How-to Find Secret Speakeasies in Paris

Imagine French laundromats where the only thing dirty is the martini. Here’s a guide to finding curated cocktails, an ideal ambiance, and a little thrill.

bonjour!

So Jonathan and I have this fun little obsession with finding a city’s chicest and most secretive speakeasy. Let’s just say, Paris did not disappoint. In fact, the City of Love has quite a lengthy list of speakeasies and we managed to make it to three.

‘No Entry’
It’s funny how we stumbled upon this one… We originally went to Pink Mamma which is a suuuuper cute & suuuuper busy restaurant in the 9th Arrondissement. We tried to get there in time for a walk-in table, but no luck! I asked the hostess if it was possible to just grab a drink at the bar (the aesthetic was just so on point and the pizza I saw on Instagram looked good enough to wait a lifetime for) and she told me to, “go downstairs.” So I did. I found the bathroom. Assuming she misunderstood me I took advantage of the opportunity and used the little lady’s room, because they usually charge you to use the bathroom in France. I went back upstairs and again asked the same hostess if it was possible to grab a drink at the bar and again she said, “go downstairs.” Assuming there was a quite a language barrier, I said, “Yes, I just did and only found the bathroom.” She winked and told me to go past the bathroom. I was 1 part a little uneasy and 2 parts stupid excited, grabbed Jonathan and trotted back downstairs. This time I noticed past the bathroom there was a meat locker on one side and a door that said ‘No Entry’ at the end of the hall. & Voilà! No Entry is the name of one of the coolest places I’ve ever been. The cocktails were delivered either smoking, on fire, or in vintage teapots. I still wish I asked the DJ for his playlist, because it was everything the word “cool” was meant to embody. If you only plan on going to one speakeasy in Paris, make sure this is the one. (*12/10 recommend)
‘Lavomatic’
A lovely French couple at No Entry told us about this speakeasy that was worth the hunt. It is literally behind a washing machine. When you walk up Rue René Boulanger you’ll see the neon sign that says Lavomatic and most likely you’ll see a decent crowd lined up outside. We put two and two together and decided there was a slim chance that the extremely stylish crowd was causally waiting to wash their clothes at 11pm and hopped in line. The bouncer uses a one in, one out policy and it’s worth the wait. Once you’re inside, you go through the washing machine door, up the stairs, and into what almost looks like a chic treehouse. There’s dim lighting, chill music, and swings hanging from the ceiling. The cocktails were amazing and oddly somewhat tropical. Note: There is a strange little bowl of popcorn tasting bean bar snacks placed on the table - not sure what those were, but they are not part of this recommendation lol. (*12/10 recommend)
‘Kachette’
Now this speakeasy used to be called Perdition, but apparently there was an owner/name change and Perdition is no more! So we had a little trouble finding it, but what we discovered was thankfully the literal cave underground that was once Perdition is unchanged. Kachette is the new name of the restaurant/bar and downstairs is the ‘speakeasy.’ I’m not sure if this still counts as a speakeasy with the ownership changes and what not, but it certainly still has the vibe of one. There are chaise couches, a stone bar carved out of the wall, and you literally feel like you’re sneaking a vodka tonic right in the middle of the prohibition. Except that vodka tonic is très chic. (*12/10 recommend)