In France, a bouillon (French pronunciation: [bujɔ̃] ^ⓘ) is a traditional (late 19th or early 20th-century), spacious restaurant that usually serves traditional French cuisine, in particular a bouillon, which provides the name for this class of restaurants.^{[1][citation needed]}

When invented, the concept was to serve good quality food quickly at an affordable price. By repeating the same formula across multiple sites, the founder also effectively invented the chain restaurant; however, this had no influence (beyond other bouillons), and ultimately it was American restaurant chains that revived the concept in France.^[2]

Today the buildings of some bouillons are listed historical monuments.^{[3][4][5][6][7]}

In 1838 a Dutch company began to sell bouillon in uniform outlets.^[8] These first "Bouillons Hollandais" did not survive, but in 1854 a French butcher, Adolphe-Baptiste Duval (1811-1870), revived the idea (and is typically erroneously credited with originating it).^[9]

He proposed a single dish of meat and a bouillon (soup/stock) to the workers of the market halls. In 1900 nearly two hundred and fifty bouillons could be found in Paris. They became the first popular chain of restaurants. Some other more "upper-class" bouillons offered a reading room or some entertainment.^{[citation needed]}

Meanwhile, Art Nouveau spread through Europe. The various World's Fairs in Paris (1878, 1889, and 1900) accelerated its influence, and restaurants followed the trend.^{[citation needed]}

In 1896 Bouillon Chartier was opened by brothers Frédéric and Camille Chartier on Rue du Faubourg Montmartre.^{[citation needed]}

In 1903 Bouillon Gandon-Duval opened in an old restaurant converted by the owner and architect, Edouard Fournier.^{[citation needed]}

In 1904 another bouillon with luxurious Art Nouveau decoration was opened on Boulevard Saint-Germain. The architect was Jean-Marie Bouvier. Today it is the site of Brasserie Vagenende, which is not a bouillon.^{[citation needed]}

With Louis Trezel, Edouard Chartier opened two further Bouillons Chartier in 1906: the Grand Bouillon Camille Chartier on Rue Racine and the Bouillon Edouard Chartier on Boulevard Montparnasse. These restaurants were created in the Art Nouveau style: carved wood and ceramics, with mirrors and painted-glass details.^{[citation needed]}

Nowadays only a few authentic bouillons remain, such as in Faubourg-Montmartre and in particular the one on Rue Racine, which has the most baroque style of Art Nouveau.

Until 1926 Camille Chartier remained the owner. After being called Bouillon Ollé and Joussot, it was Mme. Launois who kept the restaurant until 1956. The following purchaser sold the goodwill to the University of Paris, which opened a restaurant there for the staff of the Sorbonne from 1962 until 1993. A major part of the décor survived but the restaurant did not benefit from the special care allotted to luxurious restaurants.^{[citation needed]}

The complete renovation of Bouillon Racine took place in 1996, thanks to the Compagnons du Tour de France. It required artisans and experts who had the skills of techniques nearly lost. Bevelled mirrors, painted opalines, stained glass, carved woodwork, marble mosaics, and gold-leaf lettering provide the public with the pleasure of an opulent space as much by its beauty and its conviviality. It was subsequently declared a historic building.^{[citation needed]}

Since 2017 the Parisian bouillon has seen a resurgence. Bouillon Chartier Montparnasse, which had been lately functioning as a brasserie named Montparnasse 1900, reprised its original vocation (and name) in 2019. Two new bouillons have been launched by the Moussié brothers Pierre and Guillaume: Bouillon Pigalle (opened in 2017 on Boulevard Clichy) and Bouillon République (opened in 2021 in the former home of the venerable brasserie, Chez Jenny).^[10][11][12]

• The novel A Killer at Sorbonne (French: Un tueur en Sorbonne) by René Reouven was inspired by the characters and customers at Bouillon Racine. In this context, the novelist recalls the assassination of Symon Petliura by Sholom Schwartzbard in 1926, which took place at the exit of Bouillon Camille Chartier (i.e. Bouillon Racine).^[13]
• In 1939 Fernandel sang of Chez Chartier in the song "Félicie aussi" by Albert Willemetz:

Afin d'séduire la petite chatte. Je l'emmenai dîner chez Chartier
Comme elle est fine et délicate. Elle prit un pied d'cochon grillé
(English: To seduce the little pussy-cat, I took her out to dine at Chartier's
As she is fine and considerate, she chose a roast pig's trotter)

• In the novel Les Beaux Quartiers by Louis Aragon, Chez Chartier is mentioned as the restaurant where young Edmond Barbentane lunches regularly.
• The setting of the closing scene in Mathieu Amalric's telefilm La Chose publique is at Chez Chartier.

• Chez Chartier

• Chartier restaurant Paris (French)

• Matthieu Flory/Clémentine Forissier: Restaurants, brasseries et bistrots parisiens. Editions Ereme, Paris 2007, pp. 82–85, ISBN 9782915337471
• Jean Colson/Marie-Christine Lauroa (Eds.): Dictionnaire des monuments de Paris. Editions Hervas, Paris 2003, ISBN 2-84334-001-2

• Restaurant Chartier
• Le Grand Colbert
• Bouillon Bilk
• Restaurant Le Vagenende