Le Bibent, or "drink well" in Occitan, has a history of nearly 160 years in Toulouse. In addition to being a must-see address and known to all in the Ville rose, the famous brasserie is full of anecdotes and secrets that Toulouscope has decided to reveal to you!
1- A mysterious construction date
The creation date of Le Bibent is controversial. Officially, it was installed at 5 Place du Capitole between 1900 and 1910. However, testimonies speak of its restoration which dates back to 1881 and 1882. The Joanne travel guide already refers to it in 1862, and the Journal de Toulouse in 1861. In short, doubts persist concerning the genesis of the place, which gives it many mysteries…
2 – A place at the heart of political life
At the forefront of innovation and progress, the famous sign was a key place in Toulouse political life. Jean Constans, Deputy of Haute-Garonne then Minister of the Interior in 1881, gave speeches there. Election evenings and political headquarters of Dominique Baudis were also held at Bibent! Finally, a major political figure came to write his articles daily on the pleasant terrace which has a breathtaking view of the Capitol: Jean Jaurès, who wrote his articles there for La Dépêche.
Read: Toulouse Plages is expanding and marks the return of an unmissable summer attraction
3 – An assassination plan elaborated within its walls
Ironically, the icon pacifist Jean Jaurès could potentially have rubbed shoulders with the main people responsible for the outbreak of the First World War. Indeed, three Serbian students "conceived there at the beginning of 1914, the plans for the assassination that would cost the life of the Archduke of Austria, Franz Ferdinand, on June 28 in Sarajevo," states Jean-Jacques Rouch in his book "Toulouse: the city in pink".
4 – The artists' meeting place
Protected as a Historic Monument since 1975, the restaurant has a setting characteristic of the Belle Époque that appealed to many aesthetes. Even considered the Café de Flore du Midi, it was a major meeting place for artists and intellectuals. Every Thursday, the café brought together painters, writers, journalists and actors from the city. Henry Lhong, a leading artist of the Ville rose, confided in an interview: “These Jeudis du Bibent were spoken of as the last literary salon in Toulouse”.
In recent years, the address has continued to welcome big names in cinema and French song such as Johnny Hallyday, Marion Cotillard, Gilles Lelouche, Jean Dujardin…
''The Place du Capitole offers an interesting, varied and lively appearance at all hours of the day; during the morning, a large market is held there, selling gardening supplies, fruit, dead poultry and fish; in the afternoon and evening, it is the meeting place for a large crowd of walkers and strollers; it was then the Palais-Royal and the Boulevard des Italiens de Toulouse", Joanne Guide 1862.
5 – First address in Toulouse to have offered beer on tap
In 1861, the restaurant was the first in the Ville Rose to have a beer tap! The "Journal de Toulouse" was enthusiastic on Wednesday, January 16, 1861: "A very ingenious device works at the Bibent café using a compressed air machine, communicating with pipes adapted to barrels, the beer arrives from the cellars, fresh, clear". The owners of the café, the Bibent family, had brought from Paris the representative of the Loin house, whose innovative system had obtained a patent. The people of Toulouse took advantage of this innovative technology, in a friendly atmosphere, leaning on the elegant mahogany sideboard.