaurant
The Bouillon Chartier was first founded back in 1896 by two brothers, with a very simple concept of being able to provide a decent meal at a reasonable price for local workers, where the patrons would come back time and time again.
And along with its ornate architecture and the unique Belle Epoque interior, which has remained the same and been preserved over the years, this building became recognised as an historical monument in Paris in 1989, and to date, well over 100 years later, there have still only been four owners who have all kept the same philosophy as the original founders of the restaurant.
Having a wooden frontage, glass roof and very high ceilings supported by columns, along with exceedingly large mirrors adorning the walls, there is also a mezzanine area for dining. And with paper tablecloths, which is what your order is written on, along with paper napkins that are used to write out your bill, this is a very traditional restaurant in Paris that still carries on the original quirky features from all those years ago.
Cuisine at the Bouillon Chartier Restaurant
You will find traditional French cuisine with a wide variety of dishes served at the Bouillon Chartier restaurant, still with very reasonable prices and you can have a three course meal for around €20, plus the wines are also very good prices.
To give you an idea, for starters you could have snails, tomato salad, vegetable soup, hard boiled egg or prawn mayonnaise, Foie Gras, grated carrot vinaigrette or a lettuce salad with bacon to name a few choices with a price range from only €2 up to €7 as of 2014.
Main courses could be grilled rump steak and French fries, roast chicken, spaghetti bolognaise, Sauerkraut from Alsace, baked sea bream, duck confit with new potatoes and many others for a cost between €8.50 and €13.50.
You could then opt for a choice of cheeses such as Camembert, Goats cheese, cottage cheese etc for only €2 to a max of €3 per one, but even having a few will not break the bank. But there is also a fantastic selection of tempting desserts to choose from such as peach melba, prunes in wine with vanilla ice cream, sorbets, rum baba, fresh pineapple, and many others you could choose for a maximum cost of only €4 as of 2014.
However, we would like to point out that the menu is entirely in French only, so it is well worth learning a few words for types of meat, fish or vegetables prior, as unfortunately, the waiters are often too busy to try translating the dishes. This is not because they are being rude, but the service is efficient and they have a major turnaround with their non-stop service every day of the year, especially when you consider that the Bouillon Chartier restaurant has now served well over 50 million meals.
Visiting Bouillon Chartier Restaurant in Paris
You will find this traditional restaurant in Paris open seven days a week from 11.30am through to 10pm, yet we would like to point out that reservations are not taken, so it is pot luck if you have to wait for a table during their busiest times, and this is often the case.
Also, because this place is so popular, do not be alarmed if you end up with complete strangers sitting next to you on your table, as there is never a single seat that stays empty when the Bouillon Chartier is that busy! But this also means it is an ideal place to meet up with friends, yet not perfect for a romantic meal.
Now when it comes to getting to the Bouillon Chartier restaurant, it is located in the 9th Arrondissement close to many different tourist attractions in Paris and the Grands Boulevards for shopping, and the nearest Metro station is the Grands Boulevards stop via lines 8 or 9. Alternatively, the bus numbers 20, 39, 42, 48, 67, 74 and 85 will also get you close by.
