Both Le Lup and the Coolin’ may have good cocktails, but I may never know.
We stopped by Le Lup for our second unsuccessful attempt to have cocktails at this bar, which was recommended to Matt by someone in the Curio Parlor. Our first attempt, back in July, fell flat when we arrived to find a sign on the door saying “exceptional closing” this Wednesday. On our second try last Wednesday, we found that since their summer break, they have changed their opening days to Thurs, Friday and Saturday only. The doorman at a nearby bar who told us this (as there was no signage on the nearly unmarked door indicating the change in hours) said it was a good place to go for drinks. So, one of these days, I’ll get myself out there on a non-Wednesday to try the drinks and report back. But, notwithstanding its changing and somewhat unclear hours, it is well-placed. It’s close to Rue du Dragon with some nice shopping and interesting boutiques and right around the corner from Coco & Co restaurant, which I haven’t tried, but looks appealing and has had a good write up in Elle.
At a loss for where to go, we headed for the Coolin. The Coolin is one of Paris’ several Irish pubs and I wasn’t particularly inspired by cocktails there as we squeezed into the only empty table on the packed terrace. However, their menu offers a long page of various cocktails at around 9.50 Euros, so I was prepared to go for my usual martini. Upon ordering we were informed “no cocktails tonight!” There was a game going on, so service was abominably slow, choice was limited and the place was packed. We stayed for some wine and beer, but didn’t get a chance to sample anything else.
So, even though I didn’t try a cocktail at either place: I’ve heard enough about Le Lup that I will definitely head back there to sample. But, the Coolin doesn’t offer enough cocktail-promise to get me over there just for that.