Au Pied du Cochon, Paris

3 AM....1966......Les Halles was still in business and the restaurants didn't even open until late cause that's when everyone was coming to work!!!! There I was with friends in tow at Au Pied du Cochon......WONDERFUL onion soup (from what I read from recent reviews the recipe hasn't changed) and vin blanc!!!!!!What a great memory!

Terrible!! Anti-American, you can do without, rude behavior. My wife, daughter and I went there for the French Onion Soup, we were told it would be a 2 minute wait. After over an hour and watching many who came in after us seated I asked what was going on. I pointed out that our name was in the middle of their sheet with all before and about four after us crossed out. I was rudely told they all had reservations and that I would be seated sometime between now and Christmas! I went back, talked to my wife and we decided to leave, on our way out, they found a table. Mistake, service was terrible, took another hour to be served and then the food was cold; rather than send it back, we just paid and left. I'll never go back! We truly felt they were punitive for us having the gull to ask how much longer, we felt they missed with us and the food.

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I was not expecting much except a big tourist trap with all the stuff I have read on the internet. As it turned out the French Onion Soup was great and a meal in itself, it would make a great lunch it is huge. We also decided to get some Langoustines(sp). They were good but, not much better than shrimp and not as good as lobster, also harder to get at the meat. The bread and wine were great. The bill was a little high but a nice place for lunch. Good People watching too if you sit near the outside or outside. It's worth a visit.

Favorite Dish: The French Onion soup may have been the best I have had.

Comfortable setting. Good service. On three floors. They work 24 hours. I saw people eating and drinking wine at 7 AM in a morning there.
We could not resist to spend money there because it was simple but very good.
Poor selection of wines, though.
They don't accept reservations between 9 and 10 PM. People start to appear at tables at 8 PM.

Favorite Dish: Best of onion soops!
Very good escargot! I love snails again!
Crepers "flambe" was great!
Eerything else is very good!

an institution in the old Les Halles neighborhood. open 24/7. ambiance is on the more formal side with waiters in tuxedos. easy walk from The Marais or the Left Bank. on the expensive side, especially carrying dollars. start with a glass of champagne, a dozen escargots, a bowl of onion soup(their specialty) and an entrecote or the other indescribable organ list that they offer. salade Oscar igs good, a meal in itself. all in all a worthwile stop on the Parisian scene.

Favorite Dish: "Soupe a l'onion" a great big bowl of authentic onion soup covered with melted cheeze, the type of which I do not exactly know. it's a meal in itself. for desert, the "famous" bab au rum with fresh cream. then straight to the gym or walk five miles around Paris.

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For Valentine's Day dinner, I opted for Au Pied de Cochon, feet of the pig, so named because they are famous for their pig trotters in bearnaise sauce! This is an historic open 24/7 brasserie owned by Les Frères Blan located a few steps away from Eglise St-Eustache. If you're in town during the holidays and are wondering where you should eat, this is a great bet.

Because it was Valentine's Day the line to wait was long but the restaurant had set up a system where you could order a drink at the bar while you pass through the line. The wait ended up only being 20 minutes and the drink was wonderful: some red fruity concoction with a sugar-rimmed glass with an umbrella in it.

A gentleman, his daughter and her boyfriend were seated next to me. He was eating choucroute and for some reason he offered me a bite of it. The sauerkraut wasn't as sour as it is here in the US and it was a bit dryer than it's served here but to me it was absolutely perfect!

Since I'd already had the onion soup at Flore I just went with the Entrecôte de Boeuf de Race Normande Grillée with the Bearnaise sauce & Pommes Pont-Neuf Maison, otherwise known as frites (33€). I can remember medium (à point) and well-done (bien cuit) but couldn't think of what it would be for medium well so ordered it bien cuit. Quite good but most likely would've been better had it been medium well. The frites were great and was accompanied by a small salad.

Dessert was profiteroles - choux pastry puffs filled with ice cream with a hot dark chocolate syrup poured over all (9€). My friend, Sandye, had warned me that they were nothing special & she was right. I only ate one. The choux puff pastry was tough. Can someone tell me what the big deal is with profiteroles or where I can find outstanding ones, because I just don't get the allure. I should just stick with crème brûlèe.

I did get a lovely single rose on my way out the door which helped soothe the pangs of a being in Paris on Valentine's Day without my family.

Favorite Dish: Steak was very good. Next time I'd like to try their soupe à l'oignon gratinée as I hear it's wonderful! I'd also LOVE to try the choucroute next time.

They also have a Cochon Express Menu

Photos: February 2006

“Les Freres Blanc”, a famous French restaurant group, is running the famous Parisian brasserie « Au Pied de Cochon » restaurant in Paris. The restaurant is located 6, rue Coquillière in Paris 75001. The French onion soup is some of the best in the city. The signature dish is grilled "pig foot" with bearnaise sauce. The raw bar features seafood flown in fresh daily: shrimp, crabs, clams, mussels, oysters, lobster and mussels. Diners should leave room to sample some of Au Pied de Cochon’s delicious desserts, one fine choice is the creme caramel. The chocolate mousse, served in chilled cups, is equally satisfying. This sinfully decadent concoction sates even the most demanding sweet tooth. The brasserie can satiate any craving for French fare, 24 hours a day.

Favorite Dish: The signature dish is grilled "pig foot" with bearnaise sauce

Was taken here with a bunch of Brits, on a trade mission. They were a little bemused by people eating every bit of the pig, but I was unfazed, being used to pigs trotters, chicken feet and worse appearing at the dinner table.
Worth a visit...

Favorite Dish: the trotters!!

On our first day in Paris we arrived at 11pm, so no time to do anything else but have dinner at the popular with the late night crowd, ‘Au Pied De Cochon’, at 6 rue Coquilliere. This restaurant is open 24 hrs all week, its interior and staff are elegant and its cuisine delicious.

Although on the higher end of the pricing scale, the portions are large and the atmosphere very relaxed.

Favorite Dish: In the company of a few glasses of beer, we started with asparagus in a special sauce and the duck liver fois gras.

For main course, my friend decided to play it safe with slices of duck with shallots, while I risked and tried the signature dish of the restaurant, ‘Pied de cochon grille’, which was a grilled pig’s trotter with béarnaise sauce. Despite the sound of it, it tasted really good. Not something I will be eating everytime I hungry, but it was certainly worth a try.

For dessert, we dived in the delicious profiteroles soaked in hot chocolate sauce.

This restaurant was recommended to us by our tour guide, and we certainly enjoyed a good meal here. Au Pied de Cochon is known for it's nightlife as well as it's specialties: onion soup, grilled pig's feet with Bernaise sauce, and andouillette.

Favorite Dish: We loved the duck, but the seafood dishes were huge! Quite a sight to see, or better yet, order.