If the walls of Bofinger were able to write their memoirs, the face of Paris would surely be altered. This Parisian brasserie has often seen history in the making. Its very location, the decor and its atmosphere have always drawn the major personalities of Parisian life within its walls.
A little treasure hidden away at the top of the staircase, the Hansi room may be reserved for 6 or 8 guests. The decor is by the Alsatian painter, Jacques Waltz, nicknamed Hansi. The woodwork lining the walls is covered with paintings of kugelhof, pretzels, storks, ladybirds, and women from Alsace in traditional costume. With the geraniums in window boxes, you would be forgiven for thinking you were in a winstub in Riquewhir.
In 1864, when the dreaded phylloxera struck, Bofinger introduced the first draught beer to Paris. The brasserie was situated in the heart of the Marais and Faubourg Saint-Antoine quarters of Paris. Since the Ancien Régime, Alsaciens had come to these areas to work as carpenters and woodworkers.
As was the glass dome ceiling illuminating the main dining room, a masterpiece by Néret and Royer. It was installed by Albert Bruneau, Bofinger's son in law who succeeded him in 1906, in association with Louis Barraud.
The revolving door, the bar, the vast winding staircase, the padded black leather bench seats, the bronze wall lights, the copper, the ceramics, the mirrors, everything dates from this period and epitomises the style of an Alsatian brasserie. At the start of the Années Folles, it became the meeting place of the political world, and more than one government fell to the power of its sauerkraut. Forsaken for some time, the Bastille quarter has now become fashionable again and the rush to dine under Bofinger's domed ceiling continues.
