Chez l'Ami Louis: how to get a reservation
Bistrot parisien traditionnel fondé en 1924, cuisine généreuse et immuable · Paris (3e)
Booking essentials
We cannot monitor cancellations at Chez l'Ami Louis.
Bookings go through Téléphone uniquement, a channel Le Dernier Couvert cannot track automatically.
To book at Chez l'Ami Louis, the only route is the phone: call +33 1 48 87 77 48, preferably between 9 am and noon, approximately 14 days before your target date — that is the observed booking window. Wednesday and Thursday evenings offer the best chance of securing a first slot.
Founded in 1924 by Antoine Magnin in the 3rd arrondissement, Chez l'Ami Louis entered legend without a Michelin star — 12 tables, blackened wood panelling, a room untouched by time. Acquired by the LVMH group in June 2024, the restaurant joins the LVMH Hospitality Excellence division while keeping its traditional cooking: Landes foie gras, snails, spit-roasted chicken, rib of beef. Cancellations do occur — last-minute business changes or travel disruptions free up tables that can sometimes be reached directly by phone the same morning.
Tips to get a table
- Call between 9 am and noon Paris time, exactly 14 days before your target date: that is the observed booking window. A call too early will be refused; too late, weekend slots will be gone.
- Target Wednesday or Thursday evenings: the least contested services of the week. Avoid Saturday evening as a first attempt — it fills within hours of the window opening.
- Ask explicitly to be placed on the waiting list even when the restaurant says it is full. Staff honour these lists and call back as soon as a cancellation occurs, sometimes days ahead, sometimes the same morning.
- If you are staying at a grand Parisian hotel (Plaza Athénée, Crillon, Bristol, Meurice), ask your concierge to call on your behalf: since the LVMH acquisition, associated luxury houses sometimes benefit from easier access.
- Budget 150 to 200 € per person all in, wine included. The Landes foie gras, the whole roast chicken (served for two), and the bill that follows are the three invariables of the Ami Louis experience.