Au Pied de Cochon

My good friend, Peter, flew up from Nice especially to visit me in Paris.  He arrived unwell, with a bad cold but still managed to meet me for dinner.

I had been dying to go to Au Pied de Cochon (at the foot of pig) and finally my time had arrived.

Au Pied de Cochon is a very old and famous brasserie, open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and every day of the year! 

Apparently, they have never closed their doors since opening in 1946.

It is a wonderful brasserie, however, perhaps it has become a bit of a tourist trap, even although the two gentlemen seated near us were definitely French seniors, sipping on L’apéritif from brandy balloons sitting in a bowl of crushed ice.

The ‘piggy’ thing did not escape me from the moment I reached for the door handle – I giggled - was that a solid brass pig that I just grasped to pull the door open with – absolutely.

Pigs, pigs everywhere, at least I had a translator with me this time, so didn’t end up ordering kidneys or some sort of offal by accident.

Instead, oysters, with bread and butter, was the beginning of a lovely meal.

Our café arrived – not with the usual complimentary chocolate advertising the establishment but with two pink meringue pigs!

Cute indeed.

And another ancient famous place to enjoy a meal, with a tick on my list.