Benoit

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Bistrot with More Than a Century of History

The story of Benoit begins in 1912, when Benoit Matray — a butcher by trade with an exceptional palate — bought this address on Rue Saint-Martin and gave it his name. A generous, convivial host, he built a loyal following among the traders of Les Halles and the artists of the neighbourhood, turning Benoit into one of Paris's most sought-after tables. The dynasty continued in 1961, when his grandson Michel Petit took over after graduating from the École Hôtelière de Paris, renovating the kitchen, adding a private dining room on the first floor, and reviving the recipe notebook of the legendary "vieille mère Marie." It was a regular client, the pyrographer Lesage, who one evening coined the phrase still printed on the menu today: "Chez toi, Benoit, on boit, festoie, en rois."

In April 2005, the Petit family passed Benoit to Maison Ducasse — a transition that brought the bistrot international visibility, with outposts subsequently opening in Tokyo and New York.

The Room, the Atmosphere, the Details

Push open the double doors and the room does the rest. Red velvet banquettes, engraved glass panels, brass light fixtures, stucco columns and tiled floors compose an interior that feels warmly suspended in time. Upstairs, an oval private dining room accommodates around fifteen guests at a long table, its walls hung with paintings, a fireplace at one end and candelabra lamps on a guéridon. Every detail is deliberate, comfortable, and unapologetically classic.

Kelly Jolivet and the Art of French Bistrot Cooking

At twenty, while studying at the École Hôtelière Savoie Léman in Thonon, Kelly Jolivet set herself a goal: to become a chef within Maison Ducasse before turning thirty. She kept that promise. Having started in May 2016 as a commis at Louis XV – Alain Ducasse in Monaco, she went on to work at Mix in Dubai, the École de Cuisine Alain Ducasse, and then as sous-chef at Ducasse sur Seine. In January 2022, at just 28, she took the helm at Benoit.

Her cooking honours the full canon of French bistrot cuisine — pâté en croûte, escargots in their shells, boudin noir, ris de veau, profiteroles, savarin — executed with precision and just enough creative inflection to keep the classics alive and relevant. The wine list follows the same philosophy: Beaujolais, Burgundy and Rhône Valley bottles, served by the glass, carafe or bottle, with the Pouilly-Fuissé from Georges Duboeuf poured at the table from a magnum a particular highlight.

Wine Spectator recognised the cellar with its Best of Award of Excellence in 2025 — a fitting tribute to a house that has always understood that great French food and great French wine are inseparable.