Little Red Door

5 Jul, 2018

Even if there is a bar on every corner, the committed sleuth of covert cocktails feels compelled to seek out a clandestine speakeasy. In Paris, Jan Norman sidesteps a kir royal at a pavement café in search of a Little Red Door.

Duck through a tiny doorway in the heart of the Marais to discover one of the world’s most charming secret bars. The interior feels chic in a plush vintage style and despite its petiteness the seating is comfortably suggestive of a long linger.

Choose one of the desirable nooks and be prepared to be charmed and disarmed. On this evening the list of drinks was housed in a large format picture book complete with a whimsically designed front cover, “Menu of Universal Values”. Our waiter explained the significance. The Little Red door team felt that above all our differences in culture, language, age and much more, there are overarching values that unite us as human beans. These are reflected as cocktails on each page of this gleefully illustrated book. Quirky images and essentially textless; there is a little paper door in the style of an advent calendar on each double page spread. There you find the human value and some clues as to the nature of its related drink. Smartly dressed and friendly mixologists man the bar and are on hand to consult on your considered choice of cocktail. It is a proposition that is playfully sincere but perfectly crafted. The spirit was childlike but the execution was flawlessly curated.

Our choices were easily made. I chose Achievement because bubbles would be involved while my boyfriend looked no further than Tradition as something peaty in the single malt category was to feature strongly.

Find them at 60 Rue du Charlot and sip your way through the commonality of the human condition this summer.

www.lrdparis.com