Paris Restaurant: Cabaret

Right around the corner from Musée Du louvre in the 1st Arrondissement, lies an incredibly simple and standard looking restaurant called Cabaret with a view of the neatly table-cloth covered tables on the ground floor — but that’s only from the outside. When my party arrived, we were led downstairs to a comfortable lounge, and at 9pm on a Saturday night, we were basically the only people there. At 9:30, we ate; good modern French food. As our meal progressed, the music became louder, and the lower level became more and more crowded with people. Eventually, at around 11:30 the music was really cranking, and at midnight the candelabras built into the walls began to flash– and the party began. Before we knew it, tables were disappearing, and the restaurant turned into a dance floor– LED lights started glowing out of the cement floors. By 3AM there were people literally dancing on tables, lined up outside the doors to get in– and the entire restaurant turned into a club, the only trace of the earlier dining room was where those who preferred lounging with bottle service on the outside tables instead of dancing. I had an excellent time at Cabaret, it was a great evening, and I’m told it was a classic Paris nightlife experience.