Established in 1973. Jean-Paul and Monique Picot took the bistro's name from the avant garde comedy La Bonne Soupe by the French playwright Félicien Marceau, which had a long successful run in Paris in the 1950's. The three-act play, starring Jeanne Moreau and Marie Bell, ends with the words "Et hop! Par ici, la bonne soupe!" here meaning: "step up, place your bets and enjoy the good life!" The play was such a success, it was followed in 1963 by a 20th Century Fox Film bearing the same title and based on Félicien Marceau's original 1958 play. Among top-ranking stars in the film were Annie Girardot, Jean-Claude Brialy, Claude Dauphin and Franchot Tone. The phrase "la bonne soupe" has come to mean the good life, with health, wealth and happiness.