6 Rue Coquilliere (1)
Tel: 01-40-13-77-00
AMBIANCE/DÉCOR
If your first reaction is to think, “I wouldn’t be caught dead in a tourist place like Au Pied du Cochon” you won’t be alone, but you also may be wrong.
On a sunny, but chilly November Sunday, a nice walk to Le Halles, the traditional Paris wholesale food market, now in its second iteration as a park/shopping center (and far better than it was). What better than French onion soup gratinee, and a superb version?
It has a large, touristy feeling. Commercial. It is also charming in its original 1947 period décor – and completely full, with a line for tables. And guess what, we might not have been the only non-French, but on our part of the ground floor against the windows looking out at the park, we were.
Maintaining a country-wide tradition of Sunday lunch with families at virtually every table, what appeared to be middle-class French families, many seemingly regulars. Good (not better than) food, a broad menu with numerous hard to find pig specialties and fresh seafood. Reasonable prices. Still open 24/7.
It may be touristy, even in loud-tourist deprivation (Americans most conspicuously missing), but eating oysters and mussels outside in beautiful fall weather with no street or cars in front makes Au Pied de Cochon a fun lunch choice. Steps from the new Bourse de Commerce Pinault Collection.
FOOD
Wonderful oysters. Onion Soup. Mussels with bits of sausage. Grilled sausage with rich mashed potatoes. A shaved ice cream presentation with rolled crepes. A perfect meal – exactly what we hoped for.
SERVICE
Hurried, but friendly. Professional. Some English, including our English menu.
PRICES
Very reasonable. With ½ bottle of wine, 102€ for two.
(2X) (2019-2021)