{"id":408,"date":"2018-08-28T05:28:48","date_gmt":"2018-08-28T05:28:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paristopten.com\/index.php\/2018\/08\/28\/le-procope\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T16:30:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T16:30:13","slug":"le-procope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paristopten.com\/fr\/le-procope\/","title":{"rendered":"Revue Le Procope : avis d'experts sur le plus vieux caf\u00e9 de Paris"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you book or buy through them, Paris Top Ten may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change what we recommend.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Le Procope, at 13 rue de l’Ancienne Comédie in the 6th arrondissement, is Paris’s oldest café address, founded in 1686 by the Sicilian Procopio Cutò. It is open every day from 12:00 to midnight, takes reservations on 01 40 46 79 00, and publishes no formal dress code — booking platforms classify it as smart casual, and no jacket or tie is required. Set menus run €24.50 to €41.50 and most main courses land between €23.50 and €34.50. Expect an 18th-century-style dining room and a hidden courtyard terrace; expect food that reviewers rate well below the room.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Red
kovalenkovpetr \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Le Procope at a glance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
D\u00e9tail<\/div><\/th>
What to know<\/div><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Adresse<\/div><\/td>
13 rue de l\u2019Ancienne Com\u00e9die, 75006 Paris<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n
T\u00e9l\u00e9phone<\/div><\/td>
01 40 46 79 00 (+33 1 40 46 79 00 from abroad)<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n
Opening hours<\/div><\/td>
Monday to Sunday, 12:00 to 00:00<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n
Caf\u00e9 salon<\/div><\/td>
Monday to Friday, 15:30 to 17:30, no reservation needed<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n
Nearest metro<\/div><\/td>
Od\u00e9on (lines 4 and 10), about a 2-minute walk<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n
Code vestimentaire<\/div><\/td>
None published by the restaurant; platforms list smart casual<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n
Outdoor seating<\/div><\/td>
Yes \u2014 a courtyard terrace off the cour du Commerce Saint-Andr\u00e9<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n
Paiement<\/div><\/td>
Visa, Mastercard, Carte Bleue, American Express, cash, titres restaurant<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n
Set menus<\/div><\/td>
\u20ac24.50 to \u20ac41.50 depending on time and day<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n
R\u00e9servation<\/div><\/td>
Online via procope.com, or by phone<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody><\/table>
Practical details verified against Le Procope’s own website in August 2026.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What is the dress code at Le Procope?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Le Procope publishes no dress code of its own. Reservation platforms classify it as smart casual with a casual-elegant dining style, and no jacket or tie is required. Clean jeans with a shirt or a blouse will not raise an eyebrow at lunch or at dinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is worth stating plainly, because the room misleads people. Chandeliers, red banquettes, gilt-framed portraits and a listed 18th-century interior read as formal, and visitors regularly arrive expecting a jacket rule that does not exist. This is a busy historic brasserie serving several hundred covers a day, not a gastronomic temple with a doorman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two practical caveats. Shorts and beachwear will look out of place in the evening even though nobody will stop you, and the upstairs salons used for private hire hold events with their own dress expectations, so ask when you book a group. If you are pulling together an outfit for a wider trip, our guide to the meilleur moment pour visiter Paris<\/a> covers what the seasons actually demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How much does Le Procope cost?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Two people eating three courses from the carte with a glass of wine each should budget roughly €75 to €100 per person. The set menus cut that sharply: the lunchtime Menu Procope is €24.50 for two courses and €31.50 for three, which is among the cheaper ways to eat inside a listed Paris monument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
What you order<\/div><\/th>
Published price<\/div><\/th>
Remarques<\/div><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Menu Procope, 2 courses<\/div><\/td>
\u20ac24.50<\/div><\/td>
Monday to Saturday, 12:00 to 18:00. Excludes public holidays<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n
Menu Procope, 3 courses<\/div><\/td>
\u20ac31.50<\/div><\/td>
Same window. Drinks not included<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n
Menu Philosophe, 2 courses<\/div><\/td>
\u20ac34.50<\/div><\/td>
Daily from 18:00, and all day Sunday<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n
Menu Philosophe, 3 courses<\/div><\/td>
\u20ac41.50<\/div><\/td>
The evening equivalent of the Menu Procope<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n
Starters<\/div><\/td>
\u20ac9.00 to \u20ac22.50<\/div><\/td>
Onion soup \u20ac10.50; six Burgundy escargots \u20ac11.90; foie gras mi-cuit \u20ac22.50<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n
Historic recipes<\/div><\/td>
\u20ac27.50 to \u20ac41.50<\/div><\/td>
Braised ox cheek \u20ac27.50; coq au vin and calf\u2019s head \u20ac28.50<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n
Meat main courses<\/div><\/td>
\u20ac23.50 to \u20ac29.50<\/div><\/td>
Beef tartare \u20ac23.50; duck breast \u20ac29.50<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n
Fish main courses<\/div><\/td>
\u20ac25.50 to \u20ac48.50<\/div><\/td>
Salmon \u20ac25.50; whole sole \u20ac48.50<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n
Desserts<\/div><\/td>
\u20ac8.50 to \u20ac13.50<\/div><\/td>
Floating island \u20ac8.50; Procopio tiramisu \u20ac12.50<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n
Wine by the glass<\/div><\/td>
\u20ac7.00 to \u20ac14.00<\/div><\/td>
Juli\u00e9nas \u20ac7.00; Sancerre \u20ac14.00<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n
Champagne by the glass<\/div><\/td>
\u20ac14.00 to \u20ac17.00<\/div><\/td>
Jacquart \u20ac14.00; Louis Roederer \u20ac17.00<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n
Coffee, infused, 25cl<\/div><\/td>
\u20ac7.90<\/div><\/td>
The house Ethiopian grand cru, served in the caf\u00e9 salon<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody><\/table>
Prices from Le Procope’s syndicated carte, last revised June 2024. A separately published carte lists the coq au vin at €29.00 rather than €28.50, so read these as a band and confirm on the day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The set menus are the reason to come at lunch rather than dinner. Ordering the same three courses from the carte in the evening costs about €10 more per person than the Menu Philosophe, and about €20 more than the lunchtime Menu Procope. Sunday is the exception: the cheaper lunch menu does not run, so a Sunday visit starts at €34.50 whatever the hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When is Le Procope open?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Le Procope serves from 12:00 to midnight, seven days a week. The kitchen runs continuously through the afternoon, which makes it one of the more reliable options in Saint-Germain between 15:00 and 19:00, when most Paris kitchens close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Separate from the restaurant, the café salon opens Monday to Friday from 15:30 to 17:30 and takes no reservations. It came out of a 2024 refit that gave the ground floor a dedicated tea room and an ice-cream counter trading as Glacier Procopio. That is the cheapest way into the building: a pot of house-infused coffee runs €7.90 and a scoop of artisan ice cream €12.50, against a €24.50 floor in the dining room. If you want the interior without the dinner bill, that two-hour weekday window is the answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Street
Gestion \/ TripAdvisor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

L'\u00e9tablissement Le Procope dispose-t-il d'une terrasse ?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yes. Le Procope has a courtyard terrace tucked into the cour du Commerce Saint-André, the covered passage that runs alongside the building. The restaurant describes it as its hidden terrace, and outdoor seating is listed among its services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is not a boulevard terrace. There is no traffic to watch and no wide pavement, which is the point: the passage is sheltered, cobbled, and one of the oldest surviving streets of its kind in the city. Its facades, shopfronts, three entrances and glass roof were listed as historic monuments in 1987. Some diners have found the alley setting underwhelming when they were expecting a street-front table, so ask for the dining room if the courtyard is not what you pictured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What should you order at Le Procope?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Order from the historic recipes section. It is the part of the menu the kitchen has kept for centuries and the part reviewers praise most consistently: braised ox cheek with parmesan rigatoni at €27.50, coq au vin at €28.50, and calf’s head casserole served the way it was in 1686, also €28.50.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Traditional
Gestion \/ TripAdvisor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The calf’s head is the dish people travel for and the one that divides the room hardest. It is a slow-cooked tête de veau in a rich sauce, closer to a terrine in texture than to anything on a modern menu, and it is an acquired taste rather than a safe historical curiosity. If you are unsure, the ox cheek delivers the same 18th-century register without the gamble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two things to skip. The coq au vin draws the most negative comments of any dish here, with reviewers reporting overcooked chicken often enough that it is a pattern rather than an unlucky night. And the €41.50 revolutionaries’ beef fillet is the priciest plate on the carte without being the best-reviewed one. On desserts, the chocolate-coffee tart is signed by Christelle Brua, named world’s best pastry chef in 2018, and at €12.50 it is the strongest value on the sweet list. For context on where these dishes sit in the wider canon, see our guide to classic Plats fran\u00e7ais<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is Le Procope a tourist trap?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Le Procope is a genuine historic monument that serves ordinary brasserie food at above-average prices. Diners rate the room far higher than the plate, and the gap between those two scores is the single most useful number for deciding whether to book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Source<\/div><\/th>
Score<\/div><\/th>
Sample<\/div><\/th>
What that source is measuring<\/div><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Le Procope\u2019s own site<\/div><\/td>
4.6 \/ 5<\/div><\/td>
Verified booking-platform diners<\/div><\/td>
People who booked directly and were surveyed afterwards<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n
OpenTable overall<\/div><\/td>
4.0 \/ 5<\/div><\/td>
25 reviews<\/div><\/td>
Diners who booked a table in advance<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n
OpenTable, ambience<\/div><\/td>
4.5 \/ 5<\/div><\/td>
25 reviews<\/div><\/td>
The room, the history, the decor<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n
OpenTable, food<\/div><\/td>
3.9 \/ 5<\/div><\/td>
25 reviews<\/div><\/td>
What actually arrives on the plate<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n
OpenTable, value<\/div><\/td>
3.9 \/ 5<\/div><\/td>
25 reviews<\/div><\/td>
Whether the bill felt justified<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n
TripAdvisor<\/div><\/td>
3.8 \/ 5<\/div><\/td>
6,270 reviews<\/div><\/td>
Walk-ins and bookings, the widest sample<\/div><\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody><\/table>
Ratings checked August 2026. TripAdvisor placed Le Procope around #2,050 of roughly 16,800 Paris restaurants at the time of writing; that ranking moves week to week.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Read down that table and the verdict writes itself. Ambience scores 4.5 and food scores 3.9 from the same 25 people, which is a 0.6-point gap inside a single sample. The restaurant’s own page shows 4.6 because it surveys diners who chose to book direct; TripAdvisor shows 3.8 across 6,270 reviews because it catches everyone, including the walk-in who queued for a table and expected a Michelin kitchen. Neither number is dishonest. They are counting different people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recurring complaints are consistent enough to plan around: slow service when both floors are full, occasional trouble locating reservations made through third-party platforms, and bills worth checking line by line. Book direct through the restaurant rather than an aggregator and most of that risk disappears. You can also read the full TripAdvisor review history for Le Procope<\/a> before committing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who should book Le Procope, and who should not<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Book it if you are visiting for the building. A meal here buys two hours inside a room where Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, Danton and Robespierre argued, at lunchtime prices that undercut most guided tours of comparable monuments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n