LE GAINSBARRE
Café and piano bar, in homage to the places where Serge Gainsbourg performed at the start of his career, the decor of Gainsbarre takes up the codes of 5 bis rue de Verneuil, his famous private mansion: walls covered in black, a carpet with patterns of poppies and water lilies and everywhere photographs which remind us both of the career and the aura of the french composer.
At lunch, Gainsbarre offers a simple and accessible menu for museum visitors and local customers. Inspired by both the hotel room service menus that Serge Gainsbourg loved and the British Tea Rooms dear to Jane Birkin, Le Gainsbarre offers light and gourmet dishes: Lobster rolls, truffled croque monsieur, crunchy vegetables, foie gras, trio of tarama, Cadoret oysters, gravlax salmon, finger sandwiches…
But in the evening, the lights dim and the Gainsbarre becomes the little brother of Gainsbourg’s favorite haunts, those where he became “Gainbarre”, the Bar Hemingway at the Ritz or the Bar Anglais at the Raphaël. The menu is elegant with Oysters on Ice or mashed potatoes with caviar. Three pianists take turns throughout the week to play standards of classical pieces, jazz and blues, the same as those played by Gainsbourg in his early days. While listening to them we taste a classic cocktail or one of those favored by the composer: the Gibson, the Terrible or the famous 102.
The place can also be privatized, with around fifty seats, by combining the experience with a private visit to the museum and the house of Serge Gainsbourg (gainsbarre@maisongainsbourg.fr).