Cocktails bars in Paris are rare. Good cocktail bars are an exception in a city known for cafés and wine drinkers. Parisians are not very unconventional either, to say the least, when it comes to drinking habits. Proud as they are of their wine, they consider that the sheer simplicity, of only choosing wine, is masking the complexity of the variety of wines to chose from. For, Parisians need to know where the product is coming from before they delectably throw it down their throat. Choosing a wine being the national sport, choosing a cocktail is pure exploration (and full of risks). God knows Parisians are not explorers. So what is left for them is simply to copy those of their peers who dared exploring. That explains why the cocktail du jour is the Mojito. So yes, Parisians do drink cocktails but that would be just Mojitos. There is a real Mojito mania in town: every café and restaurant are now introducing their own recipe. I predict this trend is here for at least another quarter of a century, undoubtedly. Not really a revolution per se but definitely a great cultural leap forward: They drink cocktails!
That is probably the reason why Paris is now seeing the emergeance of a few good cocktail bars in town. Make no mistake, we're talking about less than there can be fingers in one hand. And there are even fewer good cocktail guys. I am talking about real, passionate fantastic technicians and creators. They're all very young and prolific for they belong to a new breed of bartenders. Even fewer of them are entrepreneurs who have decided to risk opening a cocktail bar in a city where new food and beverage concepts are abhorred. Such is the case of the people behind the PRESCRIPTION cocktail bar located in rue Mazarine a few steps away from the iconic ALCAZAR cabaret, in the posh and arty Saint-Germain area.
Like any good Parisian bar, the place is tiny and there is no sign in the street. The facade is pitch black and the only design element is a brown and beige striped marquee above the door. The theme of the design is a kind of Sherlock Holmes library meets cabinet of curiosity, with old-fashioned wallpapers, dark brown velvet sofas and there is even a bordeaux brick stone wall (the ultimate New York bar signature) at the lounge on the ground floor. Every thing there is old-fashioned (risk-free so to speak in innovation allergic Paris). The drinklist is printed in a single sheet of beige paper and the fonts used are a mix of edwardian scripture and engraver's lettering. There is also a nice finger food selection printed on a separate menu. Cool detail: the champagne bucket is an oversized stainless steel derby hat. Although the cocktail list has all the classics, I wish there were more creamy selections to balance the all sweet and sour direction.
Now the ambiance. The best time to catch the real buzz of the bar is to go on the weekend obviously. There is a bouncer at the door which means you could be told "private party" if you are not well-groom and dressed chic. The ealry evening crowd is made of a preppy anglo-saxon crowd – expect the best looking american women in Paris to sip a drink there, most certainly hailing from NYC (is it the brick wall?). Although I suspect the decor partially explains their presence, but on top of great cocktails there are also a very good selection of young Parisians to look at. As the clock goes past midnight, the bar is filled with more locals since the NYC girls left to catch the last metro. Such crowd in a small place is also not very convenient to get a drink swiflty. So you have to order at the bar, and wait which is a great way to break the ice with your neighbour. The atmosphere is very casual and intimate and a DJ on the first floor is laying down a good party vibe. All the waitresses are styled similarly in a chic creamy rock glam attitude and the garcons wear a white shirt with black tie and black vest. Although I wished the debit was faster (complex cocktails are not as profitable to make as a standard drink since they are very labor intensive) those who are impatient can chose directly from the vast worldwide selections of single malts and whiskeys on the shelves.
Do not expect to meet the owners on the weekend they are probably busy at their other cocktail joint, THE EXPERIMENTAL. But that's the subject of another blog. The bar closes at 2 am.
