A brief history of Paris's great restaurants: Le Bon Bock, Montmartre's oldest restaurant

At the foot of the Butte Montmartre, where the cobblestones lead to memories of Parisian bohemia, Le Bon Bock stands like a survivor of time. Founded in 1879, this century-old restaurant has stood the test of time, between weathered woodwork and faded frescoes. Montmartre has changed, but Le Bon Bock remains a discreet witness to the Paris of yesteryear.

An artists' inn in the heart of old Montmartre

When Le Bon Bock opened its doors in 1879, Montmartre was still a village overlooking Paris, a haven for painters, poets, workers and night owls. It was a time of guinguettes and cabarets, artists' studios and brothels, a time when absinthe flowed faster than water and the world was remade in a joyful hubbub. In this creative tumult, Le Bon Bock quickly became a popular address.

People come here for the popular cuisine and modest prices, but above all for the atmosphere. Toulouse-Lautrec, Manet, Van Gogh, Apollinaire, Picasso... All are said to have passed through the door of this tavern, sometimes leaving a few sketches or paintings in payment for a meal or a drink. The walls of the restaurant were then adorned with paintings, sketches and period objects, gradually transforming the place into a cabinet of curiosities.

A set as unchanging as a stage

What's striking about entering Le Bon Bock today is the impression of being frozen in another era. Little or nothing has changed since the late 19th century. The velvet banquettes, dark woodwork, frescoed murals, subdued lighting, copper chandeliers and quilted mirrors make up a décor that doesn't need to be recreated: it's original. The back room even conceals a piano bar, a living legacy of the cabaret evenings that enlivened the neighborhood's nights.

• To be read
• A brief history of Paris's great restaurants: Benoit, the soul of the Parisian bistro
• A brief history of Paris's top restaurants: Auberge Pyrénées Cévennes, canaille cuisine
• A brief history of Paris's top restaurants: Aux Lyonnais, a true bouchon lyonnais in Paris

A house of stories

Le Bon Bock has never been a trendy or fashionable restaurant. It has kept pace with its neighborhood, the artistic revolutions and the metamorphoses of Paris. Far from the Grand Boulevards and the glittering gastronomic scene, it has continued to exist as a haven for insiders, nostalgics and the curious. It's the stories that keep it going: those of broke painters settling the bill with a drawing, of Montmartre flâneurs exchanging politics and poetry between two strokes of the fork, of bemused tourists discovering a place that doesn't play old, but really is. Although recently taken over, Le Bon Bock has managed to preserve its identity.

Our review of Le Bon Bock:

Le Bon Bock, a Montmartre institution combining period decor and French cuisine
Le Bon Bock is enjoying a new lease of life under the impetus of Benjamin Moréel and Christophe Préchez. This Butte Montmartre institution aims to (re)attract both tourists and locals with its traditional French cuisine, delightfully old-fashioned decor and piano bar hidden away in the back room. [Read more]