Supersonic sits at 9 Rue Biscornet in Paris, a short walk from Place de la Bastille, and it runs on a simple promise: live music every night, no cover at the door. The rock bar spreads across two rooms and a basement stage in the 12th arrondissement.
This is the bar for a drinker who came for guitars rather than a quiet table. The draw is the programming, with sortiraparis describing Supersonic as a bar, concert hall and club in one room, and the official site billing three free concerts a night across the week.
Supersonic grew out of the city's free-concert scene and now runs as one of the more reliable rooms in Paris for hearing unsigned and touring guitar bands without buying a ticket. The calendar leans rock, garage and punk, with the occasional pop or electronic night, and the line-up changes nightly, so no two visits look the same. That free-entry model is the whole pitch, and it keeps the bar honest about the music rather than the markup.
The room. The front bar opens onto Rue Biscornet, while the back holds the main stage and the late crowd. A second space, Supersonic Records, adds a record-shop counter and a smaller concert room next door. The look is plain and dark, built for sound rather than show, with the stage close enough that the band and the floor share the same air.
What to order. Supersonic keeps the list short and the prices low, with draught beer and pints around 6 to 7 euros and a rail of spirits behind the bar. The move is a pint and a spot near the stage, since the room is built around the music and not a cocktail programme. Drinks stay cheap by Paris standards, which is part of why the bar fills on a weeknight when a known act plays.
Who it is for. Supersonic suits a music fan after a free show, a group starting a Bastille night, and a visitor who wants a real local crowd rather than a tourist terrace. It is the wrong call for a first date that needs conversation, since the volume climbs the moment the band starts.
Best time to go. Arrive in the early evening for the first set and a seat at the bar, then stay as the rooms fill toward midnight. Weekend nights run late, with DJ sets and rock nights pushing into the early hours, so a weeknight visit is the calmer way to hear a new band.
Supersonic ranks among the loudest of the Paris live music bars, and it fits a Bastille night in our Paris bar guide. For the wider field, browse the best live music bars worldwide pillar.
The neighbourhood. Rue Biscornet runs off the south side of Place de la Bastille, a few steps from the Opera Bastille and the bars of Rue de la Roquette, which puts Supersonic in easy reach of a longer crawl through the 11th and 12th. The Bastille metro sits two minutes away, so the late close is less of a problem than it sounds.
What regulars say. Reviewers on parisbouge and Facebook return to the free entry, the range of bands and the unpretentious crowd. The common caution is the size, since the back room packs in on a popular night and the bar can run two deep when a named act takes the stage.
The bottom line. Supersonic is Bastille's case for the free show, a rock bar where three concerts a night cost nothing to walk into. A drinker who wants new music and a cheap pint will find it well suited. Go early for the first set, take a spot near the stage, and let the night build.
