Paris Guide: After Midnight at Au Pied de Cochon
Address | 6 Rue Coquillière, 75001 Paris, France
Rewind to this post and you'll recall that after rushing to meet my foodie goals I headed back to the hotel for some spa and pool time. It wasn't until around 10:30 p.m. that we decided we should get serious about finding a spot for dinner. Lynette had a plan. We would walk in the light drizzle of rain so that I could enjoy a Cuban cigar (the beauty of visiting embargo free countries), from our hotel to Aux Deux Amis where dinner is served until 2:00 a.m. Around 11:00 p.m. we were out the door and the plan was panning out beautifully....up until we reached Aux Deux Amis. The place was spilling over with people smoking and drinking. Standing shoulder to shoulder and awkwardly bending heads to drink without moving their elbows, the crowd wasn't going to give an inch to allow us near the bar let alone past the bar to see if there were any open tables. We needed a new plan.
We wandered the streets of Paris noting a lot of bar service but closed kitchens. We knew we would have to venture out of the 11th arrondissement and into the 1st to visit the legendary Au Pied de Cochon. Au Pied de Cochon (which translates to pig's feet and pig feet is the dish it is most famous for) opened in 1947. Since that time is has been open 24/7 with rare exception for repairs. Legend has it the doors never lock and the light switch never turns to off. They serve traditional French fare and it seemed fitting for our last night, er early morning, in Paris.
By now it was past midnight. As we walked down the quiet and emptied streets I wondered whether we'd be the only customers there, bothering the kitchen with a late night dinner order. A few feet away from the Brasserie the silence broke. All at once there were signs of life. Laughing and the sound of people exiting cars dropping them at the front of Au Pied de Cochon filled the air. Not only were we not the only two people in Paris wanting dinner past midnight, at this 250 seat restaurant we had to wait in line with other guests who also wanted to eat past midnight. We idled by the bar and marveled at how lively the scene was for a Thursday night. The crowd seemed to be a mix of Parisians who had just been released from an evening show or event and wanted to continue the revelry, and tourists who had read about and wanted to experience the all night
brasserie.
We were taken to a corner table at the front of the restaurant. Next to us sat a guest who was the embodiment of joie de vivre. He thoroughly enjoyed each course, smiling broadly with each bite he took. I eyed his plates as they came, wondering if I ordered the same if it would have a similar effect. Filling his glass from the half bottle of Chablis at his table he began toasting and joking with his neighbors. When his final course, a large ice cream sundae, came to the table both Lynette and I eyed. "No! All mine!" he laughed and ate it up.
We started our meal with a bottle of Beaujolais Blanc which we ordered out of curiosity and it was surprisingly refreshing. Not too try and a good match with our meal. We decided to share the scallops cru and langoustine ravioli for starters. Both dishes were good, traditional French fare and beyond anything you could get at most places after midnight.
Though initially we had been tempted by the desserts being served around us, by the time we finished our meal it was around 2 am and we were too full for dessert. Meringue piglets were served with our check. Totally unplanned this was a uniquely Parisian experience worth having. The scene, the service, and pleasure of a satisfying French meal left us happy and ready to return home for some rest before the next morning.
