The story
Since 2015, chef Mathieu Techer has been at the helm of Le Bon Saint-Pourçain, a singular bistro tucked along a narrow, sloping street in Paris’s 6th arrondissement. The restaurant’s reputation for precise, generous modern cuisine was recognized early with the Prix Fooding du Meilleur bistrot, and it continues to earn acclaim, most recently with a Michelin Recommended distinction for its consistent, instinct-driven cooking.
Techer, whose résumé includes time at Senderens and Le Sergent recruteur, works from an open kitchen, delivering a daily-changing menu that prizes clear, marked flavours and millimetre-perfect cooking. There is no contrived assembly here—just genuine pairings and seasonal ingredients sourced with care. The blackboard menu, consistent for both lunch and dinner, typically offers four starters, three mains, and three desserts. Staples such as the exceptional free-range poultry from Cour d’Armoise rotate with the seasons, while dishes like the poireau vinaigrette with a perfect egg and peanut, or the classic baba au rhum, have become signatures.
The setting is equally distinctive: light-coloured Bauman chairs, red leather banquettes, seven intimate indoor tables, and a sunny terrace with just four tables. The room, re-imagined by Laurent Croissandeau, is crowned with five glass globes, a nod to its past, while the club-like spirit and the zinc bar keep the bistro ethos alive. Front-of-house, Alexandre Darras oversees the two daily services with a steady, welcoming hand, treating regulars and newcomers alike.
A wine list of some seventy references—mostly biodynamic and drawn from France’s great vineyards, including Saint-Pourçain itself—completes the picture. Le Bon Saint-Pourçain is a restaurant of today, its story rewritten daily in the chef’s precise, seasonal plates.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
Located between Saint-Sulpice and the Jardin du Luxembourg, the ultra chic Bon Saint Pourçain from serial-bistrotter David Lanher (Caffè Stern, Racine des Prés , La Crémerie , etc.) keeps its rather refined Saint-Germain-des-Prés crowd happy. The space? A midnight blue façade, Baumann chairs, scarlet banquettes, white tablecloths… and a tiny, stainless-steel-clad kitchen where Mathieu Techer (ex-Senderens and Sergent Recruteur) whips up some impressively delicate dishes. For us, the other night: stunning coalfish with perfectly pearly white flesh, served with lettuce hearts, orange slices, crisp cucumber and a Thai vinaigrette; incredibly tender roasted pork chops with yellow zucchini, an onion purée and an outstanding jus de cuisson ; before our guilty pleasure, the baba au rhum topped with whipped cream. On a nearby table, we eyeballed a deboned free-range guinea fowl thigh and suprême with Noirmoutier potatoes, chard, button mushrooms and a mushroom emulsion, plus a chocolate lava cake with crème anglaise. // A.D.
Located between Saint-Sulpice and the Jardin du Luxembourg, the ultra chic Bon Saint Pourçain from serial-bistrotter David Lanher (Caffè Stern, Racine des Prés , La Crémerie , etc.) keeps its rather refined Saint-Germain-des-Prés crowd happy. The space? A midnight blue façade, Baumann chairs, scarlet banquettes, white tablecloths… and a tiny, stainless-steel-clad kitchen where Mathieu Techer (ex-Senderens and Sergent Recruteur) whips up some impressively delicate dishes. For us, the other night: stunning coalfish with perfectly pearly white flesh, served with lettuce hearts, orange slices, crisp cucumber and a Thai vinaigrette; incredibly tender roasted pork chops with yellow zucchini, an onion purée and an outstanding jus de cuisson ; before our guilty pleasure, the baba au rhum topped with whipped cream. On a nearby table, we eyeballed a deboned free-range guinea fowl thigh and suprême with Noirmoutier potatoes, chard, button mushrooms and a mushroom emulsion, plus a chocolate lava cake with crème anglaise. // A.D.
Location
