Restaurants are truly Paris’ children; because it is in Paris that they were born. Until their arrival, there were cabarets, and taverns. In the taverns, wine was sold by the jar. At the cabaret, they sold it “by the plate”, that’s to say, more specifically, on a dressed table and accompanied by a good meal. La Fontaine, Molière, and Racine went, for example, to the “Mouton Blanc”, a legendary cabaret on the rue du Vieux-Colombier. As a general rule, proper “cuisine” was still restricted to the private salons of the rich, whereas the taverns and the cabarets served uninspiring fare.Paris’ first restaurant to be called such, opened in 1765 on rue des Poulies (today, rue du Louvre). Named the Boulanger, it served a consommé that was “restaurant” – that’s to say restorative, invigorating – called the “Prince’s bouillon”.It was a winning formula and the Boulanger quickly found itself with a number of imitators. But it was not so far away, moments from the Palais Royal, that the restaurant was about to gain its royal warrant.In 1786, Antoine Beauvillier, who started his career in the kitchens of the Count of Provence (the future Louis XVIII) opened his Taverne Anglaise. Elegantly decorated and with a refined menu, it became established almost overnight.
