This brewpub is the sibling of the Frog and Rosbif. It sells its own draught beers, brewed on site.
The Frog and Rosbif is situated within walking distance of the Beaubourg museum and the Forum des Halles, at the northern end of the "interesting" stretch of rue St Denis. It serves its own real ales, brewed in the basement from imported British ingredients, as well as a few guest beers. Despite their cutesy punning names, the real ales are solid, well crafted and eminently drinkable (1996 warning: the new, unfortunately named, "Trente-Wheat" attempt at a Belgian Wit is less than successful; and they serve it with a slice of lemon. 1999 update: we've been told by the brewer that the recipe has been drastically improved. Any first-hand [first-mouth?] reports out there?). The pub also serves classic pub food for those homesick expatriates who've seen one too many escargots.
Guest beers include Guinness stout, Kronenbourg 1664, and Red Stripe lager. There is also a fair selection of single-malt scotches. Happy hour 6-7 pm.
http://www.frogpubs.com/The newest Frog
Tucked away between rue du Four and place St Sulpice, O'Neil is an English-flavored brewpub, despite its name. Three beers were available from a total roster of a half-dozen (pale, amber, brown, white, bock, and special). Happy hour until 9 pm.
Unfortunately, the two beers that we tasted were rather unremarkable. The pale ale was as pale as a pilsner, with a very grassy hops aroma and not much flavor. The brown ale was very dark, more porter-like, with strong harsh undertones from dark malt and perhaps even black patent. Drinkable but no more. We did not linger.
The place to go for a dinner of moules/frites with a generous selection of Belgian beers. A fairly small, old fashioned place with wooden benches and a sidewalk terrace; crowded at dinner time.
I had of course the De Koninck, which I thought never was available outside of the brewery's immediate surrounding in Antwerp. It is a wonderful amber color, with moderate carbonation, fruity with a low, well balanced bitterness and robust mouthfeel. Eminently drinkable indeed.
20 beers on draught and moules frites for dinner.
Half pub/half restaurant. A tap list of about 10 includes Bass amongst other more commonly-found draught beers.
Leffe Blonde, Leffe Brune, Grimbergen, Kriek, Guinness, Bière apéritif (Qu'est-ce que c'est?). Reputed to be the oldest Belgian bar in Paris
An Adnams' pub.
This new British-owned bar right to the side of the Pantheon is
associated with the Charles Wells Brewery in Cambridge, England.
It serves kegged and cask-conditionned ales
imported from Charles Wells, as well as a few others.
Darts; happy hour 6-9 p.m. Upscale pub food at lunch.
A restaurant with an unusually good beer selection and a highly obnoxious Flash site at http://www.bouillon-racine.com/
No longer associated with Adnam's
Lowenbrau speciale, Spatenbrau, Bitburger, Ayinger. The upstairs restaurant offers sauerkraut and other "local" specialities, Wiener schnitzel, goulash, stroganoff, roast leg of pork and suckling pigs.
Despite its name, this is not the place for homesake Brits (see the tap list). The menu is decorated with the shields of the Cambridge colleges but the English translation shows little erudition.
No longer associated with Adnam's
A large, handsome Irish bar in an unlikely location near Place Jeanne d'Arc, with a modest menu of sandwiches and salads. On tap, the obligatory Guinness, and the perfunctory Kilkenny (Smithwick) and Red Stripe. In bottles, they offer a small selection of lambics, Adelscott, and the new buckwheat Epi Noir.
There is a dart board, and several televisions tuned to various satellite channels including Sky. The bar staff is giggly, and Irish.
This unpretentious Quebecois bar/restaurant offers the entire line-up from the excellent Unibroue brewery in Chambly, PQ, as well as traditional Canadian fare such as fèves au lard. Recommended.
No longer brewing.
"The food is dreadful." PJ
Between Boulevard St Michel and the Sorbonne, this large sidewalk cafe specializes in Belgian beers, though they also have a fair selection from other regions of the world. Happy hour 4-7 pm
Live music every night. A large selection of Belgian beers, in addition to the obvious Irish offerings. Crowded and noisy (overcrowded on weekends) but cheery.
Thanks to Sébastian Moureau for the tip.
From the tap list, I had Kilkenny again which still tasted good even served in an Amstel glass on a Foster's map-of-Australia beer mat, not as serious as the Belgian beer places. Young crowd, good number of Irish and English accents. Darts and card playing.
12 beers on tap and 180 bottles. Its major distinction is a large terrasse looking out towards Odeon; pleasant if you do not mind exhaust and Diesel fumes flavouring your moules frites.
Open 12.00-1.30. A fairly large menu, with a hint of Irish (Irish rarebit, and Irish salmon). The same three course menu costs 79FF for lunch (12.00-2.00) but 149FF for dinner (19.30-22.00). Better eat at lunchtime.
Classic Irish bar frequented by students and foreigners. Smoky; dart boards; betting on Five-Nations rugby games. Thanks to Sébastian Moureau for the information.
Various locations:
3, boulevard Beaumarchais (IVº 42 71 75 55)A "Belgian fast food" chain; not the greatest, but a moderately priced alternative for moules/frites with a good beer selection.
No longer associated with Adnam's
Leffe, Kwak, Pêcheress, Jenlain, Bulldog, Satan, Kriek, Hoegarden, Desperado, Guinness, Cider.
Moderately priced food; beware of the lemon in the Hoegaarden!
Great bar for unusual European brews and exotic tastes.
Thanks to Howard Silverfarb for a review.
A pub under the restaurant of the same name, with a good draught and bottle selection. A rare oasis on a street overrun by fast food. Thanks to Sébastian Moureau for the tip.
An a href="http://www.obriens-pub.com/">Irish pub in a striking building, on a corner in the stretch of rue St Dominique that is a street of small shops and boutiques. An area not too frequented by tourists but very near Invalides and the government offices and ministries situated in the 7th arrondissement.
A small bar on three levels: at street level there is not room for more than the bar itself and a few stools. Although the tap list is not long, the taps themselves merit the visit, being made of porcelain wall basins decorated with faces. There is a large selection of bottled beers especially Belgian but from all parts of the world. The bar personel were very friendly and informative. Their most popular beer, we were told was the Riva. It was very light and did not seem so special. I was recommended to try the Floreffe, that certainly had more flavour, not really fruity but like an alcoholic tisane (herbal tea) and I do not think I really liked it. The Martin's on the otherhand tasted really good. They have a daily special offer, St Sixtus Bernadus when we were there, heavy in taste and alcohol. Come armed with cash because they do not take credit cards and accept cheques for a maximum of 100F.
Very well located for a drink before or after going to see a film in the Odeon cinema district.
Large international beer menu. Close to the Fontaine St Michel.
Note: opens only at 8 pm
This very good-looking bar is operated by the people who brew the specialty beers Épi Noir (buckwheat), Épi Blanc (oats), and Épi Rouge (amaranth). All three are wholeheartedly recommended.
They intend to have the complete selection of all French beers (80 or so) by the autumn 1996.
18 beers on tap and 250 in bottles. Moules à la bière; Choucroutes.
They claim 24 beers on tap and 280 bottles. A large bright tavern with a pleasant decor; note the collection of porcelain tankards under lock and key on the wall. There was an acceptable level of background music, Country and Western verging on the Blues. They offer the inevitable "moules frites" plus a range of traditional French food. However, if the cassoulet was good and filling (but not exceptional), the choucroute was barely better than canned.
Other locations of this mini-chain are:The brief tap list probably would not merit a mention except that the Whitney is next door to the very popular Polidor restaurant. Unless you arrive before 7:00 pm or after 10:00 pm there is a good chance that you will have to wait for a table and this might be a useful waiting room.
