A "bouillon"

The name “bouillon” was given to a large number of restaurants during the second half of the 19th century. “Bouillon” actually refers to a soup and these restaurants originally proposed a soup and a dish of meat mainly to workers, especially to those working at the “Halles”, the then Paris major food market.

Only a few “bouillons” remain, maybe only two, which at least have the name. One is the “Bouillon Chartier”, close to the “Grands Boulevards”, which I mentioned in a previous post; the other one is the “Grand Bouillon Camille Chartier”, mostly referred to as the “Bouillon Racine” , rue Racine. I had a lunch there with friends last weekend and took some photos before most of the tables were occupied.

This restaurant dates from 1906 and has a very typical Art Nouveau decoration. It belonged to Camille Chartier until 1926, changed name, owners and menus during the years, and the decoration suffered. In 1996 it was brought back to something which is similar to what it once looked like. It has been classified as an historic building.

It’s obvious that the original idea to offer only a soup and a piece of meat has also changed.