Bisou in Paris's 3e is the no-menu cocktail bar Nicolas Munoz built around five-minute conversations with each guest. The bartender then mixes one drink each.
Food program: Snacks
Tip: Reservations only; first round €14, refills €12. Ask for a non-alcoholic option and they will build one.
Address: 15 Boulevard du Temple, 75003 Paris
Lavomatic in Paris's 10e is the speakeasy hidden behind a working laundromat front. Walk through the washing machines to the swing-set bar; cocktails until 02:00.
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. The cocktail list rotates weekly; the menu is short by design.
Signature drink: Bartender's call
Food: Snacks
Tip: Reservations from 19:00. The Sunday DJ set runs from 21:00 to 01:00 with a small dance corner.
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. Top 50 World's Best Bars seven years running.
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. The Serendipity is the house drink; the bartender will recall which one Hemingway ordered.
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.
