Polly Maggoo

Polly Maggoo is a passable two-floor bar situated between Notre-Dame and Saint-Michel: its façade is encrusted with an Art Nouveau mosaic, its tiny terrace spills out onto the tiny pavement in front, and its happy hour (4–10pm) draws a dependable clientele of Swedish tourists and penniless students.

Arthouse buffs (and there are many in the area) won't miss the reference to William Klein's seminal ’60s film 'Who Are You Polly Maggoo' – an acerbic satire of the fashion world – though they may wonder whether the irony of the TV broadcasting fashion programmes in the corner is intentional. We suspect it isn't: after all, with its cracked ceramic bar and cocktails with names like 'After Sex', Polly Maggoo is apparently making a genuine if misguided stab at trendiness. It's all just a bit corny. That the staff are inattentive and the cocktails taste of Haribo doesn't help.