Signature drinks on the menu, like the Tunnel, might date back a century, but Franck Audoux’s fresh takes keep the cocktails feeling thoroughly modern.

• The bar opens on weekends at 1 p.m., offering a special day-drinking menu with “nouveau” twists on classics like Irish Coffee and Bloody Marys, plus easy-drinking kir and boozy hot chocolate for those who are fully embracing vacation mode. • Try both upstairs and downstairs to experience two interpretations of the Art Nouveau movement. Upstairs, the Gustave is an Old-Fashioned-style drink made with off-the-shelf ingredients (olive vodka, chamomile eau de vie and raicilla). Downstairs, the Gustave goes bespoke: The team uses lab technology to create a chamomile cordial and a tequila-based distillate of olive oil, transforming the drink into a high-concept tequila-soda.

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The aforementioned Experimental Cocktail Club is still going strong. Try the signature Old Cuban (rum, ginger cordial, lime, mint, Champagne) and the Experience 1 (vodka, elderberry cordial, lemongrass and basil) for a taste of the ECC signatures. Also nearby is Danico, Nico de Soto’s speakeasy-style bar situated in the very French setting of Jean Paul Gaultier’s former flagship store.

NOTABLE AND NEARBY

Having opened the Bauhaus-inspired A Bar with Shapes for A Name in London, Remy Savage continued his art movement–themed bars with the launch of Bar Nouveau in 2023. In what was originally an Irish pub known as The Quiet Man, Savage gave the space an Art Nouveau makeover: Think curved lines and painted letters in the bespoke wooden façade and intricate wood paneling set around the simple, and tiny, marble-topped bar. In keeping with the Art Nouveau concept, drinks are rooted in historical French classics, but have been given a “nouveau” twist. Case in point: Bar Nouveau’s riff on a Fine à l’Eau. Traditionally a mix of just Cognac and water, the simple drink is updated here with verjus to showcase more of the terroir of local grapes. And while it’s not obvious from the bar’s Instagram, where the Art Nouveau décor gets all the attention, there’s a second bar hidden downstairs serving up a more modern, tech-y interpretation of the upstairs menu. Head there for homemade cordials and distillations concocted in the Bar Nouveau lab.

Bar Nouveau

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Around the corner on Grand Street, Fresh Kills (from Richie Boccato) has been quietly serving some of the best cocktails in Brooklyn for nearly a decade.

NOTABLE AND NEARBY

• When outdoor seating is available, the wisteria-draped garden (book ahead on Resy) might fool you into thinking you’re somewhere between Louisiana and Provence. • While Maison excels at the A-list classics, look closely and you’ll find lovingly executed takes on B-side hits, like the Yellow Parrot and the Obituary, that make the case for revival.

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The bar’s Gustave cocktail is inspired by Klimt’s Art Nouveau painting The Kiss.

Bespoke wooden details surround the tiny marble-topped bar.

From left: Bar Nouveau owner Remy Savage; the bar's Fine à l’Eau, a force-carbonated cocktail made with Cognac and verjus; and bespoke wooden details around the marble-topped bar.

The city’s best bars, bistros and caves—and what to know when you go.

Where to Drink Natural Wine in Paris

The city’s best bars, bistros and caves—and what to know when you go.