La Mère Catherine () is a

brasserie In France, Flanders, and the Francophone world, a brasserie () is a type of French restaurant with a relaxed setting, which serves dishes and other meals. The word ''brasserie'' is French for "brewery" and, by extension, "the brewing busine ...

in the

18th arrondissement of Paris The 18th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements, or administrative districts, of Paris, the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as '' ...

, France. It is the oldest still-operating restaurant at the

Place du Tertre The Place du Tertre () is a square in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France. Only a few streets away from the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur and the Lapin Agile cabaret, it is near the summit of the city's elevated Montmartre quarter. Histo ...

. It is situated in a building that previously served as the church presbytery of Saint-Pierre de Montmartre.

History

Founded in 1793, it is one of the oldest restaurants in Paris. A plaque at its entrance gives a

folk etymology Folk etymology – also known as (generative) popular etymology, analogical reformation, (morphological) reanalysis and etymological reinterpretation – is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a mo ...

of the word "

bistro A bistro or bistrot (), in its original Parisian form, is a small restaurant serving moderately priced, simple meals in a modest setting. In more recent years, the term has become used by restaurants considered, by some, to be pretentious. Style ...

": that on March 30, 1814, while a group of Russian soldiers were dining at Mère Catherine, they asked for drinks, (Cyrillic: ''быстро''; Russian: "quickly"). Thereafter, "bistro" became a description of a restaurant where you could get food or drink quickly. In the early twentieth century, the bistro was managed by Mr. Lemoine and owned by Père Labille. During the French Revolution,

Georges Danton Georges Jacques Danton (; ; 26 October 1759 – 5 April 1794) was a leading figure of the French Revolution. A modest and unknown lawyer on the eve of the Revolution, Danton became a famous orator of the Cordeliers Club and was raised to gove ...

met his disciples at Mère Catherine. During the Nazi occupation of Paris, 1941-1944,

Ernst Jünger Ernst Jünger (; 29 March 1895 – 17 February 1998) was a German author, highly decorated soldier, philosopher, and entomology, entomologist who became publicly known for his World War I memoir ''Storm of Steel''. The son of a successful busin ...

was a patron. At one time, guests could enjoy a game of

billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue stick, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . Cue sports, a category of stic ...

at Mère Catherine; an old postcard depicts billiards players posing in front of the bar. Today, the restaurant is frequented mostly by tourists.

Architecture and fittings

The interior is characterized by dark wood walls, terra cotta tiles, and exposed wooden ceiling beams. It is furnished with large crocks, framed oil paintings of

Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...

landmarks, wooden chairs, and red-and-white checked linens.

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Restaurant Chez la Mere Catherine Restaurants in Paris Buildings and structures in the 18th arrondissement of Paris 1793 establishments in France