Bouillon Chartier

Humble pot-au-feu is considered one of definitive staples of French cuisine. Austin Bush for Gastro Obscura

Be sure to look up. Austin Bush for Gastro Obscura

Seek out the restaurant's original branch. Austin Bush for Gastro Obscura

At the end of the meal, waiters calculate the bill on the paper tablecloth. Austin Bush for Gastro Obscura

Only a few bouillons survive to this day. Austin Bush for Gastro Obscura

A pungent slice of blue is the perfect coda to a meal. Austin Bush for Gastro Obscura

The lavish interior belies the extremely affordable dishes. Austin Bush for Gastro Obscura

Frisée aux lardons is an iconic staple from Lyon. Austin Bush for Gastro Obscura

This building once housed a train station. Austin Bush for Gastro Obscura

The restaurant is a feast for the eyes. Austin Bush for Gastro Obscura

Around the turn of the 20th century, Parisian restaurateurs created a new genre of restaurant, one that emphasized inexpensive French cuisine in pleasant surroundings. The restaurants were called bouillons, a term that can roughly be translated as soup kitchens, but that boasted decadent, often Art Nouveau-inspired interiors that stand in stark contrast to this name. More than a century later, a handful of Paris’s original bouillons still exist, and have even inspired a contemporary spin-off.

Perhaps the most famous example of the genre is Bouillon Chartier. Opened in 1896 in a former train station, despite claiming to have served more than 50 million meals, it doesn’t appear to have changed much since opening day. Upon arriving, you’ll be politely but rapidly guided to a table that you’ll almost certainly share with other diners.

Dishes—classic French fare such as celery remoulade, calf head in Gribiche sauce, roast chicken and French fries—are shockingly inexpensive by Paris standards (some menu items cost as little as 1 euro), and arrive likewise fast. When finished, your bill is calculated by hand on your paper tablecloth.