Ritz Paris: an evening at Bar Hemingway

Q: Which restaurants does the Ritz Paris have?

2: Espadon, with one Michelin star,6 and Bar Vendôme; tea is taken in Salon Proust.3

Bar Hemingway is the Ritz Paris bar named after the writer: upholstered leather, a décor left as it was, and objects and handwritten letters that tell his story. People come for the cocktails, the Dry Martini first, in a room with no music.

Updated 24 October 20264 min readHow we write the guide

The bookshelves and furnishings of Bar Hemingway at the Ritz Paris.

The choice, in short

Why choose Ritz Paris

Tailor-made cocktails are the house speciality: the barmaid makes each one in response to what you ask for.

Food

When to look elsewhere

For a table you can count on, the Ritz has Bar Vendôme, the restaurant where booking is recommended.

Dry Martini

What to drink

The Ritz Side Car dates from 1923, Frank Meier’s creation, and was the first “world’s most expensive cocktail”: today it is made with an 1834 pre-phylloxera Grande Champagne Cognac, Cointreau and fresh lemon, at €1,500 with 2.5cl of Cognac and €3,000 with 5cl.²

The Negroni Tasting lines up 3 Negronis, the Bitter, the Smoky with mezcal and the French with cinnamon-infused Cognac, for €70; the Elixir Martini, with Beluga Gold Line vodka and Tarragone, a Chartreuse from 1904, costs €550.²

There are 4 alcohol-free cocktails, all at €35: Mademoiselle with lychee, lime and rose, Bertin with mint, apple and cinnamon, Daisy with raspberry and elderflower, and Putting on the Spritz.²

An evening at the bar

5.30pm

Bar snacks

Snacks are served from 5.30pm to 10.30pm.¹

Ritz Paris

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Bar snacks

On the menu

Piquillo croquettes or falafel with goji berry ketchup, €32.
Mini cheeseburgers or mini hot dogs, 4 pieces, €35.
Lobster and tarama tartlet, €48.
Caviar blinis, 6 pieces: Baeri €180, Osciètre €245.

Worth knowing

Before it was Bar Hemingway	This was Le Petit Bar, the first smart bar in Paris open to women, who could come in unaccompanied.¹
Pets	Not allowed.¹

Staying at the Ritz Paris

The interior of the Suite Ernest Hemingway at the Ritz Paris.

Rooms and staying here

The other Dry Martinis

The Serendipity was invented here, but today’s list does not carry it.²

Dry Martini	What is in it	Price
Side-Car Martini	Vodka and Cognac, lemon zest and a Grand Marnier ice cube.	€39
White Normandy	Vodka and white Calvados, with an ice cube of ice cider.	€39
Lutèce Martini	Gin and a French aperitif, herbal and slightly bitter.	€39
Kumamoto Martini	Verbena-infused gin with a Japanese sake spirit.	€39
Saffron Martini	Saffron-infused vodka, a touch of smoke and Drambuie.	€39

Before booking

Which bar did Hemingway go to in Paris?

The Ritz: from the 1920s he made this bar his headquarters, spending time there with Francis Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald over a cognac or a Dry Martini.¹

Is Bar Hemingway inside the Ritz Paris?

Yes, at 15 Place Vendôme: it is one of the hotel’s 2 bars, with the Ritz Bar.³

Is it hard to get into Bar Hemingway?

There are 25 seats, and the hotel’s advice for Bar Hemingway is to arrive before opening time.³

What was Hemingway’s connection to the Ritz?

He was a regular and wrote that Paris was the Ritz; he became friends with the barmen Georges and Bertin,¹ and a suite now bears his name too.⁴

Which restaurants does the Ritz Paris have?

2: Espadon, with one Michelin star,⁶ and Bar Vendôme; tea is taken in Salon Proust.³

The bar’s page

Bar Hemingway

We wrote this on our own: Ritz Paris reads it as you do. We sell no rooms: the links go where we read it.

Where we read it