Le Zéro Zéro

This is one of Time Out's 100 best bars in Paris. Click here to see the full list.

The human body really packs down: if you don’t believe us, just check out Zéro Zéro of a weekend. It’s a battle even to open the door to the bar, which squeezes an immoderate number of people into a few square metres. The only solution is to dance along with everybody else, while spilling as little as possible of one’s drink. But if things do go bottoms up and you soak a few shirts, there’s no reason to fear: everyone quickly lets go in this highly charged and celebratory atmosphere.

The reason for all this roaring success? The music, to start with – every day, the vinyl is expertly managed by house, minimal and hip-hop/funk DJs. The style, too: a tapestry of 70s orange flowers, disappearing behind layers of graffiti that stretch from floor to ceiling. Such an easy-going attitude to space is a novelty in in Paris. But most of all it’s the staff that make it great: the enthusiastic young owners are there every evening keeping things alive. The cocktails too: strawberry Daiquiris and other flavourful creations at great prices (€6.5-€7.5). But the secret weapon of the venue is the Zéro Zéro, a drink with a rum-ginger base with a jealously guarded recipe, whose price has risen from €2.80 to €3 in 15 years.