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.
• Only one classic cocktail has a permanent place on the menu, and it’s worth trying. For the house Negroni, the bar batches a mix of gin, Campari and homemade vermouth in a sous-vide before chilling, which intensifies and blends the flavors.
• While other Paris cocktail bars close their doors at 1 a.m., or 2 a.m. at a push, Fréquence keeps going until 4 a.m., making it a popular haunt for post-shift bartenders.
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In addition to its tight menu of great cocktails, nearby Bambino, another Japanese-inspired vinyl bar, is also known for excellent food. Also close is Sherry Butt, where Fréquence’s Guillame Quenza previously worked. As the name implies, this bar serves up a strong collection of whiskeys and whiskey cocktails.
NOTABLE AND NEARBY
Cocktails and music are natural bar partners, but no one in Paris mixes the two as well as Fréquence. Operated by Matthieu Biron, Guillaume Quenza and Baptiste Radufe, here the vinyl collection is as carefully curated as the backbar, with a DJ every Friday and Saturday who plays a mix of funk, gospel and disco in a stylish, pared-back setting that takes design cues from Japan. Each drink on the menu focuses on a single ingredient, whether it’s purple yam, sorrel or banana, and many of the cocktails spotlight Japanese ingredients like whisky or sake. The bar’s signature drink can be found on the list of highballs: Order the Americano Japonais to try a refreshing mix of Campari, dry vermouth and umeshu, a Japanese plum spirit. Other highball options include a classic Suze and tonic, and, in a nod to Quenza’s Corsican roots, a Cap Corse Blanc served with citrus vinegar and sparkling water.
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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.
NICE TO KNOW
Some drinks are inflected with Japanese ingredients, like the Papier/Stylo, a low-ABV Negroni variation made with umeshu.
Each drink on the menu focuses on a single ingredient, whether it’s purple yam, sorrel or banana.
Each drink on the menu focuses on a single ingredient, whether it’s purple yam, sorrel or banana; the bar itself is open until 4 a.m., making it a popular haunt for post-shift bartenders.
Nicola Leigh Stewart is a freelance writer based in Paris, where she writes about travel, food and drink for the likes of Condé Nast Traveler, The Telegraph, Wallpaper* and Robb Report. She has co-authored Lonely Planet guidebooks on Paris and France and teaches travel writing at the American University of Paris.
Photography courtesy of Bar Nouveau, Candelaria and Fréquence.
Photography of Combat and Cravan by Puxan Photo.