Bravo Brocante

Where restaurant fixtures in Paris don't go to die...it's where they go back on the block!

I’m not sure how or when I first heard about Etablissement Bravo brocante. But I remember walking through the front gate and not sure what I was going to find there.

There were racks of miscellaneous glassware, some mismatched but others lined up by the dozens. Restaurant shelving units of all sizes were in various states of repair—or disrepair, and there were boxes of mismatched plates and silverware, beer signs, and some well-used stainless cabinets knocking around the entry yard. As I kept walking, I found myself in a huge cavernous room packed (and I mean…packed), and piled high up to the ceiling (above), with all sorts of things salvaged from restaurants, cafés, brasseries, and bistros in and around Paris. It was heaven.

The French are known for their discretion, which is why many of the fabulous mansions and buildings in Paris are behind a small door, often nondescript, in a high wall that surrounds the building. Then when you walk in, you’re blown away by the splendor of it all. Of course, there were outliers like Louis XVI…but we all know what happened to him when he showed off what he had. Lesson learned…although not by Monsieur Bravo, who is now running his family business and showing off what he’s got.

When people asked to see photos of my last renovation, mine wasn’t grand or fabulous. Going in, I never realized that anyone would ever want to see photos of it. But times have changed, and I’ve been chronicling my Paris Apartment Stories here in the newsletter. Remodeling is not always fun—unless you consider picking through places like used restaurant supply stores for fixtures your idea of fun. Which it is, mine.

If you need a lot of glasses, this is the place to get ’em (and don’t forget to bargain…)

In case you feel like making paella for 200-250 people…

There’s a lot of stuff at Etablissement Bravo brocante. The word brocante in French means “second-hand,” and most of the items on the shelves here (and on the walls, floors, and hanging from the ceiling) have been through at least one set of hands, but likely several more.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bank of milkshake machines in France (nor a milkshake), but this one may have seen plenty of action.

I’d settled on having stainless-steel counters in my kitchen and wanted to have a kitchen island as well and figured I could find one pre-made. That’s one reason restaurants use stainless-steel fixtures is that they really hold up. The downside? They’re expensive.

I looked online and found a few (below), but they weren’t configured as I wanted them to be and all of the ones I found online were too shallow; most were 60-70cm (~2 feet) deep, which isn’t enough for me to work on.

And I also couldn’t find a pre-made one that was configured correctly. In space-challenged Paris kitchens, every bit of space matters, and I wanted two shelves, rather than one, like the table on the left (above) has. I also wanted drawers, which clock in at about €400 each and quickly hikes up the price.

(In addition to all of that, the nomenclature made it hard to search for them online; Table inox, Table de travail, Table du chef, Table de cuisine, Table de préparation, and Table centrale are some of the names you need to enter into search engines or on websites. A table with doors underneath isn’t a table, it’s a buffet…or an armoire. The search wore me out.)

So we headed to Bravo to look for a stainless-steel counter/island there. There’s a lot to see and it’s sort of organized. But I learned a few years ago, because I asked, that there’s a secret room (I don’t know why it’s a secret…maybe it’s just that French discretion?) where all the pastry equipment is.

But first, I wanted to check out the pastry garage. One of the fellows who works there grabbed a big, unruly circle of keys and told us to follow him. When we reached the back of the yard, he unlocked the metal door and started rolling it up.

Inside was a mad jumble of things, which I can’t really describe, but I think they speak for themselves…

As you can see, there’s a lot of stuff to sift and poke through. If you’re looking for a replacement beater blade for a very large, professional mixer, you could find it here. Or a bowl for it, for that matter.

These are likely overkill for home bakers, but certainly fun to look at. There are cake pans, molds, tart rings, and bread pans in various conditions. Some are filled with soggy fallen leaves, and others are rusted through. I’ve been to Bravo a few times, and while I didn’t come home with any baking treasures, someone else just might.

(Note: If you come in the winter, since a lot of the items are outside, bring a very warm coat, gloves, scarf, and hat, as it can get very cold out there.)

There’s a lot to see here at Bravo, and I’ll let you roam around a bit…

We weren’t looking for dining chairs, but if you are, and want café chairs, you can find them here. Note that hardly anything has a price on it, and you’ll have to bargain with the owner, who’s very nice but has been doing this for a while, so he is no pushover but will negotiate. Some prices are low, others moderate. Like a flea market or brocante, if there are several things you want to buy, group them together and see if you can get a better price.

Romain asked me to come look at some chairs he found. Romain is extremely picky about anywhere he sits or sleeps. If the underside of the mattress has nylon in it, he’ll feel it. He has to put pads on any chair that’s not padded, to protect his delicate underside. So I won’t buy anything without his approval…unless I want to hear about it every. single. day. for. the. rest. of. my. life.

The first thing he said when he saw the above chair was, “It’s so comfortable!” It was threadbare, the legs were scratched and gouged, and the foam was as hard as a rock. I didn’t believe him.

Click below to read part 2:

Bravo Brocante, Part 2