A bar is first and foremost a place, an atmosphere, a decor A bar is the nerve centre of a hotel. It’s about kicking off an evening, happy hour, drinks before dinner in a specific restaurant in Paris or a night out in a club. A halfway house between daytime and evening. Here’s our pick of the nicest bars in the famous 7th arrondissement, for the finest of sundowners.
A closer look at the best alcohol-free cocktail bars
This trend now has a name: the mocktail. Meaning alcohol-free cocktail. This new craft for mixologist bartenders is a challenge: to offer the thrill of cocktails without the side effects, and without settling for soft drinks like those meant for children.
The extraordinary bar by Drinks&Co, 106bis rue Saint Lazare, 8th arrondissement of Paris
The extraordinary bar, which is an Australian export, is the only bar in Paris to offer a cocktail menu full of mirror cocktails. All of which can be made either with or without alcohol.
These mocktails are exotic, creative and made with seasonal fruit and vegetables, so they vary with the seasons.
In this perfect location in an upscale part of Paris, you can also sit out on the terrace, every day from 6 p.m.
La maison Souquet, 10 rue de Bruxelles, 9th arrondissement of Paris
A bar all decked out with wood panelling and velvet, hidden away in a 5* hôtel spa. A former brothel, in fact, which accounts for the sultry decor.
The menu of cocktails bearing the names of ladies of the night is arranged into sections for various “persuasions”. The mocktails section is called “courtesans”. There’s a hint of garter and French cancan. It is all designed to spirit you away to a forbidden land of extreme refinement.
The opening hours are kept secret. It’s best to book ahead and make sure the place hasn’t been hired out privately.
And in the 7th arrondissement: le Gloster
At 111 Avenue de la Bourdonnais, check out this cocktail bar that has quite an extensive menu of mocktails. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 6.30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., Le Gloster hosts events and plays host to artists and DJs in a place that, seen from the pavement, looks like nothing more than a Parisian café. Whereas in fact, it’s a quintessential party venue among the bars in the 7th arrondissement.
Cocktail pairing bars: explosive alliances
In France, we tend to pair food with wine. This is considered an art.
Cocktail pairing (or food pairing) is the technique that aims to pair food with mixed drinks in an almost scientific way to arrive at a revelation, a third element.
Le Dersou, 21 rue Saint Nicolas, 12th arrondissement of Paris
Bartender Amaury Guyot and chef Taku Sekine introduced cocktail pairing in Paris, back in 2014 when they put together two six- or seven-part set menus to pair with cocktails created on an ad hoc basis.
The interior design of the Dersou is totally off-the-wall: raw-finish walls and untreated wood – it’s about Japanese minimalism with French nonchalance. It’s disruptive, for sure. You’ve never seen anything like it.
The ingenuity that they bring to everything, including their cuisine d’auteur, has won them a number of awards.
You can go there from Tuesday to Saturday from 7.30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Book your table to sample what’s on the famous menu.
Le CopperBay, 5 rue Bouchardon, 10th arrondissement of Paris
Le CopperBay was voted one of the 50 best bars in the world in 2017. This bar is actually a ship, and what’s more, pastis in all its forms is served there. Which means there’s a serious penchant for the sea here. If you ever find yourself stumbling out, it’ll probably be because of the swell of the waves and nothing else.
Food pairing is something they do here. Yes, with cocktails, and with pastis. So French.
Table bookings are taken only for 10 people or more, and it’s open 7 days a week: Sunday to Wednesday 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., and Thursday to Saturday 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Le Cheper, 53 bis rue des francs bourgeois, 4th arrondissement of Paris
We couldn’t leave out Le Cheper – a must do in Paris, much loved by Parisians themselves. The firm favourite. Mainly because it’s part of Les Perchoirs, the group behind the capital’s hippest rooftops.
And also because it’s a magical place, where bygone days contrast with modern times: a former Crédit Municipal auction house with a period dome. Splendid. Not obsolete, since Le Cheper is totally non-conformist.
So this is a “gastrobar”. Here, it’s all about the pairing.
The cherry on the cake: la Room, a private room for a select few guests.
Open from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m., table bookings taken for 10 people or more.
See also our article: An unforgettable experience in Paris: our selection of the best rooftop bars
Little red door, 60 rue Charlot, 3rd arrondissement of Paris
This is our outlier. Because it’s not quite about food pairing, but its farm to glass concept that won it 5th place in the best bars in the world line-up in 2022.
This little spot in the Marais neighbourhood has sought out producers and farmers right across France to create the world’s freshest cocktails.
Open every day from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m., you have to book, even for a single seat at the bar. The price of fame, for sure.
The most sophisticated bars in Paris
If you want sophistication, you want….
A Champagne bar: The Eiffel Tower, 7th arrondissement of Paris
This place plays with the world’s oldest and most glamorous food pairing : Champagne & caviar. And what’s more, it’s at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Tickets are sold only on the door, as guest numbers are limited.
The bubbly and those black pearls are already about the high life. At 300 meters up, the air could even be thin. It’s one of those refined bars in the 7th arrondissement, perfect for thrill seekers.
The bar has the same opening hours as the Tower.
Le Cheval Blanc: a luxury hotel with brasserie
In the exceedingly sophisticated 1st arrondissement of Paris. With a panoramic garden spanning 650 m² open all summer, four restaurants (one of which has three Michelin stars), and a luxury brasserie on the 7th floor: Le Tout-Paris. With a highly exclusive view of Paris, from the Eiffel Tower to Notre Dame, le Tout-Paris is open to both hotel guests and diners from outside.
These places are highly sophisticated and in their own words, rather high society and unapologetically Parisian. If you have time, avail yourself of the Spa Dior or the hairdresser to the stars. This is a place that ticks all our boxes.
Open from 7 a.m. to midnight.
Paris by night is exotic
Soak up its atmosphere, fall under its spell and seek out the city’s best bartenders to kick off the evening in superb fashion. The bars in the 7th arrondissement and all over Paris are ready and waiting.
