Pigalle Bar Drinking à la française

Maybe it's the geographical proximity or the popularity of the Aperol Spritz that spans all countries - in any case, there are plenty of Italian bars in Vienna. But Italy is by no means the only country with a lively bar culture.

In France, too, people pay homage to early-evening drinks (called aperitifs there), as they do to cultivated drinking pleasure in general. So it's time to shake up the Italian-dominated bar scene a bit - that's what the Pigalle Bar team thought and opened just such a French-inspired bar in November last year.

Named - of course - after the notorious Parisian entertainment district that stretches around Place Pigalle. In the middle of it all is the legendary vaudeville theatre Moulin Rouge, which was the unmistakable inspiration for the décor.

You sit on red velvet benches in dim red light. One wall in the small gallery is covered in latex, and the bar's base is covered in a fishnet pattern reminiscent of the dancers' fishnet stockings.

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The menu is "as French as possible", with only minor concessions to the Viennese public. The Vin de la Maison, for example, is the much-loved Grüner Veltliner. But otherwise: French wines, French shandy (with grenadine instead of soda), cider, crémant and champagne.

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And, of course, drinks. French spirits and flavours have crept onto the menu everywhere. The Americano is available here as L'Américain with the herbal liqueur Chartreuse Verte and Dolin Blanc Vermouth, and Calvados and homemade barberry syrup meet in the Paris-Tehran Mule.

The own spritz creations are mixed with Crémant, and the most classic of all French aperitif drinks, absinthe, is also on the menu. It's a refreshingly spicy absinthe frappé that comes highly recommended.

Recently, the Pigalle Bar has also started serving small bistro dishes. When the weather is nice, you can also enjoy them outside, and you don't have to miss out on the Parisian flair there either: In front of the pointed corner building (that alone immediately brings Paris to mind!), round bistro tables are lined up next to each other, with the chairs facing the street, of course.

Verena Carola Mayer

Author Vienna and Berlin