Bar 228 at Le Meurice

The room has not changed meaningfully in twenty years and that is the point. The leather banquettes are deep, the lighting is almost amber, and the staff have, in many cases, been there since the eighties. The classics list reads like a textbook: Martini, Sidecar, Daiquiri, Vesper, Bloody Mary. Each is built to the room's house formula and each one rewards an unhurried hour.

The signature 228 Martini — Plymouth gin, a half-bar-spoon of Lillet Blanc, orange bitters, a long lemon twist — is the version to order if you want to understand why Parisian hotel bars used to be the centre of the international bar map. It is colder, drier, and shorter than the British model. The Bloody Mary is famously good; the Sidecar (cognac, not brandy) is the second-best in the city.

Bar 228 attracts a deeply mixed crowd: hotel guests, tourists who have done their homework, and Parisian regulars who have been ordering the same drink for thirty years. The dress code is enforced lightly. The cocktail prices are high but never absurd for what you receive. Walk-ins are welcome; reservations are accepted for guests who want a banquette.