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[[caption-width-right:350:[[WebVideo/HistoryOfTheEntireWorldIGuess "What's on the menu? Communism!"]]]]

->''"You can't ban me from your bistro! It's my ''chez'' away from ''chez''!"''
-->-- '''Frasier Crane''', ''Series/{{Frasier}}''

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''"). Related to the word "casa" in various other Romance languages such as Spanish and Italian, it's pronounced something like "shay." Bonus points if ''X'' is either a French name or a French-sounding real or nonsense word (e.g., Pierre, Jacques, Gaston). This naming scheme is used [[TruthInTelevision in real life]] also, although it's not known whether the fictional trope or the RealLife convention came first.

This trope is often used ironically, or subverted by being used with a decidedly downscale or inappropriate name. The implication of high quality (or at least pretension) is coupled with the implication of high cost and social anxiety: expect dates or spouses to be tormented by concerns with inability to pay the bill, conform to the DressCode, or understand the French terms on the menu. Amusingly, the French term is, in French usage, quite informal (as is ''bistro'').

See also FrenchCuisineIsHaughty.

Contrast GreasySpoon.

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!!Examples:

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[[folder:Card Games]]
* The card game ''TabletopGame/ChezGeek'' isn't about a restaurant, but "Geek's Place" does describe it well.
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[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'':
** Dilbert and Dogbert once goes to a restaurant called "Chez De Whales", which has a very odd dress code.
** When two office thieves go to raid Dilbert's snack stash, one says "Shall we head over to Chez Dilbert?"
* "Chez Stadium" (see real life below) has shown up in the comic strip ''ComicStrip/{{Shoe}}'' as well.
* ''ComicStrip/BigNate'': Nate's baseball team was briefly sponsored by a beauty salon named Chez Linda. However, the name was misspelled on their uniforms as "Cheez Linda," leading the spectators to believe their sponsor was a cheese company.
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[[folder:Fan Works]]
* The story title "Chez Empath" in ''Fanfic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf'' isn't about a restaurant, but about Empath being the village cook.
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[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* "Chez Gusteau" in ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'', though this is justified since the movie takes place in Paris.
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[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff'': The French restaurant that Ferris Bueller and company crash is "Chez Quis", which is a pun on [[http://www.shakeys.com/ "Shakeys", the pizza chain]].
* In ''Film/TheBluesBrothers'', Mr. Fabulous is working as maître d' at Chez Paul (a former RealLife Chicago restaurant) when Jake and Elwood pay him a visit.
* In ''Film/GentlemenPreferBlondes'', 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.
* In ''Literature/LoveAndDeathOnLongIsland'' the restaurant in the Long Island town D'Eath is staying in is called "Chez D'Irv" (after the owner, Irv).
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[[folder:Literature]]
* Calvin Trillin called this type of restaurant "La Maison de la Casa House".
* ''Literature/TheBabySittersClub'': The fancy French restaurant in Stoneybrook is called Chez Maurice.
* There's a cartoon in Simon Bond's ''Literature/UnspeakableActs'', where the chefs of Chez Poubelle [[note]]In the Trash[[/note]] take their ingredients from the restaurant behind them.
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[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* "Chez Whitey", the former workplace of [[AngryBlackManStereotype Homey the Clown]] on ''Series/InLivingColor''
* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' actually has "[[RepetitiveName Chez Chez]]". As well as "Chez Henri" and "Chez Quelque Chose" ("chez something").
* ''Series/UnderTheUmbrellaTree'' has one episode where Iggy gets grand ideas and starts up his own "restaurant", "Chez Iggy"... and the only thing he serves, he's embarrassed to admit, is ''grilled cheese sandwiches.''
* "Chez Ray" is the fanciest restaurant in Raytown on ''Series/MamasFamily''.
* ''Series/DesperateHousewives'' had a "Chez Naomi" in one episode.
* "Chez Klutz" is the name of the restaurant run by klutzy people who constantly break things and injure customers in ''Series/TheAmandaShow''.
* In a fantasy sequence on ''Series/SavedByTheBell'', Kelly buys The Max (where she works as a server) and renames it "Chez Kelly".
* 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.
* One episode of ''Series/TouchedByAnAngel'' had the Angels running a restaurant called "Chez Tess."
* The Australian soap opera ''Series/{{Neighbours}}'' plays on this, when a pub ran by Cheryl Stark in the mid-1990s is called "Chez Chez" (Chez, short for Cheryl)
* "Chez Fancee" is the name of the fancy restaurant the ''Series/BigTimeRush'' guys go to on their double-dates.
* In ''Series/DrQuinnMedicineWoman'', when the town believes that the world will end in a few days, Grace closes her cafe and announces the opening of ''Chez Grace''. It's never mentioned what she serves in this restaurant, but it's implied that she wants to serve the upper class New Orleans food that she learned to cook once more before she died.
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[[folder:Music]]
* The Music/{{Yes}} song "Love Will Find A Way" famously has the singer abruptly telling the love interest his choice in restaurant is "Chez Nous"
-->''Here is my heart\\
Waiting for you\\
Here is my soul\\
[[LyricalShoehorn I eat at Chez Nous]]''
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[[folder:Radio]]
* ''Radio/LesDeuxMinutesDuPeuple'': One of François Pérusse's most famous song is "''Snack-Bar Chez Raymond''" ("''Snack-Bar Chez Léon''" in European French), featuring the titular snack-bar. Because Pérusse is French-Canadian (and has a huge following in France) this trope more accurately features a lowbrow GreasySpoon rather than an upscale restaurant.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theatre]]
* The action of ''Theatre/LaCageAuxFolles'' comes to a climax in the restaurant Chez Jacqueline.
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[[folder:Video Games]]
* [[VideoGame/SimCity Simcity 4]] has Chez Eyler, a very small, exclusive, and fancy high-wealth restaurant. A "Chez Fancy" will be referenced by Sims, but cannot be found.
* ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' has [[PretentiousPronunciation "Chez Snootée"]]
* ''VideoGame/RiverCityRansom'' has a "Chez Walle's".
* The InteractiveFiction game ''Kissing the Buddha's Feet'' has a restaurant called "Chez Merde". ''Merde'' is a French word that isn't too pleasant. [[spoiler:[[DontExplainTheJoke It means "shit".]]]]
* The last restaurant in the Wii game ''VideoGame/OrderUp'' is called [[BilingualBonus "Chez Haute"]]. It's not exactly a French restaurant, but the food you cook and serve is typically high quality. [[FrenchJerk There is a condescending French waiter working there, though]].
* There was this game on Creator/CartoonNetwork's website called ''[[http://www.boomerangtv.co.uk/shows/looney-tunes/games/chez-bugs Chez Bugs]]'', which was essentially a poor man's ''Videogame/DinerDash'' with ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' characters.
* And of course, in ''Videogame/DinerDash'' itself, the penultimate stage in the first game is a fancy-type restaurant called "Chez Flo".
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[[folder:Web Animation]]
* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'': In "Date Nite", Homestar refers to a certain "Chez Perez", pronouncing "chez" as "chezz". Later in the cartoon, the diner "Marshmallow's Last Stand" becomes "Marshmallow's ''L'est'' Stand".
* "Chez Monyou" from ''WebAnimation/LooneyTunesIntroBloopers'', mentioned whenever Sam or another character asks about lunch at the end of each episode.
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[[folder:Web Comics]]
* "Chez Elmo's" from ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'': "Frogs and Snails -- We Deliver!"
* ''Webcomic/TheLastDaysOfFoxhound'': The restaurant Liquid and Naomi go to in [[http://www.doctorshrugs.com/foxhound/comic.php?id=129 this strip]] is called [[StealthPun "Chez Monieu"]].
* ''Webcomic/PoisonIvyGulch'': Mayor Sidewinder visits one of these [[https://www.poisonivygulch.com/comic/poison-ivy-gulch-3-28-2021/ only to learn]] that they serve disgusting entrees.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* "Chez Pierre's" from ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}''.
* ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' 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.
* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' has "Chez Ron" and "Chez Couteau" as two restaurants, the former only existing in the episode "Two to Tutor", while the latter is shown several times.
* In the premier episode of WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'s ABC run, their favorite hangout, the Honkerburger, was bought out and turned into an expensive French restaurant called Chez Honque. Doug tried to take Patti there on a date once, only to discover neither of them could afford anything on the menu.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** Parodied with a restaurant aptly named "Chez Guevara". They started off selling Argentinean cuisine, but switched to Cuban in the mid-1980s.
** There's also the episode in which Marge takes up bowling. One of her dinner suggestions is the "Chez Pierre", but this suggestion is rebuffed by Patty and Selma, who insist on going somewhere "fun" -- the Singing Sirloin.
* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': After a rather unsatisfying dinner at a trendy new restaurant (which leads to them waking up starving the next morning), Phineas and Ferb decide to open their own - "Chez Platypus", which quickly becomes the new hot spot in town.
* On ''WesternAnimation/CatDog'', Cat once took a date to "Chez Pastrami".
* In "WesternAnimation/DanVs The Fancy Restaurant", 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 [[HauteCuisineIsWeird its expensive and meager portions]]. Chris has no grief against the restaurant, but is caught up Dan and Elise's plan.
* While not a restaurant, in one episode of ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' the Eds open a sauna called "Chez la Sweat". Ironically, they did open an actual restaurant in a later episode, but it was called "Ponce De La Ed" rather than this trope.
* ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'': In the RestaurantOwningEpisode "Chez Beezy", Beezy pisses off the head chef and owner of the restaurant Chez Garbonz, leading the chef to RageQuit and dumping the restaurant on him. At Jimmy's prompting, Beezy takes it over, renames it Chez Beezy, and tries running the restaurant himself (albeit with Jimmy doing most of the work).
* ''WesternAnimation/WoodyWoodpecker'': In "Wally's Royal Riot" from ''The New Woody Woodpecker Show,'' Wally Walrus is the snobbish owner of Chez Wally that doesn't serve anything or anyone common, and Woody is the common woodpecker who, after being kicked out for no other reason, cons his way to free food with [[PaperThinDisguise a few disguises]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Many a New Yorker has joked about sampling the fine cuisine at "Chez Stadium" (a pun on Shea Stadium, most notable as the former home of baseball's New York Mets).
* 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".
** The Strasbourg ''winstub'' (traditional Alsatian restaurant) "Chez Yvonne" has counted an unusually high number of politicians from UsefulNotes/{{France}} and elsewhere among its clients despite not being a luxury restaurant by design, including the likes of UsefulNotes/CharlesDeGaulle, [[UsefulNotes/ThePresidentsOfFrance Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Jacques Chirac]], [[UsefulNotes/TheChancellorsOfGermany Helmut Kohl, Gerhard Schröder]] and UsefulNotes/BorisYeltsin.
* Alice Waters' world-famous "Chez Panisse".
* Want to make your favorite fast food place sound classy? Use Chez + mascot's name. Use a French form if you can! UsefulNotes/McDonalds is now Chez Renaud. Jack in the Box is now Chez Jacques. KFC is now Chez le Colonel.
* This naming scheme has become so ubiquitous that its French associations are often completely ignored, leading to restaurants with names like "Chez Kimchi" (a real Korean restaurant in Australia.)
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