the soul of the bistro recreated by Slavik
=> More details at the bottom of the page
=> See the interview with Michel Oliver below
As gleaming and welcoming as on the day of its inauguration on November 11, 1965, just a few days before the opening of the Drugstore Publicis Saint Germain! “It was immediately THE restaurant,” recounted Michel Oliver, the happy owner. “Politicians for lunch, the Tout-Paris in the evening,” he added. It is a historic restaurant that remains virtually intact.
A warm and vibrant classicism
The atmosphere of the Bistrot de Paris evokes everything that Parisians and lovers of Paris expect from a true bistro: wood, brass, white tablecloths, mirrors, and animated discussions. But with Slavik, all of this is precisely choreographed. The space is fluid, welcoming, and bright without being cold, lively without being noisy.
The discreet refinement of a true bistro
Slavik does not seek a spectacular effect. What makes the charm of the Bistrot de Paris is its perfectly orchestrated sobriety. The wall mirrors enlarge the space while capturing the life of the venue. Thonet chairs, copper coat hooks, and round light fixtures in golden hues compose a soft and coherent score.
He reinterprets the codes of the traditional bistro with a designer’s eye and a Parisian’s heart.
The idea is not to indulge in nostalgia, but in permanence. He wants customers to feel comfortable from the very first time, as if they had already been there. He creates a timeless decor capable of resisting all trends, faithful to the spirit of the great Parisian bistros, while imprinting his unique touch.
Le Bistrot de Paris remains an emblematic address. People return because they feel good there, because nothing is aggressive, and because everything is designed with love for the craft and respect for the customer.
Location
33, rue de Lille, 75007 Paris
Press review
NYT International November 1965:
In a blaze of publicity two weeks ago, Mr Olivier opened his Slavik decorated Le Bistrot de Paris. It immediately justified his vaunting name by becoming the bistrot of the Tout Paris. People plead for admission to the place where the Windsors, Françoise Sagan or Bettina might be seen, and the 90 seats are booked at least three days ahead
Philippe Couderc November 1965:
The success is almost absolute. Slavik’s 1880s decor, with its small winter garden, large mirrors, and billiard room, is imbued with incomparable charm, grace, and gaiety. No restaurant as seductive as this has opened in Paris since the war.
Gault et Millau May 1968:
Slavik’s decor is one of the most pleasant and successful in Paris
Gault et Millau November 1969:
Slavik has furnished a large lounge and a billiard room of very British charm on the first floor.
Paris-Paris-June 1973:
Slavik has imagined a decor based on the turn of the century, which is more than pretty and has been widely copied since. Finally, even without being a regular, one is sure to recognize a very Parisian personality there.
Gault et Millau January 1974:
The bistro chairs do not encourage daydreaming, but one cannot go wrong taking a woman to dinner at Michel Oliver’s, especially if one secures a table near the zinc bar in the “winter garden.” Excellent wines.
My interview with Michel Oliver on June 11, 2015
Michel Oliver, son of Raymond Oliver of Grand Véfour, leaves his job as head waiter for his father and wants to start his own restaurant:
“I met Slav in 1964. I wanted Slav, who was the most fashionable of Parisian decorators, to design the Bistrot de Paris. I told Madame Rabuteau, who handled the books at the Drugstore on the Champs Elysées, that I wanted to see him. She called me one day when they were taking photos of him.
I see this character with his belted safari jacket and his trousers tucked into small boots.
Mr. Slavik, I am going to open a restaurant; I would like you to be the one to design it.
Tell me your idea!
I explain it to him.
That interests me. I’ll do it for you.
But I don’t have any money. I will pay you as I go…
I’ll give you your restaurant as a gift!
That is why I had him design all my restaurants afterwards. For me, it is sacred;
Slavik worked through images. He would bring you into his own bubble. He lived a different life into which he allowed you to enter. He had a joyful vision of things.
He was in harmony with who he was. He succeeded in imposing what he wanted. He did not let himself be influenced. He moved very quickly with ideas. He was a hunter on the lookout. He listened and he took or did not take. His position was on the watch, he waited…
I’m going to make a suit for you, he had said. I walked into the Bistrot de Paris and I felt good. It was luxury and bistro. It was a custom-made suit! That’s the difference. He said that one must always be faithful to one’s preferences. There were huge, massive chandeliers with mirrors.
The kitchens on the ground floor: that was just starting at the time. At Grand Véfour, the kitchens were in the basement. I would be told to prepare a dish for Mr. Dupont and I couldn’t see him. I was a rat! One of the rooms became the kitchen.
I wanted the kitchen to be open to the dining room for two reasons:
- it ensured it was spotless
- it allowed the chefs to see who they were serving. It’s an exchange.”
We opened the Bistrot de Paris on November 11, 1965, a few days before the opening of the Drugstore Publicis Saint Germain.
It was immediately THE restaurant! It was the thing everyone was talking about.
The opening of the Bistrot de Paris spread like wildfire. There were three weeks of reservations.
That clientele is fickle. I thought that after the excitement of the opening, there would be a decline, and that didn’t happen.
At lunch, many politicians and the entire Socialist Party. In the evening, the Tout-Paris. We had a laugh.
I was fascinated. I was in the labyrinth with the mirrors of Alice in Wonderland. I dreamed with him. He realized my dreams, which is what drove me.
Chandeliers
Slavik assembles these chandeliers on plates made of mirrors, multiplying the reflection effects that add to those of the numerous mirrors covering the walls. From the beginning, the chairs have been a mix of two models, including the Thonet No. 18, which would be found in several of Slavik’s projects.
