Prunier, caviar house on Avenue Victor-Hugo since 1872

Prunier, the caviar house on Avenue Victor-Hugo, began in 1872, when Alfred Prunier and his future wife Catherine opened their first restaurant on Rue d’Antin. Oysters, seafood and grills soon drew the Parisian aristocracy, thanks to the connections of Catherine, a cook by trade.

In 1875 the couple moved to Rue Duphot, to the restaurant that would bear their name. Oscar Wilde, Sarah Bernhardt and Clemenceau came. After Alfred’s death in 1898, his son Émile made it a house of fish and seafood, home of lobster Thermidor and marmite dieppoise.

In 1924 Émile Prunier opened a second restaurant at the corner of Rue de Traktir and Avenue Victor-Hugo. Fitzgerald and Hemingway came, and the painter Mathurin Méheut designed its tableware. His daughter Simone later took over and opened Madame Prunier in London. The house also keeps the memory of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, who held the Izba salon dear.

Behind its mosaic Art Deco front, the bar, its interior listed as a historic monument, keeps its oyster counters. Chef Romain Fornell and the interior designer Lázaro-Violan have renewed the menu and the décor: caviar, seafood and grilled fish, in the 16th arrondissement.