Bouillon Pigalle, Paris

The Venue

For those who don’t know, a bouillon is a French restaurant that cooks in large quantities and therefore keeps the price point in check at an affordable level (for Paris standards at least). Its Turkish counterpart would be an esnaf lokantası, for instance.

However, that they try to keep prices reasonable doesn’t mean that these establishments skimp on the quality of the ingredients and the cooking at a good bouillon is mostly as good as a good bistro.

Bouillon Pigalle is a modern bouillon that serves great food and it has the most modern (sort of like a revitalized mid-century chic) feel out of the bouillons we’ve had a chance to visit. It’s bright and airy on the first floor thanks to the storefront windows that line the main dining hall and the terrace upstairs is great for summer or spring evenings.

The starters: celery remoulade (with sardine fillets?) and creamy bone marrow with sourdough bread

A bottle of house wine, great fries to share (the color doesn’t lie), sausage + mash + gravy (not heavy but just right, very delicious), 7-hour braised beef and white beans (unfortunately bland)

Profiterole for dessert

The Food

Starters

Celery Remoulade

Creamy but not swimming in the cream, each bite was consistent—it’s a great way to start a meal, especially if you’re planning to call in the heavy hitters for the main course.

Bone Marrow

Bone marrow is supposed to be a bit greasy and the bread on the side suggests that it needs to be spreadable—this one lives up to its looks. Probably broiled in an oven and/or finished on a grill, it is well-cooked throughout despite the humongous size of the bone you can see in the picture. Comes with coarse salt on the side which helps break through the richness of the marrow on your sourdough bread. Highly recommended, but it might be a good idea to follow with something less meaty if you’re not much of a meat eater.

Main Courses

7-Hour Braised Beef with White Beans

Not the best choice you can make on the menu—the beef had lost much of its flavor and the beans themselves were too bland to be of any help. Best to avoid.

Sausage with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Similar in concept to mash and bangers, but the sausage is moister and everything is just on point. Can’t go wrong with this one.

Desserts

Profiterole

A good, structurally sound choux, encasing a scoop of ice cream, with dark hot chocolate poured over, topped with what appears to be walnuts. Good summertime dessert—decadent with the illusion of being refreshing thanks to the ice cream. Important to note that the pastry wasn’t soggy as even on a crowded day they brought it in before the ice cream had a chance to melt.

The Drinks

Wine

A Bottle of the House Red

We shared a bottle of the house red—it’s not the star of the show but a good choice to give your palette a break without resorting to water. It’s very affordable, and depending on what level wine aficionado you are, you might be pleasantly surprised or slightly underwhelmed given what you’ve paid for it.