Which Paris bars were named best author bar by Le Fooding?

Three appear in this selection: The Cambridge Public House (2020 guide) on rue de Poitou in the 3rd, Cravan (2019 guide) on rue Jean de la Fontaine in the 16th, and Combat (2018 guide) on rue de Belleville in the 19th.

Where can I drink a cocktail in a historic setting?

Bar Hemingway at the Ritz, on rue Cambon: photographs, manuscripts and Ernest Hemingway's safari trophies cover the walls of this tiny boudoir, reopened after four years of renovation. It is the only bar here cited by Michelin, World's 50 Best and Condé Nast alike.

Which bar suits a quiet first date?

Mesures, on rue de Saintonge, plays a French-Japanese jazz kissa score: vinyl, low light, cocktails with unexpected flavours (yuzu, chestnut, floral). It also holds the highest rating in this selection, and it is trending up.

Are there good cocktail bars outside the Marais and the 11th?

Yes. Kissproof, on rue de Belleville in the 20th, gathers five distinct editorial sources including Eater and Michelin. Combat, also in Belleville, is a Le Fooding award winner. Cravan sits in the 16th, Sister Midnight in Pigalle.

Why are some very popular bars missing from this list?

Because they rest on a single editorial source. Addresses such as Moonshiner or Gentlemen 1919 post excellent Google ratings but only one expert recommendation, so they fall short of the convergence bar behind this selection.

The best cocktail bars in Paris

Places in this guide

N°1Cocktail bar
The Cambridge Public House
Best author bar in the 2020 Fooding Guide, ranked among the world's best bars, with four distinct editorial sources: the strongest case in this selection. An English pub in the Marais, unassuming on the surface, with all the technique hidden behind the bar.
« With its English pub style, its warm atmosphere and its expert concoctions, The Cambridge Public House has established itself as a benchmark address in the Marais. »
— Sortir à Paris
17 mentions
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N°2Cocktail bar
Combat
Best author bar in the 2018 Fooding Guide, also cited by Gault&Millau and Condé Nast: four distinct sources for a neighbourhood bar that made sophisticated cocktails work in Belleville, which was far from obvious.
« After conquering Belleville with sophisticated cocktails (a feat in this neighbourhood) and winning the Best Author Bar prize in the 2018 Fooding Guide, Combat has never let its guard down. »
— Le Fooding
17 mentions
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N°3Cocktail bar
Mesures
The highest rating in this selection (4.9) and the only one trending up, for a jazz kissa bar in the Haut Marais where the sound system matters as much as the shaker. Le Fooding and Condé Nast both cover it: the hype is corroborated, not just posted.
« Located in the Haut Marais neighborhood, Mesures plays its jazz kissa score to perfection: a cocktail and music bar with French-Japanese influences. »
— Le Fooding
12 mentionsRating rising
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N°4Cocktail bar
Bar Hemingway
Four expert sources, including Michelin, World's 50 Best and Condé Nast: the Ritz boudoir is the only palace bar here to clear the convergence bar. Reopened after four years of renovation, it kept its photographs, manuscripts and safari trophies.
« After four years of renovation, the Hemingway Bar has finally reopened! Good luck spotting what changed in the Ritz's famous boudoir. »
— Le Fooding
20 mentions
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N°5Cocktail bar
Dirty Lemon
Palestinian chef Ruba Khoury, formerly of Yam'tcha, Septime and Frenchie, opened not a restaurant here but a cocktail bar: the cooking shows up in the glass. A Le Fooding pick, a must_visit label in our signals, a 4.8 average.
« After stints at Yam'tcha, Septime and Frenchie, Palestinian chef Ruba Khoury opened her own den: not a restaurant, but a cocktail bar. »
— Le Fooding
13 mentions
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N°6Cocktail bar
CRAVAN Paris 16e
Best author bar in the 2019 Fooding Guide plus a Feeling badge and Condé Nast coverage: Franck Audoux turned the 16th into a cocktail destination, which was quite a bet. An old zinc counter, Art Nouveau tiles, cocktails with an archivist's precision.
« Steered by Franck Audoux (a former gallerist and partner at Le Chateaubriand), named after the Dadaist poet-boxer, the atmospheric Cravan (old zinc counter, Art Nouveau tiles). »
— Le Fooding
12 mentions
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N°7Cocktail bar
De Vie
Opened in 2025 by Alex Francis and Barney O'Kane, the Little Red Door alumni, with an approach to ice that made headlines as far as the United States. Three expert sources already follow it (Le Fooding, Condé Nast, Time Out), which is fast for an address this young.
« Paris cocktail-making has bright days ahead, especially since Alex Francis and Barney O'Kane opened their own place. »
— Le Fooding
21 mentions
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N°8Cocktail bar
Bluebird
Three expert sources (Michelin, Le Fooding, Time Out) for this counter in the 11th where you do not really order: you describe what you like and the bartender builds it. Reviews converge on that bespoke approach, rare at this level of footfall.
« The bartenders listen to your preferences and create bespoke cocktails, not just from the standard menu. »
— Google
18 mentions
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N°9Cocktail bar
Sister Midnight
Four distinct sources (Michelin, Le Fooding, Condé Nast, Time Out) for a tiny Pigalle bar named after the Iggy Pop and David Bowie track. The Red House duo pours a rock'n'roll counter that critics take very seriously.
« A bar the size of a glovebox, but for studded leather mittens! Joseph Boley and Jen Riley (Red House) blow a rock sirocco through their Sister Midnight. »
— Le Fooding
15 mentions
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N°10Cocktail bar
CopperBay
Three expert sources (Michelin, Condé Nast, Time Out) and seven press articles for this nautical-themed counter in the 10th. Critics praise a menu that keeps inventing rather than repeating its classics, which is rare a decade in.
« the bold menu still blows a wind of freshness, inventiveness and mastery »
— Time Out
17 mentions
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N°11Cocktail bar
Kissproof Belleville
Five distinct editorial sources, the record here: Michelin, Le Fooding, Condé Nast, Eater and Time Out all cover this red neon on rue de Belleville, spun off from the Beirut bar of the same name. A stable 4.8 rating.
« A carbon copy of the Beirut joint of the same name, Kissproof tests its adaptability up on the heights of Belleville, ten years after the original opening. »
— Le Fooding
14 mentions
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