Paris, France — The iconic Buddha-Bar Paris has just re-opened after a splendid restoration making this already spectacular spot the place for a drink or two in town. It is also very conveniently located right around the corner from the U.S. Consulate and Embassy and the luxury shopping street that is the Faubourg Saint-Honoré. This restaurant bar and lounge opened its doors in Paris in 1996 although it still retains a flavor of the Café Society of New York in the 1950s. The food is excellent, the lounge cozy and cosmopolitan and this spot is truly the incarnation of Paris at its most festive and joyful.

This is the brainchild of world traveler, the late Raymond Visan (1950-2010) and his wife Tarja, the visionary couple who opened up a chain of successful restaurants in the late 1980s geared around the theme of America in the 1950s. They opened up Barfly ( a favorite film)  which became an instant successful restaurant club, and the Buddha-Bar Paris came next in the next year. It is a world of the spectacular with its harmonious and savant melange of colors and textures and savors carefully watched over by a four-meter high Buddha in gold leaf and pink copper which has been meticulously restored. Today there are 15 Buddha-Bars throughout the world. Tarja Visan with her daughter Ilona carry on the music-filled dream.

This journey involves the Shanghai Bar, intimate alcoves, the Japanese Salon, the Indochine Salon and the Room of the Royal Dragon which all await to be discovered. Fabulous cocktails are on hand along with a fabulously original cuisine. Chanaka Fernando is at the helm in the kitchen with his team of 29 chefs. On the menu from the inception the Buddha-Bar chicken salad with its 25 ingredients, shrimp curry and sushis and sashimi. But there are myriad new dishes on the horizon: a salad of Alaskan king crab, grilled green asparagus and steamed sea bass flavored with soy and ginger. The Buddha-Bar Sunday brunch is also a memorable one of a kind Parisian experience. Buddha-Bar is owned and operated by the George V Eatertainment group. ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette. http://www.buddhabar.com 

Le Buddha-Bar Paris 

8-12 rue Boissy d’Anglas, 75008 Paris, France
+ 33 (0)1 53 05 90 00