At Bistrot des Tournelles

After just one year of opening, Bistrot des Tournelles has already been named one of the best bistrots in Paris. The historic location, which first opened in the late 1920s, has flourished under the new ownership of Édouard Vermynck. We spoke with Édouard and captured the entire team that keeps this charming institution running.

If you had to define what makes an institution or describe its main characteristics, how would you explain it?

For me, an institution is a timeless restaurant—one that appeals to and suits all generations, for all kinds of occasions. It’s a place where you can come for a birthday, a romantic date, or a night out with friends.

It’s a place that transcends time, adapts to changes, but endures. It’s intergenerational.

In fact, this is exactly what happens here. I have regular clients who come with their children, strollers, and babies at 7 in the evening to eat early because they want to have a good time. The same clients return, this time with their mother or even with their sweetheart for a romantic dinner, and later come back with the in-laws. It’s fantastic because it’s traditional, and they know they will have a good meal. We truly adapt to all occasions.

At the same time, we don’t conform to just one style. We serve at 5 PM, 7 PM, and 11 PM, with two and a half seatings. Depending on the time, the atmosphere changes. It’s different for children, for the in-laws, and even for a secret date. This makes the atmosphere feel even warmer and more rooted in time.

For me, that’s it: it’s something timeless, intergenerational, something that lasts through time and never goes out of style.

I think this really sums it up well, of course, it’s my personal point of view. It’s a traditional bistro, but with more modern codes. We really like the soft lighting, candles on the tables, and we like having music in the background. This contrasts with some bistros, which are more monastic, where the noise of the customers creates the atmosphere. But here, we like the music, the sound, the visuals, the ambiance…

Are there any places that come to mind that you would consider Institutions? Examples of restaurants, galleries, florists, cafés etc ?

We often go to restaurants and bars owned by friends, we are lucky to have quite a few friends in this industry. We often go to Bambino, and we also regularly visit Le Verre Volé. Le Verre Volé is truly an institution. These are people who come to our place often, and we frequently go to theirs. Even this exchange, it's really cool.

Do you have any cultural places you frequent? It could be places you enjoy during your days off, museums, libraries, shows, etc.?

We are lucky to be right next to Place des Vosges, which, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful squares in Paris. We have ice cream, we drink coffee, we take a little break. Place des Vosges is already an incredible place, a royal square in Paris.

Our chef is also passionate about photography, so he often goes to the photography museum, the MEP, and the Bourse de Paris (the Pinault Foundation).

There’s also the Carnavalet Museum. We appreciate traditional things, so we really enjoy that.

There is so much to see in Paris, with its magnificent buildings, its facades... it’s true that everything here is beautiful.

We really like tradition, but the good kind of tradition, you know, not the old-fashioned one, not nostalgia... It’s a tradition that endures, a tradition of beautiful, authentic things.

Even here, the tables and, in fact, all the furniture come from the 1920s, sourced from an old brasserie in Strasbourg. We’ve sourced all the furniture and decorations, from original manufacturers or from flea markets in France.

How long have you been running the Bistro des Tournelles?

We opened in July 2022. It hasn’t been that long, but this bistro has existed since the late 19th century. It was the first restaurant on rue des Tournelles.

We wanted to keep everything as authentic and original as possible. And if we couldn’t keep the original, we redid it. We redid all the decorations, we remade the benches, we did everything to restore it’s original splendour. We worked with artisans who knew the heritage and were able to recreate the glory the building once had. The place already had a soul. When you entered, you could feel that the place had lived, and this is accentuated with some touches.

How do you feel about being considered an institution? Do you think this title suits your establishment?

An institution is something, as we said, that transcends time and escapes trends. Here, we don’t follow fashion; we make classic French dishes. We haven’t invented anything, we just remake traditional dishes, trying to do them correctly, that's it.

Are there any places or even bistros that inspire you?

I have always loved the bistro culture, but it’s probably found all over France, I wouldn’t name a specific place.

There are many beautiful places, but often, they’re missing something.

We’ve been into natural wines for 15 years. It’s not something you necessarily find in every bistro when you go. The music and lighting aspect is the same – many beautiful places often lack that little something, a detail we particularly appreciate.

We are always inspired by authentic places. We’re lucky to be next to the Bofinger brasserie, which is just behind, an amazing place.

It’s everything we were looking for: authenticity.