Cocktail Bars

This glamorous, unaffected spot is perfect for anyone who has ever worried about outgrowing cocktail bars.

Practical information Address: 21 rue Keller, 75011 Nearest transport: Voltaire (9),  Bastille (1,5,8), Ledru-Rollin (8) Hours: Open every day Reservations: Walk-Ins Welcome Telephone: 01 48 06 03 95 Website   Facebook   Instagram What people are saying Hipsters in Paris (2015) “Excellent drinks made without any pretension, at reasonable prices, with a great vinyl-only soundtrack to get you through the night.” World’s Best Bars (2015) “Witness the cocktail list, a short but inventive thing, populated in the main by American classics with a few… Read More »Lone Palm

On a busy street lined with touristy pubs near Saint Sulpice, Tiger is a cocktail-focused breath of fresh air. Gin & tonics are the specialty here, with more than six variations on the standard available, all made with Tiger’s homemade tonic. Other gin-based cocktails make up a strong part of the menu (think French 75 or martinez), and, as one might expect, the selections for individual gins are excellent, including a version from noted calvados producer Christian Drouin. Those seeking a little variety have other options in the form of a short classic cocktails menu, too. Vaguely Southeast Asian small plates are available, too, if you’re hungry, but the laidback atmosphere and fun cocktails are the true draw.

Helmed by the gregarious Stanislas Jouenne, formerly at La Maison du Whisky, Tiger is a relaxed alternative to the other more serious (and more uptight) cocktail destination nearby, Prescription Club.

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Grilled cheese seems like the epitome of spontaneous late-night eats, yet you’ll want to make a reservation at Mabel if you’d like yours washed down with a cocktail. The small speakeasy-style bar nestled behind a family-friendly grilled cheese sandwich shop requires clients to be seated, which is great for a cozy tête-à-tête and less exciting for those who want to mingle. It also means that, while walk-ins are welcome, they could well be disappointed. If the sandwich alone is your poison, you’re better off visiting the street-facing shop,  where alongside the traditional a handful of other flavors including a classic tuna melt, vegetarian pepperoni, pulled pork, and rum marinated bacon with egg are on offer. They’re authentically greasy enough despite the virtues of seeded bread. Read More »Mabel

The bright, expansive bar at CopperBay is a nice antidote to the cramped, dark speakeasies that make up much of the Parisian cocktail scene. It’s unpretentious and accessible, from the perspective of pricing – cocktails start at 10€, which is far lower than most other spots of comparable quality – and of service. Before ordering at the bar, clients are given a deck of cards as the menu. Each one explains a beverage and breaks down the ingredients and flavor profile into a pie chart. Servers are easygoing and attentive. They care about the presentation, potentially too much, and you may find yourself being served a cocktail inside of a plastic bag that roughly resembles a bouquet of flowers, but it’s fun.

A recent favorite during this chilly winter was the “Hot Butterhead” of fragrant calvados, rum, Velvet Falernum, and liberal chunks of still melting butter, served warm in a mug wearing its own woolly sweater. The drinks menu has a good selection of pastis in all its forms, classic drinks, and CopperBay’s own original creations which are complex, multilayered and memorable (even if in the case of some, like the cauliflower-banana rum cocktail, perhaps for the wrong reasons). By way of eats, there’s a small menu of impeccable if typical products (burrata, rillettes). Although CopperBay appears to have gone through a few soul searching iterations since opening in late 2014 – the vaguely nautical bar no longer brands itself as “Mermaids & Magic Potions” for example – it’s hitting its stride right now.

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Practical information Address: 43 rue des Vinaigriers, 75010 Nearest transport: Jacques Bonsergent (5) Hours: Closed Sunday & Monday Reservations: Not Accepted Telephone: 06 11 84 21 76 Average price for a cocktail:12€ Average price for dinner:10-19€ Style of cuisine: Small plates Facebook Reviews of interest Le Figaro (2016) “Un comptoir arrondi derrière lequel des barmen à casquette s’affairent à préparer des mixtures bien dosées, à base de gentiane notamment (12€ le verre). La clientèle de jeunes barbus et belles bohèmes apprécient… Read More »Gravity Bar

Oh, that papered over and possibly abandoned storefront? That’s Le Syndicat. Cleverly hidden in plain sight, it doesn’t consider itself a bar per se, but rather, an “Organization in Defense of French Spirits,” where Romain Le Mouëllic and Sullivan Doh (last seen at Sherry Butt) are revisiting and reviving old-fashioned French spirits as the base for unusual cocktails aimed at a fashionable, younger audience. The bar is pegboard and concrete warmed up and made gritty-glamorous by the addition of gold… Read More »Le Syndicat

Start your Pigalle bar crawl off at this intimate absinthe-focused speakeasy named after a legendary New Orleans madame. This signless spot, from the team behind Little Red Door, joins Dirty Dick and Glass on the increasingly bar-lined rue Frochot. It’s an elegant space in which to explore a variety of absinthes, whether in cocktails or in a flight of three served with water or seasonal syrups. The frozen Carmen Miranda with Four Roses bourbon, strawberry cordial, and Pernod absinthe whirled together in a slushy machine was a hit. The bartenders are unpretentious and friendly, and will make you an off-list cocktail without the green fairy if you are so inclined.

-Catherine Down, January 2015

Read More »Lulu White

You don’t need to be a guest at the grand Le Meurice hotel to enjoy the luxury of having tuxedoed waiters serve you solidly made classic cocktail in the intimate, clubby den. But you may need to be a millionaire. The atmosphere might be retro, but at 25 euros a pop, the prices certainly are not.

The original (and still insanely popular) speakeasy that sparked the trend in 2007 and spawned an empire that now includes Beef Club and Prescription Cocktail Club. Despite being the oldest of the new wave joints, it’s still one of the swankiest and hardest to get in.

— Catherine Down, July 2013

Read More »Experimental Cocktail Club

Famous for being a Hemingway haunt, Harry’s is responsible for the invention of the (now) classic cocktails the Bloody Mary, the French 75, and the Sidecar.  Stiff, white coat clad bartenders keep a strict dress code in check so shorts aren’t going to cut it. Pants (sigh) are required if you’d like to make it through the door of this historic bar.

— Catherine Down, July 2013

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The tiny red door leads to a tiny dark bar with cozy couches, cushy bar stools, and an elevated nook that is ideal for people watching. The bar menu is short, sweet and well-curated.

Just what the doctor ordered: another reliable standby from the ECC team. Two floors of creative cocktails, dark lounge-y space, and too many fashionable people packed into one space.

This cheekily named Polynesian themed rum bar has a congenial international crew behind the bar, reasonably priced tropical cocktails, flaming scorpion bowl beverages for a crowd, and interesting craft beers to boot. Tiki chic.

Skip the pizza at Da Vito and head directly for the refrigerator in the center of the room. The walk-in fridge filled with beer kegs and hanging hams is an entrance to this elegant but unpretentious speakeasy. Get a seat at the bar if you can–both to ogle the impressive collection of vintage barware and because the service leaves a little much to be desired. The drink menu runs heavy on whiskey and mezcal (in a good way) and includes a fresh, seasonal punch for only 6€ each day.

— Catherine Down, July 2013

Read More »Moonshiner

Red House is where your bartender hangs out on his/her night off. An easygoing dive with really solid, inexpensive cocktails.

Serious cocktails in an unpretentious lounge near the Bastille with good bar snacks to boot. The attention to detail, chill atmosphere and intriguing menu make this an industry darling.