Poulet rôti is Paris's Sunday-bistro standard: a salt-rubbed Bresse or Loué chicken roasted on a rotisserie or oven, served whole with fat-cooked potatoes and the pan juice.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
Bresse chicken, the only French poultry with full AOC protection since 1957, anchored the Sunday-roast tradition that runs through Paris bistros from the 19th century. Marie Antoinette's chef, Pierre Beauvilliers, codified the rotisserie roast at his Palais-Royal restaurant in the 1790s. Bouillon Pigalle and La Rôtisserie d'Argent now anchor the dish at scale, with whole birds for two on the rotisserie. Modern Paris bakeries with rotisseries, including the Saturday Marché des Enfants Rouges, sell take-away versions for €15 a bird.
Tip from the editors. Pre-salt the chicken 1 hour ahead and dry on a rack for crisper skin than oiling it just before the bird hits the oven heat.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Bouillon Pigalle in Paris pours classic bouillon dishes until midnight. The room seats 300; the wait is shorter after 22:00 and the price holds through the night.
Try: Bouillon classics
Tip: After 22:30 the queue thins. Order onion soup, steak tartare and île flottante for the late triple.
La Rôtisserie d'Argent in Paris is La Tour d'Argent's bistro annex on the Seine. The Bresse chicken comes off the rotisserie in the room, no a la carte.
Signature: Rotisserie chicken, Frites cooked in beef fat
Order: Quarter Bresse chicken, frites in beef fat, the famed pressed-duck dessert.
Tip: The terrace catches the Notre-Dame light; ask for table 4 by the window in spring.
Robert et Louise in Paris's 3e has grilled côtes de bœuf over an open log fire in the dining room since 1958. Booking required for the fireside tables.
Signature: Côte de bœuf grilled on log fire, Aligot
Order: Côte de bœuf for two grilled in the room, aligot from the Aubrac.
Tip: Two seatings only, 19:30 and 21:30. Closed Sunday. Sit close to the fire in winter.
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