Bar Joséphine reinvents cocktails like a comic strip

A stormy evening, a dash of bourbon, a bubble of champagne. What if comics weren’t just for reading, but for drinking? This is the unexpected – but brilliantly executed – challenge of Bar Joséphine at the Hôtel Lutetia, where the world of graphics meets that of mixology in a menu that reads like an illustrated album.

When the Lutetia starts talking in bubbles

In the hushed decor of the legendary Left Bank palace, Angelo Forte, head bartender for the past two seasons, takes his concept one step further in 2025. The idea is no longer simply to create cocktails inspired by comic-book imagery, but to compose a narrative experience in its own right. To achieve this, he teamed up with cult cartoonist Serge Clerc, an icon of “ligne claire” graphic design and stylized rock.

The idea: a cocktail menu like a graphic novel, with no classic classification, no logic of spirits, just a succession of liquid stories, accompanied by three adjective-guides and an evocative title.

Recipes more scripted than mixed

Rather than seeking the “wow” effect through complex compositions, Angelo Forte opts for a minimalist, direct, almost cinematic approach.

Among the bestsellers:

• Un Soir d’Orage: vodka, verjuice, lemongrass, champagne – fresh, graphic tension.
• 9 1/2 weeks: bourbon, pistachio, vermouth – woody sensuality, round but not heavy.
• Electric Callas: floral bitterness, white fruits – subtle, baroque opera.
• La Seine, la Scène, la Cène: a salty, plant-based UFO with wakame, tomato, soy and genmaicha. A gustatory intrigue in three acts.

Each recipe is designed to stimulate the imagination as much as the taste buds. No generic aromas or expected signatures. This is an auteur cocktail, almost conceptual, to be savored with care.

A menu that reads like a work of art

Far from classic cocktail menus, Bar Joséphine’s selection is more like a collector’s edition. There’s no set order, just a succession of mysterious titles: Requiem pour un C…, Paris Latino, L’Ultimo Bacio… Each choice is an invitation to an inner journey, like the contents of an underground comic strip.

Graphically, Serge Clerc also designed the menu illustrations, extending the visual pleasure right up to the counter. A subtle reminder that the Lutetia remains one of the few Parisian hotels to cultivate a quirky, artistic spirit.

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