Far from the noisy cliché of the typical Paris pub, the concept of the British gastropub remains surprisingly unknown to food-savy Parisians. While fly-fishing, knee deep in a babbling river in France, French entrepreneur Julien Roques, freshly in town after a London residency, start conversing with Paris-based designer Régis Conseil of Studio Janréji. Several conversations later, the concept of Rosemary starts to take form. The objective: to decode and reinterpret the contemporary British gastropub for a Parisian audience.

Defining Rosemary, the first British gastropub à la Parisienne
Situated in Bastille, in a former Parisian bistro Rosemary’s 19th century premises were gutted. The walls were stripped back to their initial beauty and the false ceilings were removed. The end result revealed the outstanding volume of the original building, including some characteristic features that were conserved. The 3.5m high ceiling of the restaurant and the vast industrial aeration system have been left apparent, sharpening the soft edges of the restaurant’s feminine furnishings.

An original atelier-style glass ceiling crowns the waiting area to the rear of the restaurant, and the newly revealed raw red brick of the supporting columns warms the sizable space. The art deco glass partitions of the former bistro were freshly integrated, a wink to the traditionally ornate nature of Britain’s pub windows.

Quintessentially British furnishings, such as the floral William Morris wallpaper that adorns the restaurant walls are mixed with a handpicked selection of vintage family heirlooms passed down from Julien’s grandmother. Contemporary ceramic and brass suspension lighting bring Rosemary neatly into the 21st century. Rosemary’s casual stand-up pub area, for bar snacks and sociable drinking, is furnished with authentic stand-up tables and stools, sourced in the UK.

Original features of the former bistro’s bar, such as the oak counter and terracotta flooring are conserved. On the walls, a delightfully retro patterned lining paper is painted off-white and framed by the royal blue paint of the lower part of the wall and the velvet covers of the bar stools. The rich shade of royal blue providing the thread between the stand-up pub area and the sit-down restaurant to the rear.

Mixing traditional British wallpapers, textiles and furnishings with a handpicked selection of family heirlooms and a sprinkling of contemporary design, Studio Janréji’s Rosemary is Parisian chic with a laid-back country pub vibe. In its quiet yet stylist corner of Paris, Rosemary provides a well sort after place of respite for individuals and families looking to appreciate the finer things in life.