Brasserie Lipp

Brasserie Lipp opened on Boulevard Saint-Germain in 1880 and has remained, for well over a century, one of the most socially significant dining rooms in Paris, particularly within French literary and political circles. Ernest Hemingway wrote about eating at Lipp in 'A Moveable Feast,' and the restaurant's proximity to the publishing houses and government buildings of Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the nearby Assemblée Nationale has made it a long-standing lunch spot for editors, authors, and politicians, some of whom have held the same table for decades. The interior retains its original decor: ornate ceramic tile murals of tropical foliage and birds, brass rails, mirrored columns, and dark wood panelling that has aged into a patina few Parisian interiors can match. The menu holds close to Alsatian and French brasserie tradition, with choucroute garnie and a well-regarded jarret de porc (braised pork knuckle) as anchor dishes, alongside herring, blanquette de veau, and roast chicken. Seating carries an unofficial hierarchy that longtime observers of Paris dining still discuss: the ground-floor room near the entrance is where regulars and reservation holders are seated, while newer or unfamiliar guests may find themselves directed upstairs, a distinction that has become part of the restaurant's mythology. Service runs continuously from morning until the early hours, making Lipp equally viable for a coffee, a late-night meal after a nearby theatre performance, or a full lunch. The prices sit at the higher end for brasserie food, reflecting the address and history as much as the cooking itself, but the experience of dining inside a genuine piece of twentieth-century French literary history remains the primary draw.