Flute Champagne Bar

I was invited for a tasting at Flute bar last week. Flute is a new Champagne bar, a spin-off of two very successful branches in New York. I gladly accepted the glamorous invitation and donned a festive button down shirt, dress pants, and actual shoes instead of my usual worn out jeans, T-shirt, and sneakers.

The bar is located on a narrow, not-so- glamorous commercial street off the Arche de Triomphe and it seemed like a strange location for such an upscale place.

I was greeted by Maija, a pleasant and attractive woman from the New York branch, who was sent here to oversee the opening. The space was dark, very small and intimate, with a fireplace on the main floor. The centerpiece of the room was an eye-catching blown-glass chandelier resembling Champagne bubbles designed by Patrick Jouin. We were seated upstairs on a comfortable, red velvet banquette,surrounded by navy blue walls and flattering lighting. The impressive menu had over 100 selections of Champagne, specializing in small, boutique vineyards, with prices ranging from a modest 50 euros up to 2,000 euros per bottle. There are 20 vintages available by the glass and I liked that they had two size glasses to choose from- a tasting one or half flute and a full flute. My friend and I enjoyed three different vintages: Chartogne-Taillet Rose, DeVenoge Rose, and Charles Heidsieck Brut. There’s nothing more elegant and chic than a flute of pink Champagne and the first two were dry, a little fruity, and delicious.

A prettily presented platter of smoked salmon rolls and vegetarian spring rolls were served, both of them fresh and very tasty, the perfect complement to the Champagne. Maija sat with us for quite a while and we had fun discussing the differences between the get-it done-now work style of New York and the laissez-faire style of Paris. It was a Thursday night and the place was almost empty. Maija explained that the bar was crowded after work from 7PM- 9PM and also told me it was available for private functions and tastings.

I left at about 10:30PM and felt a little tipsy from the bubbles as I tried to walk in a straight line back to the metro.

Flute
19 rue de L’Etoile,17th arr.
Open Tuesday-Saturday 5PM-2AM
Tel. 01 45 72 19 14
Metro: Etoile
www.flutebar.com

Eye Prefer Paris Milestone: Today my total subscribers reached 500. YEAH! I'll have to go back to Flute to celebrate with a glass of bubbly. I thank all of my loyal subscribers for making this happen.

I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour
includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.

I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.

Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com

Comments

[Janice Fuhrman]

Do you know if there are other Champagne bars in Paris? I would think there are dozens, but I've been told there is only one real dedicated Champagne bar, which is Le Dokhan in the Radisson Blu Hotel. Don't know what to make of this, and I'm visiting next week and would like to check some CHampagne bars out.