Quick Take: Yacht Club is a Mediterranean neobistro that is good for groups serving summer-worthy spritzers and small plates in SoPi.
The team behind Les Niçois set their sites on SoPi with their latest project, the Yacht Club, a seafood focused mediterranean inspired neo-bistro for food and drinks.
Cocktails range from about 8 to 18 Euros and fall into a few different sections. You can choose from about 7 different classics and creations that seem like an easy sell: Caipirinha, mojito, frozen margarita or Sex on the Beach (I normally might smirk a bit over that last one, but given it’s a bit of a beach themed bar and restaurant, I’m giving it a pass).
They’ve got the – now ubiquitous – Spritz, but in XXL. I appreciated the little quartet of choices that feel particularly local, fun and appropriate for these kinds of seafood small plates: Suze Tonic, Lilllet Tonic, Ti Punch and Vieux Port. Another point to appreciate with these four is most are priced at 8 Euros.
But the best of the bunch in terms of their cocktails, was the signature G&T’s served in big balloon glasses and with a selection of different gins, including Pigalle based gin Lord of Barbes(nice nod to the area). They were big, bubbly, refreshing and would be the perfect beverage for a hot, hot summer day (like the ones we’re having right about now.)
They also offer a few other mediterranean style aperitif options like ricard and pastis plus a couple of L.N. Mattei Cap Corse, which is a Corsican vermouth and makes for an interesting and more unusual addition to the drinks menu.
After spending full night there with friends, I can say most of the small plates were both reasonably priced and good. Some of our favorites were crispy octopus, jamon croquettes and the eggplant. Sadly, the razor clams were sandy and had to be sent back.
Our visit was a few months back and they may have still been finding their footing as there were a couple hiccups (the razor clams and a really subpar caipirinha, which they offered to fix by by adding more water – unfortunately the problem was already that there was too much water in it) But, I’ll assume those were teething issues because in general there are a lot of redeeming qualities here.
Overall, we really enjoyed our food and drinks and the service was nice. The space is lovely, lively and large (it was packed by the time we left). It was perfect for our group of four of five girls, and would also work really well for larger groups (not always easy to find in Paris.) And given the piscine style G&T’s were the biggest hit, now might be just the right time to go!
Le Yacht Club
8 Rue Saint-Lazare
75009 Paris
