Black Calavados, aka BC
40 Avenue Pierre 1er de Serbie, 8th
Tel 01 47 20 77 77
Back in the 1970s this place was the hotspot for French rockers like Serge Gainsbourg. It was reopened during Fashion Week in March and has become the coolest place to see and be seen by the fashion and music crowd. The address is right off the Avenue George V, and the €17 Gray Goose cocktails reflect the local real estate prices. But unlike most of the poseur bars in the ‘hood, this place is actually very cool.
It’s very, very dark. Good thing the furniture is lit up!
There’s a restaurant upstairs, and a bar downstairs (both have their own entrance on the street; the one with the bouncer is the bar). Both are decorated almost completely in black (like the clientele) and stainless steel. It’s a wonder anyone can see each other! It got instant fashionista cred when John Galliano threw his post-catwalk party there, and instant street cred when everyone found out that Grunge legend Chris Cornell (originally of Sound Garden, now of Audioslave) is one of the owners.
I got there just before midnight on a Thursday. It does take a few minutes for the eyes to adjust. The staff were super friendly, which is almost suspicious in this part of town. I was told that Thursdays are "hard rock" nights, and they were indeed blasting Guns ‘n’ Roses, AC/DC, Marilyn Manson, and Nine Inch Nails. I was introduced to two "regulars" (they were at the launch party), Ginnie and Elodie, and we staked out a booth as the crowd started growing. Just after we ordered our second round of drinks, one of the servers told us we’d have to move to the next booth over because "that’s the owner’s seat, and he’ll be here in a minute."
With cool chicks, Elodie (left) and Ginnie (center), at BC.
I may be too old to scream and throw my panties at rock stars, but I’m not too old to drool (good thing it was dark). Monsieur Cornell was in fine shape, indeed (as was his wife, sigh). The crowd was made up of beautiful people sporting more fashionable piercings and tattoos than Chanel and Versace, and by 2am there was barely enough space to move at the bar.
Too bad this girly had to work in the morning, or I would have stayed for another Vodka-Apple. I left Ginnie, Elodie and their friend Edouard (aka Eddie Munster) plotting the rest of their night out.
If you go, don’t arrive earlier than midnight…
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