Post #515675 by leisure master on Sun, Mar 7, 2010 10:09 AM

hey virani - when Nicole and I were in Paris last year we did not get to go to ECC but really wanted to. Glad to hear it is as good as we hoped. There definitely are some good cocktails in Paris, but man that is an expensive city to drink spirits. Plenty of cheap wine and beer, but wow the cocktails will dent your wallet.

Have you been to Mama Shelter or Curio Parlor?

Last year Nicole and I had some great cocktails at both those places - at Mama Shelter ask for Josef Akhavan the head barman and tell him we said hello. At Curio Parlor it's a bit of a younger crowd, but the drinks were really good and I remember getting an original tiki-style creation there served in a HUGE wooden mug.

Of course we hit the Hemingway Bar for one drink (40 euros!), but I guess it's what you do as a tourist.

I do like Harry's, even if the drinks are somewhat inconsistent. I like that you can feel the history there.

Being a huge rum nerd (like I'm alone here), I did enjoy la rhumerie. Good selection of rhums and decent cocktails.

EDIT - Nicole reminded me of a couple of other bars we hit:

The George V bar at the Ritz - less expensive than the Hemingway, but a similar experience. They had a couple of interesting cocktails and it was fun to look at their top shelf rum list ('52 Clement for $$$$$).

The other place we stumbled on was the bar at the back of Laduree (the macaroon place). They had some pretty good original cocktails, but the real reason to go is to see the bar - The whole room looks like you're underwater. Total Captain Nemo stuff.

That reminds me, we also wanted to hit the Jules Verne place at the base of Eiffel Tower but could not work it in. Maybe next time...

I'm not an alcoholic, I'm an enthusiast.

[ Edited by: leisure master 2010-03-07 12:17 ]