Behind the door of Aux Sportifs Réunis at 75 Rue Brancion—much better known as Chez Walczak—lies one of the most surprising bistros in the 15th arrondissement. Inside, you’ll find old benches, wooden tables, and, above all, walls almost entirely covered with photographs. Boxers, actors, singers, and regulars mingle here. Marcel Cerdan, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Lino Ventura, and Georges Brassens are among the figures linked to the history of this spot.
From a boxing ring to a bistro on Rue Brancion
The story begins with Janek, known as Yanek Walczak, the son of Polish immigrants born in the Pas-de-Calais region. He started out as a miner, then made a name for himself in boxing, facing off against two legends of his era: Marcel Cerdan and Sugar Ray Robinson.
In the early 1950s, he hung up his gloves and opened his café at 75 Rue Brancion, right across from the former Vaugirard slaughterhouses. “Aux Sportifs Réunis” quickly became a gathering place for boxers—but not only for them. Actors, writers, and musicians also began frequenting the spot.
Among them, one neighbor would leave a particularly lasting mark on the place: Georges Brassens. The singer had his regular table here and stopped by the bistro often. The spot is even said to have inspired his song “Le Bistrot,” with its difficult owner and pretty landlady mentioned in the lyrics. It’s a story that has become inseparable from the place, which today sits right across from the park named after the singer.
After Yanek Walczak’s death in 1989, his family kept the restaurant going for several decades. The bistro was finally taken over in 2022 by regulars, and the place doesn’t look like a recreation of a Parisian bistro with three vintage posters bought for decoration. Memories have accumulated naturally over the years.
On the menu, the focus remains on bistro-style cuisine, featuring cold cuts, meats, slow-cooked dishes, and daily specials depending on the service. The atmosphere is almost as important: people come just as much for lunch or dinner as they do to look at the photos, chat, and understand why this small space has attracted so many notable figures over the decades.
More than 70 years after it opened, Chez Walczak is still one of the most authentic bistros in the capital.
Location: Chez Walczak – Aux Sportifs Réunis, 75 rue Brancion, 75015 Paris
Hours: Tuesday through Saturday from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.