Allard was founded in 1932 by Marthe Allard, a Burgundian cook whose name became synonymous in Saint-Germain-des-Prés with the kind of grand bourgeois bistro cooking that Paris once produced at every corner and which, by the late 20th century, had become increasingly rare. Marthe Allard's approach — the long-simmered dishes of the French provincial tradition, the generous portions, the wine served in carafes, the room unchanged from one decade to the next — attracted the 6th arrondissement's intellectual and artistic community throughout the mid-century: Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, and the literary world of Saint-Germain ate here habitually.
When Alain Ducasse acquired Allard in 2013, he made an explicit commitment: the decor would be preserved as completely as possible, the cooking would remain faithful to the Marthe Allard tradition, and the restaurant's identity as Saint-Germain's last authentic grand bistro would not be compromised by the gastronomic ambitions of the group that now operated it. The result is a restaurant that is, in the most precise sense, a preservation project — one backed by the resources and discipline of one of the world's great culinary organisations. The tile floor, the zinc bar, the panelling, the framed mirrors, the tables set close together in the manner of a room that has always been full: all of it remains.
The cooking honours the traditions that made Allard's reputation. The duck confit with Puy lentils is the house signature — a dish that rewards the long cooking and good ingredients that Ducasse's kitchens reliably deliver. The sole meunière, the snails in Burgundy butter, the bœuf bourguignon on Thursdays: each one is the kind of dish that exists at the intersection of technique and tradition and that too few Paris restaurants still produce with the commitment these deserve. The wine list emphasises the producers of Burgundy and the Rhône with the knowledge appropriate to a room that has been drinking them for ninety years.
The private dining rooms on the upper level accommodate groups of between 8 and 35 guests in a setting of complete discretion that the main room's lively atmosphere cannot provide. For confidential dinners, corporate events, or celebrations that require both a great meal and genuine privacy, the private rooms at Allard are among the most appropriate choices in the 6th arrondissement.