Editorial
Paris speakeasies are some of Europe's most precise, and the bars below show why.
Little Red Door on rue Charlot has made the World's 50 Best list nine times and cracked the top 20 in 2023. Behind the namesake door sits a small Marais room with shipped-in London armchairs and menus built as printed art books around a single concept. Open daily from 6pm. Best early on a weeknight before the queue forms, when you can actually land one of those chairs.
Candelaria hides its cocktail bar behind an unmarked door at the back of a Marais taqueria on rue de Saintonge, open since 2011. Order tacos out front, then slip through for World's 50 Best-grade drinks in a cramped, dark room. Bar open daily from 6pm. Best on the early side, because once the word-of-mouth crowd arrives the back room is standing only and the door slows right down.
The Experimental Cocktail Club opened on rue Saint-Sauveur in 2007 and effectively started the modern Paris cocktail scene. The Montorgueil room still pours among the city's best, with a menu refreshed each season. Open daily from 7pm, until 4am on weekends. Best on a weeknight before the line builds, when the bartenders have room to make something properly.
Prescription Cocktail Club on rue Mazarine is the Experimental group's Left Bank room, reworked into a theatrical, draped space by Dorothee Meilichzon. Cocktails come from Maxime Potfer, the speakeasy styling played straight. Open daily from 7pm, later on weekends. Best midweek before the Saint-Germain crowd fills the upstairs and the door gets selective. Take a seat near the bar.
Andy Wahloo has hidden in a Marais courtyard off rue des Gravilliers since 2001, run by the Mazouz brothers. A 1950s lounge of cement tiles and velvet, with a terrace and garden for warm nights. Cocktails run about 15 euros under bartender Kaled Derouiche. Open Tuesday to Saturday from 6pm. Best in summer in the courtyard before the after-dinner crowd arrives and the music climbs.
Le Mary Celeste sits on a Marais corner on rue Commines, an airy Candelaria-team room better known for rotating oysters than secrecy, so it stretches the speakeasy label. Craft cocktails and natural wine alongside the seafood. Open daily from 6pm. Best at the start of the night with a dozen oysters and a sharp aperitif, grabbing a window seat before the corner fills up.
Sherry Butt works rue Beautreillis in the Marais, a dim 2012-vintage room with a serious whisky back bar behind the cocktails. Tapas to line the stomach, walk-ins welcome, open from 6pm. Time Out and Difford's both rate it. Best late, when the music climbs and the staff start reaching for the cask-strength bottles for whoever is paying attention at the bar.
CopperBay on rue Bouchardon breaks the speakeasy mold, bright and roomy with big front windows since 2014, which suits a long sit better than the gloom. Pastis, classics and seafood-leaning originals. Open Tuesday to Saturday from 6pm. World's 50 Best lists it. Best early evening when you want a real seat and a barman with the time to talk you through the list.
L'Entree des Artistes reopened in a former hostess bar on rue Victor Masse in Pigalle in early 2026, dark and moody downstairs, bright upstairs under tall windows. Homemade syrups drive the cocktails, with small plates to share. Restaurant Guru logs 400-plus reviews. Best Tuesday to Thursday from 7pm before the weekend turns it loud and the door slows. Worth the trek north.
The bars above are where Paris hides its best cocktails, behind phone booths, fridges, bookcases and unmarked doors. The point is the secret. The reward is the cocktail on the other side.
Tom Callahan covers pubs and bars across the UK and Ireland for barsforkings, with a value-conscious eye and little patience for anything overpriced or over-styled.
Little Red Door on rue Charlot has made the World's 50 Best Bars list nine times and reached the top 20 in 2023. Its menus arrive as printed art books built around a single concept.
Walk into the taqueria on rue de Saintonge, then go through the unmarked door at the back. The cocktail room opens daily from 6pm and fills fast, so arrive early.
The Experimental Cocktail Club on rue Saint-Sauveur opened in 2007 and effectively launched modern Paris cocktail culture. It still pours among the city's best, with a menu refreshed each season.