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Number 17 of 20 in Paris

Bouillon Chartier

A bouillon was a cheap canteen for working Parisians. Chartier has been one since 1896, in the same room, and it still feeds a great many people very fast for very little.

The dining hall of Bouillon Chartier, with its mezzanine, globe lamps and tables laid close together.
MOSSOT, CC BY 3.0
What it is
Bouillon
Opened
1896
Area
Grands Boulevards
Nearest museum
Louvre Museum, 1.3 km

Paris this week

    What Bouillon Chartier is known for

    1. The room

      A long hall with a high glass ceiling held on columns, a mezzanine, brass luggage racks and globe lamps. It has been a listed historic monument since 1989.

    2. The customs

      You are seated wherever there is a chair, often at a table with strangers. The waiters wear black waistcoats and white aprons, carry everything at once, and write the bill on the paper tablecloth.

    3. The food

      The classics of the French home kitchen, a short list of them, changed daily. Nobody comes for refinement. They come for the room, the speed and the bill.

    What to know

    • Opened in 1896 by the brothers Frédéric and Camille Chartier
    • It takes no bookings: you queue in the courtyard
    • Only four owners in its history

    Where Bouillon Chartier is

    Address

    7 rue du Faubourg Montmartre
    75009 Paris, France

    Nearest station

    Grands Boulevards, on lines 8 and 9

    Museums and sights nearby

    Distances are in a straight line from the restaurant.

    The last of the great bouillons

    In the nineteenth century a butcher had the idea of selling a bowl of meat broth, a bouillon, to the workers of the markets. The idea became a kind of restaurant, and by 1900 there were hundreds in Paris. The Chartier brothers opened theirs in 1896.

    Almost all the others closed. Chartier went on unchanged, which is why it now looks like a film set. It is a short walk from the covered passages and from the Opéra.

    Bouillon Chartier: common questions

    Where is Bouillon Chartier?
    At 7 rue du Faubourg Montmartre, in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The nearest station is Grands Boulevards, on lines 8 and 9.
    Which museums and sights are near Bouillon Chartier?
    Louvre Museum is 1.3 km away, Musée de l'Orangerie is 1.7 km away, Musée d'Orsay is 1.8 km away. Distances are in a straight line from the restaurant.
    What is Bouillon Chartier known for?
    The room, The customs, The food. A vast Belle Époque dining hall where the waiter adds up your bill on the paper tablecloth. Plain French cooking at the lowest prices of any famous restaurant in Paris.
    When did Bouillon Chartier open?
    In 1896. Opened in 1896 by the brothers Frédéric and Camille Chartier.

    What visitors say about Bouillon Chartier

    Rating from Google

    4.1

    33,480 ratings on Google

    Google's figures as read on 5 October 2026.

    Read every review on Google

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