Paris to drink: the best cocktail bars in town

The French capital has its own varied proposal, not as extensive as Italy or London alone, but it is fun and any cocktail lover will have a “drink” for his teeth. During this pleasure-loving tour dedicated to mixing I had an exceptional sidekick, la Bar Manager of Gucci Giardino 25 (in Florence) Martina Bonci: “I’ve been missing for a long time, Paris has (re)amazed me, I find it wonderful and it allows me to see things in a different way, continuing to do this job and getting excited. This is how Paris makes me feel and in line, at least for the vibrations it releases, with my idea of ​​mixing: going beyond the drink, living and making people live with emotions”, she says with a smile.

And how not to agree with her. If the known pillars Harry’s Bar, Le Forum, the Hemingway Bar with the legendary Colin Peter Field, they wrote part of the history of the classic Parisian bar, today we read a whole other novel made of modern trends, avant-garde experiments, new ingredients and sui generis twist but always pervaded by unmistakable beauty (for better or for worse) with a French signature. Bearing in mind, however, that the experience in one of the cornerstones of French and world mixing such as the Hemingway Bar in the Rizt Hotel is still a great and inimitable experience. A story therefore never forgotten but more than present and lived, alongside a completely different but equally valid parallel soul.

The beauty of Paris is its curious and varied people, who follow the fashion but she is also very attentive to taste. Surely today’s cocktail bar to stand out must focus a lot on hospitality and therefore on the customer.

But the gorge is dry, the temperature at sunset drops and curiosity rises, it’s time to enter the first of ours 5 cocktail bars. Take advantage of our advice and as always #drinkconsensus!

The 1802

In Paris there is a valid establishment where to stay, eat interesting cuisine and drink cocktails from a menu entirely centered on rum: it is the Hotel Monte Cristo. Whether you choose it for its central location, for the well-crafted dishes in the Le Grand Dictionnaire restaurant or “just” for a drink, it’s the place to combine different pleasures during a trip (complete with a pool and spa). Inside lives 1802 which before being a bar, is the collection of about 1200 different rums, the largest in France! Here Adrian Niño holds the helm of a talented team and makes the most of the heritage at his disposal by offering guests a total full immersion in the world of rum. The sensory journey already starts from the name of the bar which indicates the year of birth of Alexandre Dumas, French writer and playwright as well as author of The Count of Monte Cristo, hence the name of the hotel; but also a tribute to the author’s Caribbean origins and therefore to sugar cane. The bar with dark lights, the central counter surrounded by tables and sofas, the motifs and decorations united by it common thread, showcase the vastness of the world of rum with a drinking experience that starts with a dozen aromas and raw materials chosen by the customer, on which the cocktail is then built. (Hotel Monte Cristo).

Classic

Here our Martina had the opportunity to keep a guest during the Paris days, that is, she was a guest behind the counter of the club bringing her mix in the form of four drinks specially created and prepared for the evening alongside the Classique team. “I find it a place where the people who work there know how to make you feel at home, the result of a new project that has brought this bar to a new life with a precise, pleasant, clean mix, in line with what I like” . Conceived inside a former pharmacy in Pigalle by the sparkling Hugo Combe and Benjamin Le Seigneur, it strikes with its retro interiors and period tiles, the long marble counter and a drink list as simple as it is highly enjoyable for every day.

Little Red Door

It is the most awarded bar in the city, spreading the culture of the new frontier of mixing and setting trends (number 5 in the World 50 Best Bars). With a welcoming and neighborhood atmosphere, a constantly international clientele and a trained team from all over the world with their know-how, it is the place for anyone who wants to try something different and (almost always) valid. “I felt some crazy vibes in this place, walked in at opening time (4pm), it was already full! (it would hardly happen in Italy ed). I think the added value of the moment is the menu: titled Flourish, focuses on seasonal ingredients and their producers enough to allow him to obtain the Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award 2022 from the 50Best. My Raspberry drink has shown great confirmation in the skill of the boys”, says Marina Bonci. This drink list is a virtuous project made up of a network between producers, products and different production areas: 10 signature cocktails centered (sometimes too concentrated) on a single raw material including carrots, raspberries, chamomile, saffron, olives, rice, Alsatian hops, Grenoble nuts, rhubarb and Camargue rice. In short, if you find yourself in front of a bright red door in the streets of the third arrondissement, in the Marais district, then you will have found the Little Red Door. Come in and enjoy a quirky Parisian-style drinking experience. (Little Red Door).

Candelaria

Inaugurated in 2011, it is an authentic Mexican taqueria in the heart of Paris where everything is home-made, starting with the tasty tortillas that you will be faced with upon entering the venue. But go further and push the crumbling white door, you will enter a parallel world… in a hidden cocktail bar! “A place with a double life, a tacos bar where you can eat something and then from 6pm the world of mixing opens up. Direct drinks, clear ingredients that you feel and recognize at the sip. A mix as I imagine it. And then it’s beautiful, the darkness is lit by candles and the experience is as informal as it is excellent”, commented the super bartender from Umbria. Indeed these (fake) speakeasies always have their charm, at least when they are well thought out and don’t decide to ride useless fashions by disturbing the deceased who invented something significant and with a sense during the prohibition era. Here the only thing that is forbidden is to have just one drink, try both the Akira and the Parakeet with tequila and mazcal, ça va sans dire. (Candelaria).

Bar Hemingway

And finally here we are in the historic bar inside the Hotel Ritz. It actually houses three but this one has a life of its own and has maintained the soul of a bar over the years that has nothing to do with the style of the luxurious hotel chain. Thanks to Colin Peter Field who wanted “his bar”, out of the context of the container and with a content with a unique identity. Memorabilia and photos that let you breathe an air of times gone by among the dozen tables where you can sit and drink a Martini Cocktail of boundless classicism. It opened in 1921 and in 1979 was baptized “Bar Hemingway” in honor of one of the most pleasure-loving drinkers in history who was a regular here. Only in 1994 did Colin Field take the helm and become custodian of this jewel as precious as the Ritz Hotel. Today the bar is particularly busy (we were next to Pierce Brendan Brosnan), it can be quite difficult to get in but the true spirit of the bar is still there, intact and unique, so the wait is worth it. (Bar Hemingway)

And speaking of Top500Bars, this year the ranking involved 127 different cities (vs. 113 last year), 56 different countries (53 last year), with new cities like Riga, Bengaluru or San Vincenzo. If the UK and Singapore are still strong players, Italy becomes the third country with the most bars in the full ranking. At the beginning of the year, the application for iPhone and Android was also launched to obtain the entire ranking and the list of bars nearby thanks to the geolocation function. All bars of 2023 ranking on the website of Top500Bars.