We tested these restaurants that open clandestinely

These are rare addresses, of those we hear about in a low voice, among initiates.

Sometimes, it is by passing unexpectedly in front of a closed restaurant front that we can catch a crowd or laughter escaping from a back room.

But the instructions are clear: discretion is essential.

While the vast majority of restaurants have lowered the curtain or only maintained a take-away activity, in accordance with the health standards put in place in the face of the pandemic, tables in Paris and its inner suburbs are still being used, on site, for regulars.

“But they pass the pipe on each other and you end up having friends, then friends of friends,” admits a restaurateur from the 12th arrondissement, who makes forty covers every noon.

Other, more refined addresses, such as here in the 6th arrondissement, have politicians and businessmen among their clients who go through a luxury concierge.

"I was offered to choose from 19 restaurants, only in upscale districts", shows one of them.

And not far from a Parisian court, at noon, a restaurant welcomes its traditional clientele: police officers and magistrates!

Here, just a drawn curtain makes it possible to be invisible from the street.

Regulars enter the back room directly through the service entrance, which is not locked.

Those, like us, who are recommended but do not know the place, show up, a little embarrassed, at the counter.

"The local police close their eyes"

"We come to eat", we dare.

The manager remains taken aback for a few seconds.

And ask what is our order.

Then when we detail our reservation, she relaxes.

"You had to tell me right away, I was a little afraid of a control," she breathes.

Because from the bar, we can see two tables among the twenty that are set.

The chef is less stressed.

"Of course, we fear being denounced by jealous people, but in fact, the local police are aware, they close their eyes," he slips.

And for good reason, among the thirty gangsters of the fork who enjoy a good meal, some are peacekeepers.

A phone call interrupts the restaurateurs.

A magistrate from the prosecution has just reserved a table at the last minute.

She will arrive a few moments later at the table just behind us, with a colleague… Well surrounded, we can order in this place where frost and masks are not used.

And, good surprise, the prices are not prohibitive.

The menu with three choices of starters and main courses costs 20 euros.

"We are full every noon"

“The fish of the day, from the sea bass, is delicious”, according to our neighbors with whom we end up talking, proximity obliges: “We are restaurateurs too, we are closed and that weighs on us, blows the couple.

The ceiling of state aid of 10,000 euros is not enough for a huge establishment like ours.

But given our storefront, it would be difficult to open discreetly. ”

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“If I open it is to please my customers, we are full every lunchtime.

But it is true that with aid and this illegal opening, it makes it possible to survive.

If we stopped, we would be dead, "says the chief who admits" never having closed, even during the first confinement ".

He shifts: "Frankly, eating in a restaurant doesn't suck more than taking the metro or going to a company canteen."

In the 16th arrondissement, on the other hand, you have to be much more discreet to have the chance to sit in this restaurant recommended by an acquaintance.

Appointment was made the day before, by text.

“Hello, it's Gildas

(the first names have been changed)

who sent me.

Is it possible to book at 1.15pm? ”

The answer is immediate: “Of course!

When entering, just give your first name and especially nothing else in front of the customers who are waiting for the take-out. "

On arrival, we introduce ourselves to the host, taking care to state the identity of the friend who recommends us.

"Hurry up!"

he urges us, visibly stressed, showing us the back of the room.

"It's just a way to survive, a way to resist"

After a detour through an outdoor courtyard and the kitchen where we slip through, between a steaming pot and a busy cook, we find ourselves in a second room, dark and smoky, where laughter fires.

"Today is full, sorry you are a little tight", apologizes the owner.

It is saying little.

We sit on a comfortable bench, but squeezed between two tables spaced about twenty centimeters from ours.

Beside us, one of them launches, laughing: "We are lucky to have a table, we made reservations ten minutes ago."

At the same time, I could tell the boss: if you can't find us a place, I'll throw you at the cops! ”

General burst of laughter, the atmosphere is schoolboy.

We are here between regulars who do not even hesitate to grill a cigarette, call the boss by his first name, talk to each other and are delighted to be able to have lunch in their “canteen”.

The boss, he claims his status as "underground".

“Life must go on.

It's just a way to survive, a way to resist, ”he explains.

30 to 40% of its usual turnover

This illegal opening was not premeditated.

“We respected the first confinement.

Last spring, we even closed completely, ”he continues.

But one fine day, when one of his loyal customers asked him for the umpteenth time to sit down, warm, for lunch, Pascal finally gave in.

“It's a win-win,” he assumes.

We allow people to have fun and we earn some money. ”

However, the period does not allow him to make his usual turnover, but around 30 to 40%.

Aware of the "risk taking", he believes that he will not be able to recover financially if he is fined but, annoyed by the government's groping and the ambient vagueness, says he is ready to continue until the end.

And to add: "There are even customers who tell me: it's nice to open illegally!

You could keep doing that, closing the curtain after the reopening, right? "

Regulars don't hesitate to grill a cigarette

This proximity to his customers, the owner of a restaurant located in a business district in the south of the capital, also claims it.

“We don't want them to go and eat elsewhere when it reopens everywhere, so we retain them,” he smiles.

From the street, its terrace prevents seeing the interior.

"We are very happy to eat here," admits a financier, who came with five of his colleagues.

We couldn't take any more sandwiches. ”

They heard about the scheme from a competitor of a firm specializing in real estate investment: "We know what we owe to this restaurant, we are aware of the risks it takes."

Here, around thirty covers are set up every noon, against more than a hundred in normal times.

“The menu is reduced, but we eat well,” savored one of the financiers who lit a cigarette.

"We are already in hiding, so a little more, a little less ..." loose the boss.

He never closed either.

In the suburbs too

Mezzanine or small room in the basement are the assets of most of these forbidden places that try to live out of sight.

Also in the inner suburbs, a few restaurants remain open.

In Seine-Saint-Denis, a back room allows you to taste the French cuisine of a brasserie.

Thanks to a friend of the manager, we invite each other one evening.

"Usually it is not arranged like that, but we wanted to make the place warmer," says the restaurant owner, who has installed cushions on the seats and put fabric tablecloths.

"We have a little more time, so we take care of the customers," he continues.

His sautéed lamb reminds us of how pleasant it is to eat a chef's dish.

He only reopened in the fall, he lacked his kitchen and the need for money was felt.

“I texted most of my clients to check in,” he explains.

And everyone asked me if I served at least one drink at the bar.

So I took the plunge. ”

Special hotel offer: a room and a meal for the price of a fine

On the side of Umih (union of trades and hospitality industries), the main union in the sector, we kick in when we ask questions about this phenomenon: “I had not heard of it.

It remains very marginal and this subject is not discussed within the union, tempers Hubert Jan, manager of restaurateurs.

Not being able to serve indoors creates a psychological gap in some that they are probably trying to fill in this way.

But those who open are exposed to a large number of inconveniences

(Editor's note: administrative closure resulting in the loss of aid)

"

But the police did not make the hunt for illegal restaurants a priority.

"We even have no instructions on this subject and we do not organize any specific device or patrol for this type of event," says a Parisian commissioner.

And then, restaurants do not have a monopoly on these secret openings.

The hotels also offer dinners or lunches to those who have booked a room.

“In response to the curfew, at the Terrass hotel, we are proposing a dinner + room offer at the price of the fine, ie 135 euros”, we say in an advertisement.

"But these are meals served in the room," corrects immediately at the end of the line one of the managers of the establishment.

Other hotels are less careful.

“We took a room and six of us came to eat at the restaurant, there were four other large tables,” recounts the client of a luxury spa hotel in the 16th arrondissement.