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01 ARR: Hemingway Bar at the Ritz

15 Place Vendôme , Phone: 01-43-16-33-65
www.ritz.com

Reviewed by: Daniel from NY, review #3161

When: 2008

Legendary, high end watering hole in the Paris Ritz.

While the Hemingway Bar is not my favorite spot in the Ritz (I much prefer the spacious Vendôme Bar in the front of the hotel) I knew that when my friend David went back home and mentioned to people that he’d been to the Ritz, everyone would ask if he’d gone to the Hemingway and so I put aside my own personal preferences so he would not feel as though he’d missed out on something.

Colin Field (everyone’s favorite celebrity bartender) was working that night, and the room had a pleasant, if subdued vibe. If you closed your eyes and listened to the conversations, you’d think you were at a bar in New York; however I’ve found that to be the case every time as the Ritz has a large American following. I don’t have a problem with that.

Anyway, as we looked over the cocktail menu, David and I both had ourselves a laugh over the prices. Naturally, if you’re going to the Ritz, you know it’s not going to be a bargain; however we didn’t expect that they were going to open a vein in our wallets and watch as a massive hemorrhaging ensued. My usual cocktail, the delightfully citrusy yet inauspiciously named "Jeff II", was €26 and David’s (which I can’t remember exactly what it was, but it had champagne in it) was €28. At the time (March 2008), those were $41 and $44 cocktails, respectively. Just let that roll around in your head for a second, OK?

While the service was impeccable, the cocktails delicious and the olives and kettle cooked potato chips that came with them also top notch, there’s just no way that I could come away from that experience thinking that it was “worth it.” However, for someone who doesn't care about the money or who just wants to try the place out once for history's sake, I say go for it.

This review is the opinion of a Slow Travel member and not of slowtrav.com.

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01 ARR: Hemingway Bar at the Ritz

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