Bar Long at the Royal Monceau: Paris’s most elegant HQ
Neither an impersonal lounge nor a classic counter, the Bar Long at the Royal Monceau – Raffles Paris is a place that thwarts expectations. A fluid, lively, inhabited space. At the crossroads of theater, salon and café d’auteur. More than a bar: a stage. A signature. A statement of intent. At the Royal Monceau, the Bar Long breaks codes and brings the word “palace” back to life.
A counter-current configuration
When he imagined this unusual bar, Philippe Starck ‘s aim was not to seduce, but to provoke curiosity. The challenge? To break with hotel conventions, by reversing the dynamics of a traditional bar. Gone is the face-to-face encounter between customer and bartender. Instead, a long, central table, narrow and luminous, crosses the space like a narrative thread. Around it, you don’t sit to order: you sit to live.
The walls are enlivened by a collection of artworks, intimate knick-knacks and mismatched lamps, all nodding to the 21st-century version of hospitality, where chic is sensory, not ostentatious. Floating white linen curtains break the visual axis and introduce an almost cinematic softness. Here, every detail invites you to slow down, to listen, to feel.
A hotel bar… that doesn’t look like one
Bar Long is unlike any other palace bar. Neither flashy nor staid, it unfurls like a breathing space in the heart of the Royal Monceau. And above all : it’s open all day, every day. A true Parisian “all day long . At any time of day, you’ll find your place, your rhythm, your moment.
You can read the paper at 10am, order a tartare at 2pm, sip a Negroni at 7pm or catch up on the world over an Old Fashioned at 1am. This bar lives with the times, without ever losing its elegance or softness.
The menu evolves throughout the day, with a selection of hot dishes, refined tapas, in-house pastries, signature cocktails, wines by the glass and rare spirits. The plates, simple but ultra-careful, flirt with the classics of Parisian brasserie chic, revisited with lightness and audacity.
A confidential and sunny terrace at Royal Monceau
In fine weather, the Bar Long extends into the palace’s interior garden. Here, we discover a different tempo: more meditative, almost secretive. Hidden from view, amidst greenery and elegant outdoor furniture, you can enjoy a coffee or a Bellini, a ceviche or a citrus panna cotta. The silence is never oppressive; it accompanies the moment, like a rare luxury in the heart of Paris.
The terrace, shared with the Matsuhisa and Il Carpaccio restaurants, lives to the rhythm of the sun and the seasons, creating a polyphonic but always harmonious space, ideal for both discreet get-togethers and open-air afterworks.
The Bar Long at the Royal Monceau, the bar for those who know
In a neighborhood saturated with flashy or predictable addresses, Bar Long attracts a discerning clientele. Artists, creative types, diplomats, journalists… All find a certain balance here: substance without pretense, style without effort. It’s a place that whispers rather than shines, that lets everyone project their own desires. Solo, in a duo, or ten around the long table, you’re always in your place – and elsewhere at the same time.
Bar Long is a suspended moment, open “all day long”. A place in flux, but always true to its promise: to offer an urban interlude where you come less to consume than to feel. An instant classic, built to last.
Also read: Lacoste invests in the prestigious Shangri-La Paris for summer
