Cocktails, wine bars and dives: drinking in Paris for grown-ups.
Cocktail bars, wine bars, dive bars and gastropubs: drinking in Paris for grown-ups.
Le Syndicat in Paris's 10e mixes cocktails using only French spirits, a rule the bar has kept since opening in 2014. The graffitied facade hides 18 seats.
Signature drink: All-French-spirits cocktails
Food: Snacks
Tip: No reservations. Arrive at 19:00 for stools or after 23:00 once the early crowd shifts elsewhere.
Little Red Door in Paris's 3e Marais runs a menu themed around the chemistry of plants, with custom-distilled spirits. Order the plant-based menu.
Signature drink: Plant-based menu
Food: Snacks
Tip: Reservations from 18:00. The Sunday bar manager's pick at €15 is the cheapest cocktail in the room.
Bar Hemingway at the Ritz Paris is Colin Field's classic-cocktail temple. Open 18:00-02:00. No standing; book a 19:00 seat for the calmer first hour.
Signature drink: Serendipity (mint, Calvados, Champagne)
Food: Snacks
Tip: Open 18:00-02:00. No standing; book a 19:00 seat for the calmer first hour.
Andy Wahloo in Paris's 3e is the Mourad Mazouz cocktail bar in a former Moroccan grocery, with mezze plates and music until 02:00. At 69 Rue des Gravilliers.
Signature drink: Maghrebi-inflected cocktails
Food: Mezze
Tip: DJ from 22:00 Thursday to Saturday. The Pomelo Sazerac is the house drink.
Experimental Cocktail Club in Paris's 2e is the trio of bartenders' original 2007 room, the one that effectively reset Paris on the craft-cocktail map.
Signature drink: Classic and twist cocktails
Food: Snacks
Tip: No sign on the door; press the bell. Reservations open at 18:00 for the same evening.
Candelaria in Paris's 3e is the taqueria-and-speakeasy hybrid where you order tacos up front and find the bar through the door behind the kitchen.
Signature drink: Mezcal cocktails
Food: Tacos at the front taqueria
Tip: The taqueria takes walk-ins; the bar opens 18:00.
Bar du Costes inside Hôtel Costes in Paris is the velvet-and-gilt bar Stéphane Pompougnac once soundtracked. Pampelune (gin, grapefruit) is the order.
Signature drink: Pampelune
Food: Bistro carte
Tip: Reservations recommended after 21:00. The terrace garden is the warmer-weather pick.
Le Mary Celeste in Paris's 3e doubles as wine bar and cocktail bar. The Oyster Mary, an inversion of the bloody, gets the room press it deserves.
Signature drink: Oyster Mary
Food: Oysters and small plates
Tip: Happy hour is daily 16:00-18:00; oysters at €1.20 each pair with the Oyster Mary.
Prescription Cocktail Club in Paris's 6e is the Experimental group's Left Bank sister, more relaxed than the 2e mothership and easier on a Friday walk-up.
Signature drink: Custom-built cocktails
Food: Snacks
Tip: No reservations. The Sunday DJ from 22:00 is the slow-start shift to aim for if you want a seat.
Copper Bay in Paris's 10e is the maritime-themed bar Aurélie Pannequin and her crew built into a corner of the Faubourg Saint-Denis cocktail strip.
Signature drink: Tiki-tilted Caribbean cocktails
Food: Snacks
Tip: Reservations for parties of 4+; under 4 walk in. The cargo-themed flights rotate quarterly.
Sister Midnight in Paris's 9e South Pigalle is the cocktail room Jen Riley and Joe Boley opened in the area's glam-rock pocket. Seasonal house drinks.
Signature drink: Seasonal house cocktails
Food: Local-creator finger food
Tip: Walk-in only and groups capped at eight. Saturday night holds the drag and burlesque programme; show up before 20:00 for a banquette.
Bisou in Paris's 3e is the no-menu cocktail bar Nicolas Munoz built around five-minute conversations with each guest. Order the no menu, bartender's pick.
Signature drink: No menu, bartender's pick
Food: Snacks
Tip: Reservations only; first round €14, refills €12. Ask for a non-alcoholic option and they will build one.
Lavomatic in Paris's 10e is the speakeasy hidden behind a working laundromat front. Order the coffee-led cocktails. At 30 Rue René Boulanger.
Signature drink: Coffee-led cocktails
Food: Snacks
Tip: The launderette is real. Push through the back door past the machines; reservations advised Friday and Saturday.
Bar 228 inside Le Meurice in Paris is the dark-wood-and-leather palace bar where William Oliveri ran a 30-year programme of palace-grade Bloody Marys.
Signature drink: Bloody Mary
Food: Bistro carte
Tip: Open 11:00-02:00. The terrace fronts the Rue de Rivoli arcade; pop in for an afternoon Pastis.
Combat in Paris's 19e is the all-female bar team's neighbourhood cocktail room above Belleville park. Order the bartender's call. At 63 Rue de Belleville.
Signature drink: Bartender's call
Food: Snacks
Tip: Reservations from 19:00. The Sunday DJ set runs from 21:00-01:00 with a small dance corner.