Chez Restaurant: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

Want to make your restaurant sound like a high-class establishment serving gourmet French cuisine? Call it "Chez ''X''" (French for "''X's'' Place" or "''X's'' Home" or "At ''X's''". It's pronounced something like "shay"; the "z" is ''not'' pronounced.) Bonus points if ''X'' is either a French name or a French-sounding real or nonsense word. This naming scheme is used [[Truth in Television|in real life]] also, although it's not clear whether the fictional trope or the [[Real Life]] convention came first.

See also [[French Cuisine Is Haughty]].

{{examples}}

* "Chez Gusteau" in ''[[Ratatouille]]'', though this is justified since the movie takes place in Paris.

* In ''[[The Aristocats]]'' Uncle Waldo got chased out of "Le Petit Café" for biting a chef's finger during his introductory scene.

* In ''[[The Blues Brothers]]'', Mr. Fabulous is working as maître d' at Chez Paul (a former [[Real Life]] Chicago restaurant) when Jake and Elwood pay him a visit.

* In ''[[Gentlemen Prefer Blondes]]'', Lorelei and Dorothy start dancing at a Parisian club called Chez Louis after getting kicked out of their hotel and running out of money. The act includes the famous "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" number.

* Calvin Trillin called this type of restaurant "La Maison de la Casa House."

* ''[[The Baby Sitters Club]]'': The fancy French restaurant in Stoneybrook is called Chez Maurice.

* "Chez Whitey" from ''[[In Living Color]]''

* ''[[Frasier]]'' actually has "[[Repetitive Name|Chez Chez]]". As well as "Chez Henri" and "Chez Quelque Chose" ("chez something").

* A "Kevin & James" segment of ''Just for Laughs'' poked fun at Quebec language laws when Kevin cited the "Chez James" sign on James's hotel room door as violating those laws. A Montreal police officer (the recurring actor who always played the third man in their segments) told them that it was fine (proper names don't need to be translated, for one) and then ragged on Kevin for being an idiot.

* ''[[Kingdom of Loathing]]'' has [[It Is Pronounced "Tro-PAY"|"Chez Snootée"]]

* ''[[River City Ransom]]'' has a "Chez Walle's".

* And of course, in ''[[Diner Dash]]'' itself, the penultimate stage in the first game was a fancy-type restaurant called "Chez Flo".

* ''[[Homestar Runner]]''

** Similarly: The diner "Marshmallow's Last Stand" becomes "Marshmallow's ''L'est'' Stand" for fancy occasions.

** Also, in "Date Nite", Homestar refers to a certain "Chez Perez", pronouncing "chez" as "chazz".

* "Chez Elmo's" from ''[[The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob]]'': "Frogs and Snails -- We Deliver!"

* "Chez Pierre's" from ''[[Daria]]''.

* ''[[Hey Arnold!]]'' has two restaurants across the road from each other—the more affordable "Chez Pierre", and the very expensive "Chez Paris". This has lead to confusion in one episode when Helga won a free dinner at one but accidentally went to the other.

* On ''[[CatDog]]'', Cat once took a date to "Chez Pastrami".

* On ''[[Dan Vs.]]'', Dan and Elise plot to take down "Chez Puree" for different reasons. Dan wants revenge because Chez Puree closed down his favorite sandwich shop while Elise wants to take down the restaurant for its expensive and meager portions. Chris has no grief against the restaurant but is caught up Dan and Elise's plan.

* Many a New Yorker has joked about sampling the fine cuisine at "Chez Stadium" ([[Incredibly Lame Pun|get it?]]).<ref>For those unfamiliar with New York and/or baseball: [[wikipedia:Shea Stadium|Shea Stadium]], former home of [[Baseball|Major League Baseball]]'s [[Butt Monkey/Sports|New York Mets]].</ref>

* Applies, of course, to countless restaurants in France, but is somewhat subverted in that these are often simple, "family" restaurants. This naming technique also applies to many bars, often with a "beauf", low-class name such as "Chez Ginette", "Chez Bébert".