Drouant
Sentier & Bourse
The Goncourt Prize restaurant since 1914, Place Gaillon institution under chef Romain Van Thienen
The oldest café in Paris, opened 1686, Voltaire, Diderot, Franklin all ate here.
Procopio Cutò opened Le Procope on rue de l'Ancienne Comédie in 1686 with crystal chandeliers, marble tables and wall mirrors, the template for every café that came after. La Fontaine, Voltaire and the Encyclopédistes wrote chapters here; Benjamin Franklin negotiated French support for the American Revolution at one of the tables; the Phrygian cap was first hoisted from this dining room. The kitchen today runs classical (coq au vin, calf's head, the original ice cream) at tourist-grade prices, which is the trade for sitting where the Enlightenment was edited. For an Istanbul visitor with one historical-monument dinner to spend, Procope wins on the math: 339 years, every philosopher you've heard of.
Cult-institution exception (1686, oldest café in Paris). Eat for the room, not the kitchen.
At a Glance
View Type
Street Scene, Garden View
View Quality
Limited
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5 Restaurant, 1 Bar · 6 places nearby, by straight-line distance
Distances are approximate straight lines, not walking routes. Check directions between stops.