Petrossian, caviar and smoked salmon in Paris since 1920

Melkoum and Mouchegh Petrossian grew up in the Caucasus, between Armenian traditions and Russian culture. The upheavals of the early 20th century drove them into exile in Paris. In 1920, barely arrived, they opened an elegant shop on boulevard de La Tour-Maubourg devoted to a product Parisians hardly knew: caviar.

In the 1930s, the house set up its own smokehouse and introduced the French to smoked salmon. The Ritz, Maxim’s and the Lido were among its customers, and Petrossian became one of the great importers of Soviet caviar.

In the late 1970s, the house settled in New York, where it opened its first restaurant in 1984. In 1994, Armen Petrossian took the helm and turned to farmed caviar; the house has produced in Angers since 2001. Alexandre and Mikael Petrossian have run it since 2010: it has remained entirely family-owned.

On the Left Bank, a stone’s throw from Les Invalides, the original shop still welcomes its customers: the house’s caviar and smoked salmon, its taramas, fish roes and vodkas, a lunch served at midday and private tastings.