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Weird Wild Wonderful Paris Bars

By Paris Defined Magazine
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Weird Wild Wonderful Paris Bars

These are those bars you can’t quite place, but you wouldn’t want to live without. The hodgepodge of Lucha Libre wrestling, live music disco parties, and ping pong playing make forever memories. The bars you’ll go to and say “Wow, this is weird,” but leave saying “Wow, that was wonderful” (the wild is yours to keep private, but might be paired with “where did that bruise come from?”).

Le 3Bis

This is one of those places that just *has it all*: it’s a board games bar, it’s an arcade, it’s a karaoke place with pri­vate geek-themed rooms, it’s a din­er with menu offer­ing waf­fle burg­ers and a great dose of sar­casm. Best way to enjoy it? Come by dur­ing the week­end for a lazy brunch in one of their pri­vate rooms (Are you a « retro games » geek or a « Freinds » geek? The have it both). Just remem­ber to reserve it first, as the place often dou­bles as a shoot­ing loca­tion of some sort.

ADDRESS: 41 Rue des Pirogues de Bercy (12th arr.)

MÉTRO: Cour Saint-Émil­ion (line 14)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Cour St. Emil­ion / Bercy

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: online

DEETS: arcade, pri­vate room karaoke, board games brunch 

INSTAGRAM: @leso­cial­bar

Le Social Bar

Are you a solo trav­el­er, look­ing for some com­pa­ny? A new-com­er who wants to make some friends in a for­eign city? Or maybe you just need some sort of human palette cleanser from your usu­al squad? Le Social Bar is the answer to all those ques­tions. They pride them­selves in being « not real­ly a place you come with friends, but the one you come to make some new ones ». « Break­ing Stu­pid World Records » nights, a « con­fes­sion­al » (for all kind of sto­ries to whis­per in the stranger’s ear), a fake beach or karaoke and con­certs — every­thing in that wild place encour­ages you to get out of your shell. And while some things in there may sound a bit cringe, order­ing a « Brit­ney Spritz » with con­fi­dence will only open up a con­ver­sa­tion about a sec­ond-hand embar­rass­ment with a hot hot guy sip­ping beer right next to you (promise).

ADDRESS: 25 Rue Vil­liot (12th arr.)

MÉTRO: Paris Gare de Lyon (lines 1, 14)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Cour St. Emil­ion / Bercy

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: +33 6 72 98 69 05

DEETS: make new friends or lovers, social, not for intro­verts, wild & fun games, not your usu­al board game place, theme nights

INSTAGRAM: @leso­cial­bar

Ice Kube Bar

It’s time to bun­dle up and step into the coolest (think actu­al­ly like, real­ly cold) place in Paris, for this is an ice bar. If you think you can han­dle ‑20 degrees (cel­cius!), then sad­dle up to the icy bar top and order your­self a cock­tail. You’ll need to pull out your Cana­da Goose (jel­ly) to down some shots of Grey Goose.

ADDRESS: 1 Pas­sage Ruelle (18th arr.)

MÉTRO: Marx Dor­moy (line 12)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Mont­martre

PRICE: €€€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 1 42 05 20 00

DEETS: hotel bar, cock­tail bar, ice bar, wear a jacket

INSTAGRAM: @kubehotelparis

Le Comptoir Général

Neigh­bor­hood: Canal St. Mar­tin. Mood: Afro­cen­tric aban­don. Mad­ness can break out at any moment in just the right way. What you’re get­ting your­self into: unpre­ten­tious danc­ing to music that varies by the night (most like­ly a mix of dance­able Latin hits and club music) and unique trop­i­cal themed cock­tails (not like daiquiris, but their own cre­ations using African fruits). Not touristy. Is it worth cross­ing town for: 10/10, oui. How hard is it to get in? The entry is bare­ly marked, it’s a gate that looks like it goes to a dri­ve­way. There, you walk to the end of a dark­ened path (qui­et­ly so as not to dis­turb the neigh­bors) and fol­low the neon.

ADDRESS: 80 Quai de Jemmapes (10th arr.)

MÉTRO: Goncourt (line 11)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Canal St. Martin

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: tbd

DEETS: weird space, cock­tails, danc­ing, hid­den space

INSTAGRAM: @lecomptoirgeneral

Sape Bar

Sape Bar is locat­ed in 25 Hours Hotel where a mix of cul­tures and design inspired by the flam­boy­ant yet ele­gant cloth­ing of the Sapeurs cre­ate an urban retreat. It’s a place for locals and tourists locat­ed in the 10th arrondisse­ment. The large bar top is made of bronze-col­ored mosa­ic glass and the dark leather arm­chairs give a cozy atmos­phere per­fect for a relaxed night with friends or by yourself.

ADDRESS: 12 Boule­vard de Denain (10th arr.)

MÉTRO: Gare du Nord (lines 4, 5)

NEIGHBORHOOD:St. Denis / St. Mar­tin / Pois­son­nière / Paradis

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: +33 1 4280 82 21

DEETS: hotel bar, Israeli-Mediter­ranean cui­sine, casu­al, cock­tail bar

Ground Control

Ground Con­trol is a place where peo­ple meet and ideas mix; a place of exper­i­men­ta­tion and expres­sion. They believe in eat­ing and drink­ing well and all their restau­rants and bars are Eco Table labeled. The prod­ucts offered are most­ly organ­ic or from inde­pen­dent and fam­i­ly pro­duc­ers. With eight restau­rants, the cui­sine includes (but is not lim­it­ed to) Mediter­ranean, Amer­i­can, and Ital­ian. Not hun­gry? Choose one of their four bars instead. Ground Con­trol is also a place of speak­ers and events; in short, a cul­tur­al media space.

ADDRESS: 81 Rue du Charo­lais (12th arr.)

MÉTRO: Paris Gare de Lyon (lines 1, 14)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Ali­gre

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: N/A

DEETS: ter­race, open Wednes­day-Sun­day, activ­i­ties, events, guest speak­ers, children’s activ­i­ties, Ecotable, live music

INSTAGRAM: @groundcontrolparis

Au Lèche-Vin

With a long hap­py hour (six hours!), Au Lèche-Vin is a typ­i­cal Parisian bistro and wine bar. The walls are cov­ered with pious images, but don’t let that fool you. Hip-hop and jazz liv­en up the evenings and the locals deem the spot pleas­ant and friend­ly with a “papa’s bistro” atmos­phere. But just a heads up, les toi­lettes are not a place for the faint of heart.

ADDRESS: 13 Rue Daval (11th arr.)

MÉTRO: Chemin Vert (line 8) or Bastille (lines 1, 5, 8)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Bastille / Arse­nal / Roquette

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: +33 1 43 55 06 70

DEETS: wine bar, hap­py hour, closed on Sun­day, dive bar

Rosa Bonheur sur Seine

Get your sea legs togeth­er and head out to this bar(ge) on the water. With a fine selec­tion of tapas, wood-fired piz­zas and, of course, drinks, the bar gives a full 365 (maybe more like 290?) view of the Seine. Every Wednes­day, the Rosa Bon­heur sur Seine hosts a guinguette ball of live music and dancing.

ADDRESS: Quai d’Or­say (7th arr.)

MÉTRO: Invalides (lines 8, 13)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Berges de Seine

PRICE: €€ 

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: +33 1 42 00 00 45

DEETS: on the water, danc­ing, cock­tails, live music, events

INSTAGRAM: @rosabonheurofficiel

Dernier Bar Avant la Fin du Monde

Does the name Dou­glas Adams ring a bell? Tak­ing its name from the French trans­la­tion of one of his books, Bar at the end of the uni­verse is a per­fect place to geek out. It’s a space designed by (and for) fans of sci­ence fic­tion, fan­ta­sy and man­ga; bar almost, but not quite, entire­ly unlike you’ve seen before. And even if you’ve put D&D phase behind you, don’t pan­ic! Come sit, read, share a drink or a dis­cus­sion about fan­dom of your choice. 

ADDRESS: 19 Avenue Vic­to­ria (1st arr.)

MÉTRO: Pont Neuf (line 7)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Lou­vre / Riv­o­li / Tuileries

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: +33 1 53 00 98 95

DEETS: dai­ly menu dur­ing week, hol­i­day and week­end brunch, imag­i­nary bar

La Lucha Libre

Get ready to cheer while dou­ble-fist­ing beer, for this is the only bar in Paris equipped with a wrestling ring. The Mex­i­can-inspired dec­o­ra­tions and paint­ings recall the aes­thet­ics of lucha-libre: a sport born in 19th cen­tu­ry Mex­i­co. Not only can you watch wrestling here, but you can wres­tle your friends dur­ing Open Ring night.

ADDRESS: 10 Rue de la Mon­tagne Sainte Geneviève (5th arr.)

MÉTRO: Car­di­nal Lemoine (line 10)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Pan­théon

DRINKS: €€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 7 78 12 23 21

DEETS: wrestling ring bar, open Tues­day-Sat­ur­day 6pm-2am, hap­py hour, cocktail

INSTAGRAM: @laluchalibre_ringbar

Le Pavillon du Lac

Locat­ed in the Parc des Buttes Chau­mont, Le Pavil­lon du Lac offers splen­did views of the green­ery in the mid­dle of the busy city. Perched with­in the trees, the out­door ter­race and bar opens just as soon as the Spring sun peaks through and is an ide­al place to have a quick break­fast or sip an orig­i­nal cocktail.

ADDRESS: Place Armand Car­rel (19th arr.)

MÉTRO: Lau­mière (line 5)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Buttes-Chau­mont

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: online, no reser­va­tions on terrace

NUMBER: +33 1 42 00 07 21

DEETS: French restau­rant, by the water, in the park, open Wednes­day-Sun­day, Sun­day brunch

INSTAGRAM: @lepavillondulac

La Mezcaleria

La Mez­ca­le­ria is a hid­den cock­tail bar with the largest selec­tion of Mez­cal in France. Locat­ed in the 3rd arrondisse­ment, it’s an under­ground bar at the 1K Paris hotel where they offer an authen­tic Oax­a­ca experience.

ADDRESS: 13 Boule­vard du Tem­ple (3rd arr.)

MÉTRO: Filles du Cal­vaire (line 8)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Haut Marais

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: +33 1 42 71 77 15

DEETS: hid­den bar, mez­cal, Mex­i­can restau­rant, cock­tail bar, hotel bar

Lavomatic

From the out­side it may look like a laun­dro­mat, but open a door dis­guised as a wash­er and find a cock­tail bar with a fun and quirky envi­ron­ment. Cock­tails are mixed with pre­cise scents and fla­vors to cre­ate drinks with unique har­monies, and they change up the menu every quar­ter to reflect what’s in season.

ADDRESS: 30 Rue René Boulanger (10th arr.)

MÉTRO: République (lines 3, 5, 9, 11)

NEIGHBORHOOD: République

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: +83 8 09 04 40 76

DEETS: cock­tail bar, speakeasy

INSTAGRAM: @lavomatic_paris

La Recyclerie

Locat­ed in the 18th arrondisse­ment, this reha­bil­i­tat­ed bar aims to raise pub­lic aware­ness of eco-respon­si­ble val­ues with its veg­etable gar­den, farm, and DIY work­shops. You will find 100% home­made, local, and sea­son­al cui­sine to enjoy dai­ly on their out­door ter­race. You can also sip drinks from their exte­ri­or mobile bar.

ADDRESS: 83 Boule­vard Ornano (18th arr.)

MÉTRO: Porte de Clig­nan­court (line 4)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Mont­martre

PRICE: €

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: +33 1 42 57 58 49

DEETS: ter­race, eco-friend­ly, local and organ­ic, veg­an, veg­e­tar­i­an, hol­i­day brunch, tapas from 5:30pm

Raspoutine Paris

Locat­ed down the block from Champs-Élysées, Raspou­tine is a trendy and moody night club. Once fash­ioned as a Russ­ian cabaret, it is clas­si­fied as a his­tor­i­cal mon­u­ment and now brings the city of Paris live music and danc­ing. The night club is most­ly red with gold­en accents and boasts red vel­vet fur­ni­ture, cozy alcoves and pas­sage­ways, and low gold­en light­ing. Dress to impress!

ADDRESS: 58 Rue de Bas­sano (8th arr.)

MÉTRO: Alma-Marceau (line 9)

NEIGHBORHOOD:Arc de Tri­om­phe / Champs-Elysées / Concorde

PRICE: €€€€

HOW TO BOOK: call

NUMBER: +33 1 47 20 02 90

DEETS: night club, open Thursday-Saturday

INSTAGRAM: @raspoutine.paris

Le Calbar

A for­mer wine bar turned New York style Amer­i­can bar, Le Cal­bar doesn’t take itself too seri­ous­ly. There’s bold, bright street art on the walls and bold, pant­less bar­tenders behind the bar top. Yes, you read that right: they are in their skivvies. The vibe might be sil­ly, but the cock­tails are qual­i­ty with pre­mi­um spir­its and fresh ingredients.

ADDRESS: 82 Rue de Char­en­ton (12th arr.)

MÉTRO: Faid­herbe — Chaligny (line 8)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Ali­gre

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: +33 1 84 06 18 90

DEETS: cock­tail bar, play­ful, box­er bartenders

Andy Wahloo

Andy Wahloo is a cock­tail bar  fash­ioned after a non-exis­tent man whose biog­ra­phy was inspired by Andy Warhol. The tales of the infa­mous Andy Wahloo con­tin­ue to spin and take on a life of their own. Their sig­na­ture cock­tail menu fea­tures anec­dotes of Andy’s life and are equal­ly enter­tain­ing and delicious.

ADDRESS: 69 Rue des Grav­il­liers (3rd arr.)

MÉTRO: Éti­enne Mar­cel (line 4)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Haut Marais

DRINKS: €€€

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: +33 1 42 71 20 38

DEETS: open Tues­day-Sat­ur­day 6:30p-2a, valet park­ing, cock­tail bar, dancing

INSTAGRAM: @andy_wahloo

Gossima Ping Pong Bar

This is the place for ping-pong and pints. Estab­lished by for­mer world ping-pong cham­pi­ons, Gos­si­ma Ping Pong Bar has equipped the large space with table-ten­nis tables. So if you’re feel­ing like a round of beer pong or a friend­ly game of ping-pong, this is your spot.

ADDRESS: 4 Rue Vic­tor Gelez (11th arr.)

MÉTRO: Rue Saint-Maur (line 3)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Oberkampf/­Folie-Méri­court

PRICE: €

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: +33 1 48 07 43 35

DEETS: ping-pong, open dai­ly, bar

INSTAGRAM: @gossimapingpongbar

La Bellevilloise

There’s a lit­tle bit of every­thing at La Bellevil­loise, from Le Club for danc­ing to La Halle for café-con­certs and jazz brunch­es. They have a ter­race for out­door drink­ing and mul­ti­ple indoor spaces for con­certs, salons, and meet­ings. It’s tru­ly a mul­ti-dimen­sion­al space.

ADDRESS: 19–21 Rue Boy­er (20th arr.)

MÉTRO: Ménil­montant (line 2)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Belleville

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: +33 1 46 36 07 07

DEETS: jazz brunch, café-restau­rant, ter­race, club, con­certs, cock­tail bar, urban garden

INSTAGRAM: @labellevilloise

L’Épicier

Dis­guised as a small gro­cery store, this speakeasy has a fun Mid­dle East­ern aes­thet­ic serv­ing drinks in col­or­ful ceram­ic cups and offer­ing small plates of tra­di­tion­al Mid­dle East­ern foods. Find­ing this hid­den door can be tricky, but those famil­iar with tra­di­tion­al Maghreb cui­sine ingre­di­ents will have an eas­i­er time (hint, hint).

ADDRESS: 24 Rue Notre Dame de Nazareth (3rd arr.)

MÉTRO: Tem­ple (line 3)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Haut Marais

DRINKS:€€

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: N/A

DEETS: cock­tail bar, speakeasy

INSTAGRAM: @lepicier_paris

Péniche Antipode

In 1942 the Antipode barge was erect­ed in Bel­gium and it trans­port­ed goods for near­ly 60 years. Today, it is a float­ing live music venue boast­ing con­certs, cabarets, and even films. You can take lunch and din­ner made from fair-trade prod­ucts at Café Antipode or drink out on the terrace.

ADDRESS: Face au, 55 Quai de la Seine (19th arr.)

MÉTRO: Riquet (line 7)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Canal de l’Ourcq / La Villette

DRINKS: €

HOW TO BOOK: call

NUMBER: +33 1 42 03 39 07

DEETS: per­form­ing arts the­ater, ter­race bar, lunch and din­ner, live music, barge, on the water

INSTAGRAM: @peniche_antipode

Rosa Bonheur Buttes Chaumont

This park tav­ern is a place to meet new peo­ple, dance to good music, and gob­ble down home­made tapas and wood-fired piz­zas. They alter­nate between live DJs, themed evenings, Sevil­lanas, and tav­ern balls, but it’s always a place of good ser­vice and drinks.

ADDRESS: 2 Avenue de la Cas­cade (19th arr.)

MÉTRO: Botzaris (7B) or Jour­dain (line 11)

NEIGHBORHOOD:Buttes Chau­mont

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: no reser­va­tions

NUMBER: +33 1 42 00 00 45

DEETS: gar­den, out­door, pub, tav­ern, events

INSTAGRAM: @rosabonheurofficiel

Delaville Café

Once a place known for one of the capital’s “great­est plea­sure hous­es,” La Delav­ille still retains the soul and atmos­phere of that time. The café blends its his­to­ry and mod­ern, artis­tic fea­tures for a new gen­er­a­tion of Paris. The bar and kitchen menu both focus on sea­son­al, organ­ic prod­ucts for great taste and pleasure.

ADDRESS: 34–36, Boule­vard Bonne Nou­velle (10th arr.)

MÉTRO: Bonne Nou­velle (lines 8, 9) or Stras­bourg Saint-Denis (lines 4, 8, 9)

NEIGHBORHOOD: St. Denis / St. Mar­tin / Pois­son­nière / Paradis

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 1 48 24 48 09

DEETS: cabaret, DJ sets, exhi­bi­tions, Sun­day and hol­i­day brunch, lunch and din­ner, open dai­ly, hap­py hour

INSTAGRAM: @delavilleparis

Manko Bar

Manko Bar is an exten­sion of their Peru­vian restau­rant, and fun fact, ele­gant dress is required! The bar invites you to immerse your­self in Inca cul­ture with cock­tails born from crazy ideas and history.

ADDRESS: 15 avenue Mon­taigne (8th arr.)

MÉTRO: Alma-Marceau (line 9)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Arc de Tri­om­phe / Champs Elysées / Concorde

PRICE €€€

HOW TO BOOK: call

NUMBER: +33 1 82 28 00 15

DEETS: Peru­vian restau­rant, cock­tail bar, dress code: ele­gant, not open Sun­day, Mon­day-Fri­day lunch and din­ner, Sat­ur­day from 7pm

Café Oz Rooftop

Locat­ed on the rooftop of the Cité de la Mode et du Design, Café Oz is a bar right along the riv­er with bright col­ors, abo­rig­i­nal fres­co, and an out­door DJ. This bar is trendy with Aus­tralian beers, house cock­tails, and clas­sic shoot­ers (Jäger­bombs any­one?). As for the cui­sine, they serve up a vari­ety of piz­zas, wraps, burg­ers, and boards for shar­ing and snacking.

ADDRESS: 34 Quai d’Auster­litz (13th arr.)

MÉTRO: Paris Auster­litz (lines 5, 10)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Auster­litz / Bib­lio­thèque François Mitterand

PRICE: €€€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 1 73 71 29 09

DEETS: by the water, rooftop bar, hap­py hour, pitch­er drinks, Aussie bar

INSTAGRAM: @cafeozrooftop

Fluctuart

Fluc­tu­art prides itself on being the world’s first float­ing urban art cen­ter, as well as one of those places that want to make art acces­si­ble to every­one. Walls (lit­er­al and fig­u­ra­tive) do not belong here: it’s the pas­sion for art that mat­ters. The per­ma­nent exhib­it is ded­i­cat­ed to urban art in var­i­ous shapes and tech­niques, and its cul­tur­al cal­en­dar is almost burst­ing with work­shops, con­fer­ences, debates and screen­ings. Artists vary as well, from pio­neers to con­tem­po­rary artists, or even stu­dents. Not into urban art? With its two cre­ative spaces, a book­store, a restau­rant, two bars and a per­fect loca­tion near the Invalides, Fluc­tu­art is a per­fect spot for every­one. Stop in for a drink on the rooftop and take advan­tage of the amaz­ing views of the Eif­fel Tow­er — and let the art speak for itself.

ADDRESS: 2 port du Gros Cail­lou, Berges de Seine (7th arr.)

MÉTRO: Invalides (lines 8 and 13) or Franklin D. Roo­sevelt (lines 1 and 9)

NEIGHBORHOOD: Berge de Seine

PRICE: €€

HOW TO BOOK: online

NUMBER: +33 7 67 02 44 37

DEETS: by the water, rooftop bar, art space, Sat­ur­day brunch, kids friendly

INSTAGRAM: @fluctuart

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