Le Mary Celeste

We can't get enough of the Northern Marais right now, and the arrival of new cocktail and oyster bar Le Mary Celeste is only serving to increase our obsession. The talented team behind much lauded cocktail-and-tapas joint Candelaria and Pigalle bar Glass opened Mary Celeste, their third bar in the capital, earlier in 2013. Breaking the mould from the hidden away, dark and sultry, speakeasy style bars that have proved to be such a hit in Paris, Le Mary Celeste is a bright and breezy corner space, with large windows, exposed brickwork and a vast central bar. On the menu are the kind of expertly mixed cocktails you'd expect from this team (including the Rain Dog which mixes their favourite tipple, the bitter Italian Amaro, with bourbon, mint and lemon), Brooklyn lager on tap, and a selection of wines by the glass and the bottle. Also on offer are oysters (and an oyster happy hour from 5pm-7pm when they're only €1 a pop), bar snacks such as kimchi and small plates to share from Weds-Sun. Le Mary Celeste also shares its sibling bars' eclectic programme, already hosting events such as a pop-up juice shop with Bob's Cold Press last month and Jack's Jumble Sale. Stay tuned to their facebook for more info on upcoming events.

Le Mary Celeste

1 rue Commines, 75003 Paris  

Mon-Sun 5pm-2am 

Dirty Dick

South Pigalle - or SoPi, if you will - continues its ascent with the arrival of the brand new, cheekily named bar Dirty Dick. Much like the recently opened cocktail bar Glass just opposite, Dirty Dick was a former hostess bar - this part of town is Paris' red-light district, afterall - and so its name has a certain, erm, poignancy, shall we say. Owned by the same team behind Rock n' Roll Circus and Kremlin, Dirty Dick has another theme entirely - it's a tiki bar, channeling a retro kitsch Polynesian vibe with wood carved totems, jungle taxidermy and murals of beautiful 60s ladies reclining on beaches. The ambiance is suitably laid-back and fun, and the drinks menu features an abundance of rum-based cocktails (including the classic tiki-bar Mai Tai or the medicinal Polynesian Remedy), all expertly mixed by the super duper team, as well as lethal punch bowls, with evocative names such as "She Sells Sea Shells" (try saying that after you've had a few...) to share among friends. Somewhat incongruously, Guinness and Newcastle Brown Ale are also on tap, and there is a good selection of bottled beers, too. Aloha, Dirty Dick, welcome to SoPi - we have a feeling we'll be coming back often.

Dirty Dick 

10 rue Frochot, 75009 Paris

Open Mon-Sun, 6pm-2am

Le Bellerive

Run by the same team behind Paris hotspots Chez Jeannette, Chez Justine and Le Floréal, canal-side Le Bellerive is a friendly new café in the up-and-coming 19th arrondissement. 

A couple of minutes away from the twin MK2 cinemas, this laidback neighbourhood joint has a retro vibe, with neon-lighting and 60s furniture, and has a great little terrace looking on to the Canal. On the menu are simple and well prepared comfort foods, including their Bellerive burger, macaroni with ham and truffle oil, and Caesar salad. Platters of charcuterie and cheese are also available to go with a couple of drinks in the evening, and desserts such as the French childhood classic Ile Flotttante (a light egg-white meringue floating in custard) and chocolate mousse are particularly well executed. Brunch is served on Sundays. On top of all that, staff and patrons alike are a friendly lot, making Le Bellerive a great place to hang out in the day or the evening for a drink or for a relaxed meal if you are in the area. 

Le Bellerive

71 Quai de Seine, 75019 Paris

Métro: Riquet / Crimée

All photos copyright Kim Laidlaw Adrey 2012

Le Ballroom du Beef Club

Le Ballroom du Beef Club, the latest venture from the guys arguably responsible for the revolution in the Paris cocktail scene, opened this week in the capital. 

Combining a street level restaurant and a basement cocktail bar and club, this is the fifth address in Paris for the trio who are behind Experimental Cocktail Club, Prescription and Curio Parlor, and who also have a cocktail bar in London and a new bar opening soon in New York. In the same vein as their other venues, the underground bar part of the Beef Club, called The Ballroom, has a speakeasy vibe - accessible currently only by an unmarked black door, the hidden away bar is dimly lit and decorated with dark colours, luxurious velvets and vintage-looking wallpaper. 

The concise drinks menu offers eight cocktails (from €12-14), as well as champagne, soft drinks, virgin cocktails and beer from Paris-based brewers Demory. As you would expect from this team, cocktails are interesting - there's not a Mojito or Cosmopolitan in sight - with options such as the delicious Salers Smash featuring long-forgotten old ladies' tipple Gentiane mixed with Champagne, Absinthe, sugar, mint and lime. The refreshing yet spicy Cucumber Fumant is also a winner. 

The Beef Club restaurant is set to open soon and will serve, as its name would suggest, a steak-based menu. Smaller snacks will potentially also be available at the bar once the kitchen is up and running. 

Le Ballroom du Beef Club

52 rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 75001 Paris

(accessible by the black door to the left of the Beef Club restaurant)

Open 7.30pm - 2am

All photos copyright Kim Laidlaw Adrey 2012

For a more detailed review of the cocktails, check out Four Years Later: Beef Club Ballroom on 52 Martinis

Verjus Wine Bar

The couple behind the private supper club Hidden Kitchen has opened up a no-reservation wine bar, Verjus, with a separate restaurant with a different menu upstairs.

Le Floréal

Le Floréal, the revamped corner bistro in Paris' 10th arrondissement, has had a makeover and is open for business again!  This former PMU (French betting-shop-cum-bar chain) was taken over by the crew who own hipster down-and-out bar Chez Jeannette last year, only to close for a couple of months this year to undergo extensive renovations. Freshly reopened, Le Floréal now has a Mondrian-esque facade of geometric blocks of a simple palette of red, yellow, black and white, bringing a bright touch a retro class to this spot just beneath Belleville and just across the street from much-lauded restaurants Le Chateaubriand and Le Dauphin. The terrace gives on to the busy road, but it's elevated and walled in, meaning you can drink or eat outside whilst being slightly removed from the traffic fumes and passing hoi polloi. The interior has an retro 60s-luxe vibe, shining with black lacquer and brass touches, neon lighting announcing "cocktails" and "fruits de mer", and black and red leather banquettes. The slightly American influenced menu features cheese burgers and cheesecake as well as indulgent lobster and other seafood delicacies, served all day every day. You can also just pop in for a coffee or cocktail on the terrace, and breakfast and a weekend brunch are also available.

Le Floréal, 

73 rue du Faubourg du Temple, 75010 Paris

Tel: 01 40 18 46 79

Open: Every day, 8am-2am

All images copyright Kim Laidlaw Adrey

Le Carmen

Le Carmen is one of the most unusual and original bars right now in Paris. Set in French composer Bizet’s grandiose former residence (and named after his most famous opera) the recently opened cocktail bar draws in a rock and roll crowd to its decadent boudoir style space with its unparalleled setting, superlative drinks and innovative schedule of events.

The listed building just south of Pigalle (or SoPi, if you're a PR-type) provides a grand backdrop for swanky drinks with its painted ceilings, stucco cherubs and neo-classical columns. The gilded mirrors, grand piano and the low lighting only add to the romance of the place and yet the vibe is laidback, welcoming in a young fun crowd with evenings as diverse as book club to violin concerts or fashion week parties.

There is no cocktail menu, but the resident mixologist will rustle something up sur mesure depending on your preference and his inspiration (although mostly on the latter - he does tend, rather endearingly, to impose his cocktail ideas), which you can then sip in any of the apartment-like rooms or even in the human-scale birdcage for a more amorous moment.

Le Carmen

http://www.le-carmen.fr/

34 Rue Duperré, 75009 Paris, France

photos copyright Kim Laidlaw Adrey

Grazie - A Pizzeria and Cocktail Bar from Merci

The bobo Northern Marais concept store Merci has added another string to its bow with its new pizza and cocktail outpost, Grazie, on the Boulevard Beaumarchais. Just a few doors up from successful main store, which stocks a judicious selection of fashion, furniture and stationery, owner Marie-France Cohen's son Julien Cohen has set up this buzzing pizzeria-cocktail bar hybrid. The deconstructed, loft-style decor is in keeping with that of Merci with its recycled crates, distressed metal, non-embellished plastered walls and a couple of eccentric touches such as a stuffed peacock behind the bar. An innovative and extensive cocktail list features numerous variations on the Bloody Mary and the good old gin and tonic, made by the mad-scientist of a mixologist, Oscar, which can be sampled alongside the delicious, simple and authentic pizzas prepared by the passionate, bona fide Italian team.

 

Grazie 

91 boulevard Beaumarchais, 75003 Paris

Open daily, lunch and dinner
Reservation recommended

Tel: 01 42 78 11 96

Photos copyright Kim Laidlaw Adrey