Locals in Paris’ 19th arrondissement will tell you that if you’re after a juicy slab of Normandy beef – and here, we’re thinking great cuts of rump and chateaubriand – it’s a good idea to book a table at Au Boeuf Couronné, a tried and tested chophouse in the French capital since the end of the 19th century. Quite appropriately, the restaurant is just across the road from the Bernard Tschumi-designed Parc de La Villette, which was once the site of a huge abattoir and national wholesale meat market.
And now, the restaurant’s owners have taken over the adjoining hostel and turned it into an unexpectedly slick 42-room hotel. While the temptation may have been to turn the whole enterprise into a themed property of the Hard Rock Café variety, local design studio Fabrice Ausset has exerted both wit and stylish restraint.
Obvious bovine influences have been limited to timber panels branded (literally) with silhouettes of cattle and abstract foliage. Less obvious references come by way of huge timber blocks that serve as desk and counter space in the rooms; the customised stools and chairs which are finished in burgundy hued leather, and the bathroom in white subway tiles; whilst belted leather hold-alls provide storage and decorative touches.
Downstairs in the titular restaurant, chef de cuisine, Antonio Goncalves, oversees a protein-rich menu of which the beef tartare is a reliable favourite, as is the apple soufflé.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
188 Avenue Jean Jaurès
-
Waiting for Ideas have recast the turntable as a minimal aluminium altar for vinyl worshipThe PP-1 turntable is an ultra-minimal, all-aluminium record player designed to enhance the vinyl experience
-
Fendi celebrates 100 years with all-out runway show at its new Milan HQIn the wake of Kim Jones’ departure, Silvia Venturini Fendi took the reins for a special co-ed A/W 2025 collection marking the house’s centenary, unveiling it as the first act of celebrations within Fendi’s expansive new headquarters in Milan
-
‘Leigh Bowery!’ at Tate Modern: 1980s alt-glamour, club culture and rebellionThe new Leigh Bowery exhibition in London is a dazzling, sequin-drenched look back at the 1980s, through the life of one of its brightest stars
-
All aboard the world’s most luxurious train journeysStay on track with our pick of the most luxurious train journeys around the world, whether in 1920s-style opulence or contemporary chic
-
Night at the museum: the best art hotels to book nowSleep amid surrealists at London’s Broadwick Soho, or wake up to contemporary favourites at New Hotel in Athens – indulge in an immersive art hotel experience
-
Shop hyperlocal gifts, from Harlem to Hawaii, at R Finds’ global online storeWallpaper* goes shopping with R Finds, Renaissance Hotels’ digital marketplace, which connects travellers – and armchair travellers – with local makers and stores, one gift at a time
-
This Italian Bistrot in Paris offers all-year-round ‘felicità’A diminutive of the Italian word for family, Miglia is a cosy trattoria radiating warmth, friendliness, and traditional flavours
-
Ski in, ski out at Courchevel’s hot new piste-side dinerLoulou, the new Courchevel restaurant inspired by Yves Saint Laurent’s muse, is playfully elevated by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac’s pop art branding
-
The cosiest alpine retreats to book in EuropeBrowse the Wallpaper* edit of European alpine retreats where to fully embrace the ski season
-
First look at Maison 3, an eclectic new Parisian bar for sleepless nightsMaison 3 is an enigmatic space with a sensual atmosphere brought to life by the French studio Les Beaux Jours Architectures
-
The world’s most enticing new hotel openingsExplore the best new hotels in the world, from a bijou addition to the London hotel scene to a lush safari adventure in South Africa
