L'Orange Mécanique

Time Out says

Tue Jun 26 2012

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

Along the Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud in Paris, where the cheap and cheerful bars are clustered, no two the same, we advise the thirsty to patronise l’Orange Mécanique, a venue dedicated to 60s/70s rock, and to quality cinema. On film nights, we go there mostly for the brilliant psychedelic ambience, the good prices on beer and cocktails, and the music selected by DJs specialising in pop, soul, funk, or garage rock. Taking its name from Kubrick’s The Clockwork Orange, the bar once offered an all-night happy hour to those who came disguised as ‘droogies’, the film’s disturbing characters, who sport white outfits, bowler hats and doc martens. Today, happy hour is scrupulously enforce between 6pm and 8pm, but the prices remain unbeatable: a glass of red or white or Pastis is at €1.5, or a pint for €2.5. The menu of classic cocktails is also a site of creativity. To let it all hang out, try a Sex Toy (run, gin, raspberry, grapefruit) or a GHB. Nowadays the venue doesn’t need to do any publicity thanks to its regulars, and absinthe fans. Come early.

By Emmanuel Chirache/EH