Castel
Where: Paris, France · 15 Rue Princesse, 75006 Paris, France
Category: bar · Price: $$$$ · Rating: 4.2/5 (365 reviews)
About Castel
The staircase down smells like old perfume, spilled champagne, and decades of bad decisions made in good clothes. Dim red lighting swallows you whole as you descend into a basement where Paris's old-money set has been dancing, flirting, and pretending not to care since the 1960s. The drinks are stiff, overpriced, and served with the kind of indifference that somehow feels earned. Upstairs there's a restaurant — fine, passable, beside the point. Nobody comes here to eat. They come to be seen not trying to be seen, which is its own exhausting performance, and the door policy enforces that theater with ruthless efficiency. The crowd skews toward inherited apartments in the 7th and last names that mean something in certain circles, though the occasional fashion person or musician slips through. Know a member, dress like you belong, and don't show up before midnight — the downstairs floor doesn't really wake up until 1 AM.
Tags: group, reservable, splurge, late-night
Website: https://castel.paris/
Map: Open in Google Maps
Back to FavSpot — a hand-curated atlas of restaurants, bars and hotels by Rudy Abitbol.