PanPan

The Rue Drouot is otherwise fairly staid, but bustling cocktail bar PanPan attracts a busy crowd of young workers after a fix of Italian aperitivi. In the bar-packed 9th arrondissement, this proves a winning idea: customers order a drink, pay €1 extra and get access to a luxurious eat-all-you-like buffet featuring things like bread and tapenade, quiche, Serrano ham and fried smelt fish – in other words, enough to replace to dinner. The atmosphere is jolly and welcoming, the stylish main room done out with trendy woodwork, mirrors and glass shelves. Monday is cocktail day, Tuesday ‘convivial canteen’ day and on Fridays and Saturdays, it’s ‘fiesta’ time.

Drinks-wise, there’s a fantastic selection of cocktails to choose from, like the €10 ‘Azteca Mula’ (mezcal, agave syrup, chilli, squeezed lemon, ginger beer) or the more refined ‘Chaji Bellini’ (Shōchū, peach liqueur, vanilla tea, champagne). If you’re more of a beer fan, there’s also a great house draught and a wide variety of bottles.

TRANSLATION: HUW OLIVER