Ledoyen, Paris

Ledoyen by name, le doyen by historical fact. This is Paris’ oldest restaurant. It is indeed also one of les grandes tables du monde, but its beginnings are humble, having started as a modest inn serving fresh milk from the cows that grazed its grounds around the Champs-Elysées. In 1791, under the reign of Louis XVI (just), Pierre-Michel Doyen leased the land and converted the site from a guinguette (drinking/dancing venue) into a restaurant de qualité – Doyen. This was at the height of the French Revolution and the years that ensued were the years of the National Convention and Robespierre’s Reign of Terror. It is even said that whilst Citizen Maximilien enjoyed lunch at this restaurant, in one of the meeting rooms upstairs, the Montagnards plotted the Thermidorian Reaction (aptly named given that that is where the kitchen and dining room are now).

Advertisement