Favourite of Ernest Hemingway, birthplace of the Bloody Mary, haunt of generations of expat Americans in Paris — there are few watering holes that can boast the legacy of Harry’s New York Bar.
And as the venerable establishment prepares to mark its 100th birthday on Thursday, Harry’s Bar remains what it has always been, a small corner of Manhattan in the heart of Paris.
“Every time I’m in Paris I have to come here to get a cocktail,” former New Yorker Michael Formosa said sipping a Gibson — a Martini with a pickled onion instead of an olive.
“You can feel the whole history — it takes a very long time to create this kind of feel of a place,” said the 40-year-old, now a London-based consultant.
“I lived in New York for 12 years and this is like something you would find around the corner from Penn Station.”
Tucked away on a side street in central Paris under a red-and-gold neon sign, Harry’s Bar could not be more different from the traditional French brasseries and bistros that surround it.
Behind an aged wooden bar, white-aproned barmen expertly mix the driest of Martinis or pour out tumblers of single-malt Scotch.
No coffee or wine is served in the evening and there is no music or television to distract from conversation.