1 dish, 5 addresses: where to eat a croque-monsieur?

Mathilde Bourge | 6/12/24

Bread, ham and cheese: the croque-monsieur is a timeless classic that everyone loves. Here are five places to try it in Paris, Marseille and Bordeaux.

The croque-monsieur is a classic of Parisian brasseries (but not only). The recipe dates back to 1910, when a café owner, Michel Lunarca, served a sandwich with sandwich bread instead of a traditional baguette. A customer then asked about its composition, asking where the meat used in the recipe came from. The owner strangely exclaimed, "But it's monsieur's meat"... The croque-monsieur was born!

Even today, this simple dish is all the rage. Good bread, quality ham, dripping cheese and, why not, a creamy béchamel sauce to round it all off... That's all it takes to delight our taste buds and comfort us to no end. But be warned: making a good croque-monsieur is an art! To make sure you're in for a treat, here are five addresses across France offering this hot sandwich in their own special way.

Restaurant Petrossian, Paris

The elegant Petrossian restaurant (2 toques) in Paris showcases its luxury products, such as bottarga and caviar, which are served with simple dishes like egg mayonnaise, tagliatelle... or croque-monsieur! The latter is a hot sandwich where the iodized flavour of mature caviar is softened by the creaminess of mozzarella and the softness of a very good sandwich loaf, for a stunning result.

Where to eat Restaurant Petrossian, 13 boulevard de la Tour-Maubourg, 75007 Paris
restaurant.petrossian.fr

Le Bistrot du Potager, Lyon

In this convivial bistro, where the setting lends itself equally well to a business lunch or a meal with friends, chef Nicolas Pascaud unveils a high-quality bistro menu, featuring mayo eggs, foie gras and matured meat. One of the stars of the menu is the croque-monsieur, offered here with Jérémie Crauser white ham, Saint-Nectaire cheese and truffle butter.

Where to eat? Le Bistrot du Potager, 163 boulevard de Stalingrad, 69006 Lyon
www.lebistrotdupotager.com

Alexandra Battut

Café Jeanne, Park Hyatt, Paris

In the chic Park Hyatt, Jean-François Rouquette creates the menu for Café Jeanne (1 toque). Here, the chef takes on the great French brasserie classics, such as escargots en persillade, fish and chips, beef tartare and, of course, croque-monsieur. The latter is made with a good loaf of bread, truffled ham and Comté cheese, for a simple but effective result.

Where to eat? Café Jeanne, Park Hyatt, 5 rue de la paix, 75002 Paris
www.hyatt.com/cafe-jeanne

Mimosa, Bordeaux

For a modest yet effective address, head for Mimosa, near the Basilique Saint-Michel in Bordeaux. On the menu: delightful dishes such as trout gravlax with labneh and broccoli, socca with fresh goat's cheese and vegetables, or croque-monsieur with truffled ham and homemade pickles.

Where to find us Mimosa, 7 rue des Faures, 33000 Bordeaux
www.facebook.com/mimosarestaurantbordeaux

Théo Pierrel

Le Rhinocéros, Marseille

With its attractive Art Deco decor, tapas-style dishes and superb wine cellar, Le Rhinocéros has quickly become a must-try in Marseille. One of the restaurant's signature dishes is the croque-monsieur, which the chef has fun adapting to the seasons. For a while, the croque-monsieur with nutmeg béchamel emulsion was on the menu, but this was soon followed by the croque-monsieur with then the croque roulade with cooked ham and tomato/basil emulsion. A pleasure that can be repeated ad infinitum!