Au Petit Riche, restaurant on Rue Le Peletier since 1854

Au Petit Riche, the restaurant on Rue Le Peletier near the Grands Boulevards, opened in 1854 under Napoleon III. The district was then growing around the Opéra Le Peletier, and the house soon became the canteen of coachmen, journalists and opera staff.

The upper bourgeoisie went to Au Riche, its grander neighbour; coachmen and humbler folk preferred the Petit Riche, more generous and more affordable. The name plays on that contrast. After the fire at the neighbouring Opéra-Comique, the house was entirely rebuilt in the Belle Époque taste.

Bankers, the staff of the great newspapers and the auctioneers of the Hôtel Drouot made it their own, and theatre people came for supper. The décor of that period survives: carved panelling, bevelled mirrors, red velvet banquettes and moulded ceilings, in a run of rooms on the ground and first floors. A cellar dug beneath the restaurant pays tribute to the vineyards of the Loire Valley, Anjou and Touraine.

Today, in the 9th arrondissement, journalists, auctioneers, bankers and visitors still gather here over cooking that looks to the Loire. Waiters wear white jackets and black aprons, and four private rooms seat from six to forty-five guests.