Le Petit Bouillon Pharamond, bouillon in Les Halles since 1832

Le Petit Bouillon Pharamond, the restaurant in Les Halles on Rue de la Grande-Truanderie, dates back to 1832. That year a Norman family, that of Pierre Heutte, grandfather of Alexandre Pharamond, settled near the « belly of Paris » to introduce tripe à la mode de Caen.

In 1879 Alexandre Pharamond opened his restaurant, À la Petite Normande, at number 24. For the 1900 World’s Fair the family redecorated it entirely, and it became the Pavillon de la Normandie. Oscar Wilde, Georges Clemenceau, Ernest Hemingway and later François Mitterrand dined here, and Simenon set a scene of Maigret et l’Homme tout seul in its rooms.

The panelling, painted mirrors and glass paste of that period survive, listed as historic monuments in 1989. The Norman-style mock half-timbered front is thought to date from the 1930s. In 1996 Claude Lelouch filmed a scene of Hommes, femmes : mode d’emploi on its moleskin banquettes.

Today the house belongs to Les Grandes Brasseries de l’Est and follows the bouillon formula born in Les Halles in 1855: home-made, seasonal cooking at small prices, with a Norman touch true to its origins. It serves all day, all year, with a large terrace and private rooms.