One of the Most Famous Restaurants in Paris, for Good Reason
- 102 Boulevard de Montparnasse ,
- 75014 Paris
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One of the many marvelous parts of visiting Paris is getting the chance to fall in love with the rich history woven into the city’s every corner. So what can be better than immersing yourself in that history through time-honored French fare in a restaurant where memories of a time past permeate every detail?
The brasserie La Coupole located in Paris’s Montparnasse neighborhood provides an excellent opportunity to live (and taste) the narrative of Paris during the 1920s and 30s. During this magical time, the French capital was a magnet for expatriates in the artistic and literary community and La Coupole was one of their favorite haunts.
If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend watching Midnight in Paris to really get a feel for this truly enchanting era.
Opened in 1927, La Coupole was an immediate triumph. In its heyday, this famous Paris restaurant welcomed the likes of Jean Cocteau, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, Anaïs Nin, and Edith Piaf, just to name a few.
Imagine walking into the grand dining room (now classified as a historical monument) for an early evening rendez-vous to meet one of these greats for an apéro. There’s something special in the air here — a golden halo surrounds the room decorated in a wonderfully classic Art Deco design.
The clean lines of the geometric tiled floors mirrored in the upholstery accented by mint green pillars grab your eye — as does the large, bronze sculpture (“La Terre” by Louis Derbré) at the center of the room.
A closer look at the pillars reveals another unexpected and exceptional detail of the legendary brasserie. The top of the columns are adorned with miniature, hand-painted murals created by various artists for the restaurant’s grand opening. Can you spot Josephine Baker amongst them?
As far as the menu, prepare yourself for an array of classic, traditional French dishes: duck, French onion soup, escargot, pâté en croûte (a signature here), and moules frites (mussels cooked in a white wine sauce served with fries). If you’d like to try a three-course meal at an affordable rate (19.50€), stop by for lunch from 12pm-4pm.
La Coupole offers a classic Paris dining experience that appeals to the palate as well as the history lover in us all!
Wishing to prolong your escape into the past? Head to one of The 5 Best Literary Cafés in Paris and surround yourself with the spirits of famous writers including Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, Gertrude Stein, James Baldwin, Oscar Wilde, and Guy de Maupassant.
