Berthillon Ice-Cream Shop

     Berthillon             

Ice cream from this shop, Berthillon /bɛʁtijõ/, on the quaint and quiet ÎleSaint-Louis in the middle of the Seine River,is widely considered to be the best in Paris, and I tend to agree. All of it ishomemade here by the Chauvin family, descendants of the eponymous MonsieurBerthillon. The store is a family-owned andfamily-operated business that has never chosen to expand beyond the small scale ofits original operation (begun in 1954). This operating philosophy, along with theexcellent taste of the ice cream, explains why there is always a line in front ofthe store, when it is open. Recently a dining room expansion was made.

The only ice-cream flavors I usually eat myself are chocolate and vanilla,but bothof them are quite heavenly at Berthillon. There used to be aHäagen-Dazs right down the street, but it never attracted the crowds thatBerthillon attracts, and it eventually went out of business, even though it kept moreconvenient hours than this shop. There are other, more successful competitors, though, such as Ben & Jerry's, Amaretto, and Tutti Sensi, all nearby.

Is it worth waiting in line? Well, it's pretty good ice cream, but I usually preferto wait for days when I don't see a line to buy ice cream there—and there arealso quite a number of other shops in the area that sell Berthillon ice cream(which they buy from this shop, of course), so you can get it elsewhere, and withmore convenient hours.

You'll find Berthillon at number 31 on the rue de Saint-Louis-en-l’Île, in the fourth arrondissement. Obviously, that's where this picture was taken.

Photographed on July 12, 2008.