You know a French bistro when you see it: that combination of warm wood, tile, and jewel tones adding up to a timeless and inviting space that calls you in for a glass of wine or two. With the continuation of “Euro summer,” the Paris Olympics, and the French revival across the American dining scene, France is on everyone’s mind this year. (Planning a trip to Paris? Here’s our comprehensive guide.)
Whether you’re trying to channel the memories of a past trip or simply trying to evoke a French aesthetic, we consulted Anna Polonsky, the Parisian creative director and founder of Polonsky & Friends, a branding and design studio for food and hospitality, and Cody Pruitt, owner of New York City’s Libertine, for their tips on how to bring the French bistro vibes home. While certain design elements — like the zinc countertops you’ll find at the bar in many bistros in Paris — may be more challenging to incorporate into your home, others are easy swaps.
One thing to keep in mind: French bistros are generally amalgamations of influences from previous owners, both Polonsky and Pruitt note. Bistros “layer over the past; they don’t white box and start from scratch,” Polonsky says. What that means in a practical sense is that you should embrace the eclectic approach: “Don’t be afraid to mix and match finds from different eras and brands; don’t go for a folkloric total look,” she adds.
Authentic French cafe chairs
Polonsky’s go-to source for cafe chairs, whether for her home or for restaurant clients, is Nomadic Trading Co., which sources vintage French cafe and school chairs and sells them in the United States “at a very fair cost,” she says. You’ll want to keep an eye on the website regularly, given that these items are vintage one-offs.
Commercial-grade bistro chairs
For an easier-to-source and more mass-produced option, consider these commercial-grade bistro chairs. For a more live-in look, take a cue from Libertine — which took its inspiration from French bistros like Bistrot Paul Bert and Le Baratin — and mix and match different chair styles with the same wood.
Enameled steel bistro tables
The red tables at Libertine, which are customized with the restaurant’s name, are from the French company Ardamez. You’ll find similar, branded Ardamez tables at Parisian bistros like Café de Flore, which opened in 1887, and La Fontaine de Belleville. Made-to-order, Ardamez tables are “not cheap, but they are worth it, in my opinion,” Pruitt says.
Marble-topped bistro tables
Bistro tables from Bonnecaze, a Louisiana-based company, offer a similar classic look at a lower price point. Instead of enameled steel, these tables have a marble top.
Bistro plates with striped bands
Bistros like Bistrot Paul Bert in France often have branded striped plates. Though you can get custom bistro plates online, it’s pricey, especially for a full set. For a similar look at a lower price, consider these green-striped plates, similar of which can be found at New York City’s trendy Le Dive.
Go-to water glasses
Duralex’s tumblers are durable and stackable, making them the go-to for bistros, cafeterias, and other public spaces in France. As a result, “I don’t actually love them — probably because I’ve seen them an insane amount of times over 36 years of being French,” Polonsky says. “But they are the ultimate classic.”
Sturdy wine glasses
Pruitt says that “like every sommelier,” he’s generally a fan of ultra-thin glassware. But that didn’t feel right to him for a bistro: “You need to be able to clink your glasses and hold them with your fist, and — if New York City allowed it — you could, hold it in the palm of your hand alongside a cigarette.” Wine glasses from Spiegelau offered that necessary sturdiness, along with a smaller size that felt fitting for smaller bistro tables.
Baguette-style cutlery
The majority of the flatware at Libertine is from Arthur Krupp and Sambonet. Look for baguette-style cutlery. “You’ll find those exact ones throughout Paris,” Pruitt says.
Pocketknife-inspired steak knives
Nice French knives are a bistro “signature,” according to Polonsky. Her favorite is the pocketknife-inspired Perceval 9.47, designed by French chef Yves Charles. Polonsky prefers ivory, but the knives come in multiple colors.
Restaurant-beloved steak knives
Operating out of Thiers, a commune in central France that’s known for knife manufacturing, Roland Lannier makes knives for restaurants all over the world. “I knew I wanted his knives in our space,” Pruitt says. The knives, which Lannier hand-delivered to the restaurant, speak to Pruitt’s broader perspective with Libertine: “Bistros are so much a celebration of individuals, whether they be farmers or winemakers or craftspeople in general.” Perhaps counterintuitively, the curved profile is the dull side, while the flat is the sharp side.
Budget-friendly bistro-style steak knives
If Perceval and Roland Lannier’s steak knives are out of budget, consider the bistro-style knives from Opinel, which Polonsky has at home and uses “every day.” Sold both in sets and individually, these knives come in fun colors and can be personalized with text for an additional fee.
French linen napkins
Polonsky gets a lot of her vintage napkins from flea markets in France. But if a thrifting trip isn’t a possibility, she likes the tea towels from Maison Masarin, an upcycling-focused French brand that restores and re-dyes vintage textiles.
An elegant wine-centric print
Given that many bistros display posters from old wine fairs and pop ups, or art the owners found at a flea market on vacation, “I knew I didn’t have to adhere to a strict, dogmatic approach when it came to art,” Pruitt says. There are only a handful of prints in Libertine’s dining room; one of those is by the artist Louise Sheeran. Based in France, Sheeran does a lot of wine-centric work, like this line drawing of a woman with a glass of wine.
Vintage French liquor ads
Bistros often have old liquor ads on the walls. Polonsky likes to find these on eBay, using search terms like “vintage spirits ad” and “vintage liquor French.” The newer generation of bistros have also kept the spirit going with framed posters from natural wine fairs, she adds. To keep the space from looking “overly designed,” Polonsky notes that bistros usually display these sparingly: “Maybe a really cool one in the bathroom, and like, one or two in the [main] room.”
Wooden chalkboard
The chalkboard menu is a quintessential French bistro element, present in all of Pruitt’s favorite Parisian bistros, as well as in Libertine. “For me, it’s just such a statement that this menu can change throughout the night — that we only have so much of any ingredient, because it is truly seasonal,” he says. While you don’t need to display a menu at home, a chalkboard can still add that final touch to emphasize your source of inspiration.
