Œuf mayonnaise is the cheapest serious starter in Paris: a hard-boiled egg, halved, set on lettuce with a hand-whisked mayonnaise that should cover the egg without sliding off.
The dish appears on Parisian bouillon menus from the 1880s, when the workers' canteens of Les Halles needed a sub-€1 starter. By 1955 it was standard at every Paris bistro and brasserie. The Association de Sauvegarde de l'Œuf Mayonnaise (ASOM), founded 1990 by Claude Lebey, runs an annual contest in the city for the best version, judged on the firmness of the egg yolk (just-set, not chalky), the consistency of the mayonnaise (it should coat the back of a spoon), and the proportions. Bouillon Chartier serves the bistro template at €3.20; Bistrot Paul Bert's version with extra-virgin oil mayonnaise is the editorial benchmark.
4 editor picks for Œuf mayonnaise in Paris, ranked by editorial score. All Paris signature dishes · Œuf mayonnaise across every city.
Bistrot Paul Bert ★ 4.4
11e · 18 Rue Paul Bert, 75011 Paris
Bistrot Paul Bert is Paris's textbook bistro: zinc bar, chalkboard menu, steak frites cooked rare with hand-cut fries, île flottante for two on a single platter.
Le Petit Vendôme ★ 4.2
2e · 8 Rue des Capucines, 75002 Paris
Le Petit Vendôme in Paris's 2e makes the city's most-cited jambon-beurre and feeds the Place Vendôme jeweller staff at lunch from 11:30 every weekday.
Bouillon Pigalle ★ 4.1
18e · 22 Boulevard de Clichy, 75018 Paris
Bouillon Pigalle in Paris reopened the bouillon model in 2017 and now seats 300 with no reservation, no shortcut, a mains-under-€12 daily menu.
Bouillon Chartier ★ 4.0
9e · 7 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre, 75009 Paris
Bouillon Chartier has run a workers' canteen of a brasserie in Paris's 9e since 1896. The menu still puts œuf mayonnaise on for less than €3.