Allard, bistro on rue Saint-André-des-Arts since 1932

Allard is a bistro on rue Saint-André-des-Arts, founded in 1932 by Marthe Allard, a cook from Burgundy, and her husband Marcel. They took over La Halte de l’Éperon, which Vincent Candré had opened in a former wine merchant’s shop whose windows are still barred.

After the war the house became the neighbourhood’s address. In 1946 their son André met Fernande, a pianist, to whom Marthe passed on her recipes. Fernande created the roast Challans duckling with green olives, still the dish of the house.

The Allard family sold in 1985 to Bernard Bouchard, who passed it in 1995 to Claude Layrac. For nearly twenty years he kept the Allard style, the lamb shoulder and the coq au vin. In July 2013 Alain Ducasse took over the bistro and gave the kitchen to a woman, as in Marthe’s day.

The original décor is preserved: period tapestries, red velvet banquettes, woodwork, a zinc bar, mirrors and tiled floors. The chef Lisa Desforges serves the duckling with olives, beef Rossini, profiteroles and peach Melba in the 6th arrondissement.