Benoit opened its doors in 1912, run by the butcher Benoit Matray, and three generations of the Petit family kept it going through much of the last century. In 2005, Alain Ducasse took over – one of the most influential chefs France has produced in the past fifty years.
The space is divided into several small rooms with nooks and corners, the way old Parisian bistros tend to be, and it creates an intimacy you don't get in larger restaurants. There are white tablecloths and silver cutlery, but no one expects you to behave accordingly. It's still a bistro, and it's still informal.
The menu runs through the entire roster of classics: foie gras, French onion soup gratinated under a lid of melted cheese, pâté en croûte, escargots in garlic butter, sole meunière. It's as French as it gets, and that's precisely why you go.
The wine list deserves its own mention. Ducasse has long described himself as a friend of the winegrowers, and the list at Benoit reflects that – from modest bistro bottles to legendary great wines, often at surprisingly reasonable prices.