Listening bars, listening rooms, audiophile restaurants and bars,,... Over the past 5 years, these places run by high-fidelity sound enthusiasts and music lovers have multiplied in Paris, with the aim of offering our ears an exceptional musical and sound experience. Discover six beautiful addresses that reinterpret the jazz kissa, those Japanese cafés dedicated to musical listening and born in the 30s, where you don’t compromise with the soundtrack and even less with the equipment!
Montezuma Café the most relaxed audiophile bar
Just a stone’s throw from the Paris Bourse, you’ll find one of the world’s liveliest and warmest audiophile bars! Montezuma Café combines the pleasures of the palate, good music and conviviality. In the kitchen, you’ll find finely assembled plates to share, washed down with wines from the impressive collection of bottles! In the high-level speakers, there’s no spitting sound, no music that stains, just the best of what moves the curious and sharp ears of the two founders, who draw from soul, jazz, reggae and rock! As an added bonus, a basement that plays host to a series of upbeat DJ sets until the lights go out at midnight!
📍 Location: 15 rue Notre-Dame des Victoires, 75002 Paris
Funk, disco and soul sounds at Bambino
Draw lines between New York, London, Tel Aviv and Japan and you’ll come across Bambino, a music-soaked bar-restaurant nurtured on the art of living and partying in these destinations! In the evening, as the sun sets, Bambino spins a good galette and sets the table in its raw concrete and wood-tinted decor, for mouth-watering and adventurous dinners. At night, the turntables are set alight, and the dance floor is set ablaze to a soundtrack seasoned with soul, funk and disco from the extensive in-house collection!
📍 Location: 25 rue Saint-Sébastien, 75011 Paris
Notre Dame Music Bar, listening to good music
With some two thousand vinyl records on its walls, and a host of compelling equipment (old JBL speakers, crazy McIntosh amps…), Notre Dame Music Bar is sure to make music and high-fidelity lovers salivate ! Set up by Stéphane Darras and Julien Chavane, and inspired by Japanese audiophile bars (jazz kissa), this venue brings a Parisian touch to the concept! Here, you can enjoy a selection of music (soul, jazz, rock or rap) highlighting the artists’ work, and savour it from first note to last! A place for listening, but also for living and meeting, Notre Dame Music Bar also hits the bull’s-eye with its sophisticated drinks menu (natural, organic or biodynamic wines, cocktails and draught beers) and its terrace on a peaceful street!
📍 Location: 6 rue Emile Lepeu, 75011 Paris
The Listener for an exceptional sound bath
A listening bar? No, a cosy, intimate listening room where you can enjoy a breathtaking musical and sonic experience! At The Listener, you don’t listen to music, you experience it at its most intense! The Listener has a fully-equipped listening room, which can be booked for one or more people, to enjoy every note, pulse and sound. Bring your own vinyl records or CDs, press play and let yourself go!
In addition to this space, The Listener also offers relaxing musical naps on headphones and a bar/coffee shop!
📍 Location: 10 rue Vivienne, 75002 Paris
🎟️ Price: listening room €50 for 1 hour, €92 for 2 hours
Mesures, the marriage of cocktails and good sounds
Mesures is the address that combines refined cocktails and polished sounds! Without favoring one or the other, this bar excels when it comes to filling glasses with subtle, delicious beverages assembled by Guillaume Castagnet, and ears with a sharp, inquisitive playlist! Jazz, film music or any other style that falls under the radar of Benoît de Bonnefamille, musician and dj in charge of musical direction, will be served up on high-quality analog equipment !
📍 Venue: 58 rue de Saintonge, 75003 Paris
Seasonal cuisine and demanding acoustics at Superflu
Superflu’ s pop decor is the result of a heterogeneous but masterful blend of bright colors, mosaics and retro inspiration, crowned by an undulating ceiling. It stands in stark contrast to the raw, uncluttered aesthetics of the capital’s other audiophile bars. In this 18th arrondissement restaurant, you’ll be treated to seasonal cuisine and great music, thanks to a wealth of equipment (handmade mixing desk, Technics turntables, Pioneer players…) partly integrated into the all-blue bar and put to the service of demanding acoustics!
📍 Location: 227bis rue Marcadet, 75018 Paris