Polidor
| Polidor | |
|---|---|
 Le Polidor | |
 | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1845 |
| Street address | 41, rue Monsieur-le-Prince |
| City | 6th arrondissement of Paris |
| County | France |
| Coordinates | 48°50′59″N 2°20′24″E / 48.84972°N 2.34000°E |
The Crémerie-Restaurant Polidor is a historic restaurant in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. Its predecessor was a chess shop founded in 1845,[1] and in 1890 the owner changed it into a bistro. It has had its present name since the beginning of the 20th century. The interior of the restaurant is basically unchanged for over 100 years, and the style of cooking remains that of the late 19th century. Its tables have well fed many artists, Sorbonne University and Collège de France students, local residents and visitors to the neighborhood for over 175 years.
The Polidor is located at 41, rue Monsieur-le-Prince in the Odéon area, near the Jardin du Luxembourg. Its name derives from the cream desserts it served in former decades. Most diners sit at long, shared tables, with communal saltcellars and pots of French mustard. Its bathroom, unchanged for decades, has been described as legendary by Ernest Hemingway who lived nearby. He refers to dinners at le Polidor with friends and with his first wife Hadley Richardson in his book about Paris called A Movable Feast.
In addition to its decor and cuisine, the Polidor is best known for its illustrious clientele. It is said to have been a favourite of André Gide's,[1] as well as hosting James Joyce,[1] Ernest Hemingway,[1] Antonin Artaud, Paul Valéry,[1] Boris Vian, Julio Cortázar,[2] Jack Kerouac, and Henry Miller. It is also known for being the meeting place of the Collège de ’Pataphysique,[1] and its principals, French writers Luc Étienne and Raymond Queneau.
The Polidor remains a popular restaurant on the Left Bank, particularly among students at the nearby University of Paris (Sorbonne) and Collège de France.
In 2011, it featured in the film Midnight in Paris by Woody Allen. In 2017, it was the setting for the music video for "Desencuentro", a song by Puerto Rican singer Residente. The video features Charlotte Le Bon and Édgar Ramírez.[3]
In the Lee Child novel The Enemy, the protagonist Jack Reacher has dinner with his brother Joe and their French mother Josephine at Polidor.[4]
Polidor is a famous old restaurant. It makes you feel like all kinds of people have eaten there. Gourmets, spies, painters, fugitives, cops, robbers.
— Lee Child, The Enemy (Jack Reacher, Book 8)
References
- ^ a b c d e f Burke, David (2008). Writers in Paris : literary lives in the city of light. Berkeley: Counterpoint. p. 65. ISBN 9781582435855. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ^ Agencia Reforma. "Tras las huellas de Cortázar". am.com.mx. Compañía Periodística Meridiano S.A. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ^ Cobo, Leila (31 March 2017). "Residente Gets Romantic With Stunningly Beautiful 'Desencuentro' Video: Watch". Billboard. Eldridge Industries. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
- ^ Child, Lee (2005). The Enemy. Bantam Books. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-553-81585-6.
External links
- (in French) Official web site