TDC à PARIS!
HGIHLIGHTS
Say what you want about the friendliness of the French (I will always disagree with this - their bluntness is my medicine) but the level of hospitality we experienced in Paris was next level. Special mention to our new friend Niko at the Cambridge Public House.
All of the staff were understanding of our terrible language skills, and spent time with us explaining the menu and helping us find our favourites.
The jazz band at Lulu White Drinking Club
Happy hour including a bowl of pickles and saucisson at our local, Au Pietit Bar
That bottle of Gosset (be still my heart)
Pasta straws at Dirty Dick
Champagne and strawberry tarts in our Airbnb on the last night
The Cambridge. Period.
Travel used to be a big part of our life at TDC, but then the pandemic hit and it completely changed the dynamic of our jobs. Going from regular trips to London, up north, or occasionally overseas suddenly became long days in our homes in front of our laptops. This of course wasn’t unique to TDC, it was the reality for all of us around the globe.
So, when the opportunity came up for three of us (Bea, Claire, Caitlin) to embark on a Paris field trip after 18 months bungeeing in and out of lockdown, it is safe to say, we were pretty delighted.
The objectives of our trip were threefold: see our long-term client, Celtic Whisky Distillerie, on their home soil; conduct some very important, utterly essential research in the Champagne region; reacquaint ourselves with the movers and shakers, old and new, of Paris’ incredible bar scene.
COVID
Caitlin: Along with the excitement came a slight apprehension in the covid climate - there are stories on social media every day of people that headed overseas, caught covid, and end up stuck in a quarantine hotel in foreign land, eating grey sandwiches for 2 weeks… and this was something we had to accept could happen.
However, the French covid system couldn’t have made us feel more at ease. Everyone was wearing masks on public transport and in museums, and the vaccine passport app was used at every place we visited (even the Quik Burger!) It was interesting to see how the much debated vaccine passport app in the UK was being seamlessly used in another land. Because of the tight rules, its meant that hospitality has appeared to return to its former self - bars were full, people were having fun, and Paris had the buzz that made me fall in love with it the first time I went.
Bea: It was interesting to see an effective system in use. Once you have set up the app everything else is a breeze. The onus is on the venue and not the guests to scan passes. The tech for this is simply an app that can be added to any phone so can be run by either the doormen or the floor teams. All guests have to do is make sure their vaccinations and covid tests are up to date in their app. The app also gives you regularly updated information about covid rates across the country.
On the metro every single person wore a mask. No exceptions. I’ve been told this is because they had a very strict system with large fines but this didn’t seem obvious whilst walking around. For locals covid tests are free, quick and easy to get, encouraging regular PCR tests. Centres are on every main street and it only takes 15 minutes to get results directly to your phone through text and email. The system has a similar setup to what we have in the UK, but by making it easy to use you almost forget that it’s there.
One of many delicious drinks at The Cambridge Public House
THE BAR SCENE
The Paris cocktail scene setup seems to be quite similar to Edinburgh. A large drinking culture, with a more limited but fantastic cocktail culture. A few key venues that are internationally renowned and featured in the Top 50. Also similar to Edinburgh, these core venues seem to be owned by a few individuals.
THE MENUS
Verjus featured heavily on cocktail menus. We found a lot of the cocktails seemed to lean towards quite sour or acidic styles. Longer fresher styles seemed to be more dominant with a limited amount of stirred down and brown options.
The dominant classic cocktails available differer to the UK, a lot of the less cocktail-led venues being about 10 years behind us. Spritzes, mojitos and fresh style cocktails dominate with some negronis and occasional brambles. Notably Espresso and Pornstar Martinis are largely absent.
A lot of the venues seemed be using a large variety of smaller liqueur brands and aperitifs. We’re not sure if this is the size of the brand or just their availability in the rest of Europe. With longer style cocktails, we also saw a larger focus on local products. The most extreme of these was a Little Red Door who have completely restructured their business to work with seasonal and sustainable local produce, creating home made syrups and liqueurs within peak harvesting seasons.
We were surprised at how prevalent rum was in cocktail bars. Every bar we went to had a strong rum offering and more often than not this was Rhum Agricole. With it being a French style, we thought it may be a bit more common, but it seemed to be the dominant offering. This was very different to how rum is presented in the UK where your average venue will mostly commonly have a Cuban rum followed by more Jamaican styles.
After Agricole, Cuban rum also featured heavily on menus. We didn’t see the more familiar brands until we went to a rum specialist venue, Dirty Dick, where we were really surprised by the offering. Having seen it as an internationally renowned rum bar, we expected more than a traditional tiki bar with a menu filled with tiki classics and few originals…
Inside Dirty Dick Tiki Bar
The taco menu at Candelaria
Excellent happy hour freebies at Au Petit Bar
THE VENUES
In terms of staff movement, the venues seem to be very well connected. Staff seem to move between the well-known venues, especially within their own groups. International recruitment is also common, bringing new talent into the city rather than just training internally. Language doesn’t seem to be a barrier for hiring, with a larger amount of the bars having teams of English speakers.
Being the strategic planners we are, our weekend was meticulously mapped out to incorporate a drink (or three) at some of the French capital’s finest watering holes:
Candelaria is the epitome of unassuming, effortless cool. From the street the tiny taqueria looks like a weirdly well-guarded canteen, with its bright lights and black-clad bouncers. Inside you’ll not only find some of the tastiest tacos in town and their infamously punchy frozen Margaritas – you’ll also discover a busy hidden bar behind a small door at the back. As true a speakeasy as it’s possible to be in this day and age (no faux-Deco or secret knocks to be seen), it’s all about getting up close and personal with some great cocktails, and well as a lot of the locals.
Ever walked into a dream? That’s what it’s like at Lulu White Drinking Club. A tiny, time capsule of a cocktail bar. Big mirrored fan on the ceiling, stools lined up below. Feather boas and super-cool staff. The menu is distinctly classic, and all of it delicious. But what really makes this place special is the live jazz band playing a soundtrack so sexy, only the French could pull it off.
Dirty Dick does cheeky Tiki just right. Undeniably tropical, it’s the sort of place that feels warm and inviting even when you’re the only ones there (which is rare). The menu isn’t pushing any boundaries, but we suspect it gets jumping later on at night, and the easy-drinking offering definitely suits that vibe.
Just south of the Seine, Prescription seemed to be where all the Paris fashion week crowd were congregating. It’s grown up, and the menu has a satisfying Scotch slant.
The phrase ‘je ne said quoi’ could’ve been invented for The Cambridge Public House. It’s as close to perfect as it’s possible to be, but it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why. Maybe it’s the music, the atmosphere, the menu. It’s definitely more than a little bit down to the staff (shoutout to our new Paris friend @niko_jito!). We could’ve sat there all weekend. If we didn’t have a plane to catch, we’d probably still be there now.