Locals in Paris’ 19th arrondissement will tell you that if you’re after a juicy slab of Normandy beef – and here, we’re thinking great cuts of rump and chateaubriand – it’s a good idea to book a table at Au Boeuf Couronné, a tried and tested chophouse in the French capital since the end of the 19th century. Quite appropriately, the restaurant is just across the road from the Bernard Tschumi-designed Parc de La Villette, which was once the site of a huge abattoir and national wholesale meat market.
And now, the restaurant’s owners have taken over the adjoining hostel and turned it into an unexpectedly slick 42-room hotel. While the temptation may have been to turn the whole enterprise into a themed property of the Hard Rock Café variety, local design studio Fabrice Ausset has exerted both wit and stylish restraint.
Obvious bovine influences have been limited to timber panels branded (literally) with silhouettes of cattle and abstract foliage. Less obvious references come by way of huge timber blocks that serve as desk and counter space in the rooms; the customised stools and chairs which are finished in burgundy hued leather, and the bathroom in white subway tiles; whilst belted leather hold-alls provide storage and decorative touches.
Downstairs in the titular restaurant, chef de cuisine, Antonio Goncalves, oversees a protein-rich menu of which the beef tartare is a reliable favourite, as is the apple soufflé.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
188 Avenue Jean Jaurès
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekIt was a jam-packed week for the Wallpaper* staff, entailing furniture, tech and music launches and lots of good food – from afternoon tea to omakase
-
Peugeot brings back a classic performance badge for the electric era: meet the E-208 GTiPeugeot has unveiled the new E-208 GTi, a performance EV designed to hark back to a golden age of compact sports cars
-
This 18th-century Puglian villa has been restored with contemporary touchesThe updated stonemason's workshop is a haven of centuries-old brick and sophisticated made-in-Italy design
-
Tour Eurostar’s sleek new lounges in Paris and BrusselsLondon-based Chris Bagot Architects has designed a stylish environment in which to work or unwind prior to high-speed rail travel
-
Taste a Louis Vuitton summer in sun-drenched Saint-TropezThe Arnaud Donckele & Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton restaurant returns to the White 1921 Saint-Tropez hotel for its third edition, now with a Michelin star
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Experimental Marais: a lush homecoming for the hospitality forceExperimental Group returns to its Parisian roots, where it opened its founding bar, to launch its first-ever flagship hotel, designed by Tristan Auer
-
Bon appétit! These are the best restaurants in ParisExperience haute cuisine at the best restaurants Paris has to offer, from a vegetable-centric menu at Arpège to alchemical cuisine at Plénitude
-
Sun-soaked European destinations to visit in springDreaming of Florentine palazzos and Greek islands now that the weather is starting to turn? Check into one of these beautiful European hotels and holiday homes
-
The warmth and comfort of Paris restaurant Margaux: ‘It’s like feasting at grandma’s’Located on the 16th arrondissement, Margaux dishes up timeless French classics in a setting that feels like home
-
Saint Laurent unveils Sushi Park Paris: the Los Angeles omakase’s new outpostA beloved Californian restaurant finds a second home at the Saint Laurent Rive Droite flagship, merging the worlds of haute couture and high-end gastronomy
-
Must-visit cinemas with award-worthy designThere’s more magic to the movies at these design-led cinemas, from Busan Cinema Centre’s ‘flying’ roof to The Gem Cinema Jaipur’s art deco allure
