Bouillon Chartier Grands Boulevards

Bouillon Chartier opened in 1896 as one of the bouillons, the cheap workers' canteens that served hearty food quickly in late 19th-century Paris. The original dining room on Rue du Faubourg Montmartre has survived almost unchanged and is protected as a historic monument, with its high glass roof, brass luggage racks above the banquettes, mirrors and wooden drawers where regulars once kept their napkins. It is one of the most affordable ways to eat a full French meal in a historic setting in central Paris.

The menu is long and traditional, built around classics such as leeks in vinaigrette, eggs with mayonnaise, snails, steak tartare, roast chicken with chips, sausages with lentils, confit of duck and pot-au-feu, followed by desserts like profiteroles, chocolate mousse and crème caramel. Wine is sold by the jug as well as by the bottle. Waiters in black waistcoats and long aprons move fast, and they still often write your bill directly on the paper tablecloth. The cooking is simple rather than refined, but the prices and the atmosphere are the reason most people come.

Chartier suits budget travellers, families, students and groups, and it is a good first taste of old-school Parisian dining. Service is quick, tables are close together and you may be seated with strangers at busy times, so it is not the place for a long, quiet dinner. The restaurant does not take reservations and serves non-stop from 11.30am to midnight every day of the year, so queues form on the pavement at lunch and from early evening.

To keep the wait short, aim for mid-afternoon or a late dinner after 9.30pm, when the queue usually moves faster. The line looks long but turns over quickly because meals are brisk. Allow about an hour for a two-course meal. Card payment is accepted, and the bill is usually modest even with wine.

Grands Boulevards station on metro lines 8 and 9 is a two-minute walk away. The restaurant is close to the Folies Bergère, the covered passages of the Passage Jouffroy and Passage des Panoramas, and the theatres along the boulevards, so it works well before or after an evening show. The same group runs other Chartier restaurants in Montparnasse and near the Gare de l'Est.