PARIS > DRINKING
EATING / DRINKING / SHOPPING / SEEING / SLEEPING
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1. Le Mary Celeste
You know the montage from Paris je t’aime, where the camera sweeps past people sharing intimate moments across Paris? While it didn’t make the director’s cut, there’s a scene depicting a bustling joint where someone’s yelling “more wine” and people are ooing at the French tapas, the camera brushing the Le Mary Celeste sign on the way out.
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2. Candelaria
Countries high on the gastronomy index often have a lot of different types of restaurant. Well known are France’s bistro, brasserie and, of course, restaurant. Mexico’s typical restaurants on the other hand…Take a Paris establishment, insert a taqueria, et voila, instant stardom!
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3. Little Red Door
As the saying goes, nothing worth having comes easy. With a hidden entrance and a picture menu with no words this bar requires an extra level of effort – an effort which certainly goes a long way.
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4. Glass
Where Cinderella (Cendrillon) came to dance after after hours because at Glass midnight is just the beginning, not the end. And as the story goes…Cinderella and the barkeep lived happily ever after.
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5. Mabel
As a child, each time I passed a chalkboard stand menu outside restaurants I wished they were portals to underground speakeasies were my favorite dead writers would hang out (weird fantasy as a child). Hidden behind a toastie shop, Mabel is my dream come true.
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6. Le Syndicat
The bar’s full name translates to The Union: Organisation for the Defence of French Spirits. Members of a craft union are skilled tradespeople who continually improve their craft by learning from each other. While technology is fast replacing many crafts, you can support the union and its bartenders by only drinking expertly mixed French Spirits on your trip.
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7. Dirty Dick
Every cliché has a statute of limitations. Tiki bars may have fallen out of vogue but as cultural preservationists we’ve brought back the tiki bars. Why did the Hawaiian shirt ever go out of style again?
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8. Sherry Butt
Why hesitate to order a second drink if dirt cheap? Maybe because you don’t enjoy watered down pseudo cocktails. Bygone are the times when happy hours dictate what you drink. No buts at Sherry Butt as here satisfaction is who orders you another drink (make sure satisfaction checked with your wallet first).
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9. Experimental Cocktail Club Paris
With a name like that you know the menu is made to be tweaked. How about a personalised cocktail to go along with that custom-made bag of yours?
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10. Bar 228
Stepping into Bar 228 is like stepping into a Baroque painting. The depth of the shadows, extending from the high ceilings to the lamp lit tables, bring to prominence the people, illuminating their actions to make even the ordinary clinking of glasses appear allegorical.
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11. Le Café Marly
How do you explain posh but not “in-your-face” posh? Basically, a customer seated outdoors at Le Café Marly, wrapped in a blanket with the skirt of their couture dress peeking out from underneath.
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12. Silencio
The eerily empty street leading up to Mulholland Drive’s Club Silencio is no indication of the buzzing line that awaits at the namesake Parisian club by David Lynch. The club’s manifesto states it and its patrons are the successors to “the existentialists of the Tabou in Saint-Germain-des-Prés”.
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13. Copper Bay
In order to get to Copper Bay you have to capsize. Turn from Paris’ secretive underground clubs to the unconcealed cocktail-bar-turned-boat-club behind the large storefront window, where people interested in the sport of cocktails gather.
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14. Prescription Cocktail Club
Being a cocktail artist is a licence to be as wacky as possible. You know you’re up to speed in the cocktail world when you expect nothing less than the artistic presentation of your drink, and the doctors-cum-bartenders make sure they’re prescribing only the very best of medicines-cum-cocktails.
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15. L’Entrée des Artistes
Enter and see candle wax dripping onto the purposely unfinished walls; hanging off of which are strings of saucisson, of which pieces are cooking in the cassoulet out back while up front grandmother’s crystal glasses are being polished; ready for the pouring of cocktails to commence with the arrival of the first guest.
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16. Bar le Perchoir
There’s a rooftop among the apartment complexes in the 11th arrondissement that always has the most interesting gathering of people. No more wistful looking on from the average party you’re at, you’re invited!
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17. Le Comptoir Général
A new French word for you: Comptoir, which means trading post. This crossover community isn’t just a stop along the Canal Saint-Martin but the point of embarkation on your journey though Francophone Africa and the Caribbean. Surrounded by fascinating curiosities, it’s no wonder our mastermind designer Alberto calls the historical trading posts of Venice, Hong Kong his homes.
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18. Lulu White
Far far removed from yoga, the bar’s namesake was a brothel madam from New Orleans. Get out your Mardi Gras throws and brace yourself for a night full of flavour; from the Jambalaya to the jazz.