Joséphine Chez Dumonet
When Baptiste Roulière bought Joséphine Chez Dumonet in 2025, he handed its stove to Adrien Dumonet, grandson of the Jean Dumonet who took the bistro over in 1965.21
Why go
This Left Bank bistro made its name on bourgeois classics that the French restaurant critic Gilles Pudlowski called timeless in January 2026 (ses classiques bourgeois qui défient le temps
).3 The Paris food writer Emily Monaco put it in 2023 in the grand tradition of fellow bistro stalwart l'Ami Louis
and wrote that it pairs exorbitant prices with massive portions.
7 The room opened in 1880 as La Coquille d'Or, a bougnat (in David Lebovitz's gloss, a shop that sold heating coal and doubled as the neighborhood café).4 Joséphine Lespinasse, a cook from the Landes, took it over in 1930 and became a celebrated Paris mère
(mother).2 Among the cooks she trained was Fernande Allard of rue de l'Éperon. Announcing the sale in January 2026, Pudlowski wrote that the card's truffles and foie gras recall her Landes roots.3
Roulière, the son of a star butcher at the Tours market, also runs Chez Fernand on rue Christine. Gault&Millau's inspector ate here after the sale and found that the spirit of the place has (fortunately) not changed.
The same 2026 review called the service uneven and wanted the chocolate mousse served cooler.1 Pudlowski writes his monthly bistro column in partnership with the cookware maker Staub. His February 2026 column, written after a meal here, found: And everything carries on as before, even better than before, with a devotion to fine meat
(Et tout continue là comme avant, et même mieux qu'avant, avec une dévotion apportée aux belles viandes
).2
Plan the meal around the Grand Marnier soufflé. Under the old house in 2015, Lebovitz found it baked to creamy perfection in an oversized porcelain urn with a browned, crusty top,
and he warned that it needs to be ordered at the beginning of the meal.
4 Pudlowski still found it on the dessert card in February 2026.2
Order this / avoid
- Order: the grilled beef fillet. Gault&Millau, 2026:
the (magnificent) grilled fillet of beef with béarnaise sauce and home fries.
1 - Order: the black Angus onglet. Gilles Pudlowski, 2026:
a tender, tasty black Angus onglet with a well-peppered sauce and crisp fries
(un tendre et savoureux onglet de bœuf black Angus avec sa sauce poivre bien relevée et ses frites croquantes
).2 - Order: the boeuf bourguignon in its cast-iron cocotte. Gilles Pudlowski, 2026:
a model boeuf bourguignon
(un modèle de boeuf bourguignon
).2 - Order: the Dombes duck. Gilles Pudlowski, 2026:
tender Dombes duck, torched and served with melting buttered cabbage
(tendre canard des Dombes, grillé au chalumeau et escorté de sa fondante embeurrée de chou
).2 - Order: the stuffed morels in a morel cream made with Jura wine. Gilles Pudlowski, 2026:
the legendary stuffed morels
(les légendaires morilles farcies
).2 - Order: the millefeuille Dumonet. Gilles Pudlowski, 2026:
feather-light, gossamer
withits fine pastry and vanilla cream
(légérissime et arachnéen
,son fin feuilletage et sa crème vanillée
).2
What locals & experts say
- Gault&Millau, 2026, 12.5 out of 20:
Superb Belle Epoque decor, sawtooth service and a large, classic cellar that is gradually being modernized.
1 - Alexander Lobrano, Eater's Paris map, updated June 2026:
The boeuf bourguignon is the best in the city.
And:this century-old bistro is why you put up with all those terrible hours in economy class to get to Paris.
6 - David Lebovitz, his list of Paris favorites, updated July 2026:
the Grand Marnier dessert soufflé is a must, and the duck confit is among the best in Paris.
5 - Paris by Mouth, under the old house (last visit 2024):
They make a mean Grand Marnier soufflé as big as your head that must (and should) be ordered at the beginning of the meal.
7
Good to know
- Days: call before a weekend visit on 01 45 48 52 40. Gault&Millau's 2026 card has it open Monday to Friday only, and Pudlowski's February 2026 card says open every day.12
- Booking: book ahead by phone or through TheFork, as Eater advised in June 2026.67
- Price: the carte ran 75 to 150 euros in February 2026.2 Gault&Millau's card, read in September 2026, lists the country terrine at 12 euros, the calf sweetbread at 44 and the millefeuille at 18.1 Lebovitz, July 2026:
Not a 'budget' bistro, but the quality of the food (and the neighborhood) merits the prices.
5 - Portions: Lebovitz found some dishes offered as half portions in 2015, before the sale.4
- Wine: the list leans to Bordeaux. In February 2026 Pudlowski found Loire bottles added by Roulière, who comes from Tours.2
- Getting there: Métro Duroc or Falguière.2
Verdict
should-visit — Go to Joséphine Chez Dumonet for bourguignon, the grilled fillet with béarnaise and the Grand Marnier soufflé in a Belle Époque room. Gault&Millau and Gilles Pudlowski both ate there after the 2025 sale and found the house unchanged, though Gault&Millau found the service uneven. Pudlowski's February 2026 card put the carte at 75 to 150 euros.