Le Violon Dingue

Violon Dingue is a stalwart in Paris nightlife history marked in the memories of generations of students as a great place to work into their night out. Their happy hours are legendary (actually being the first Parisian bar to introduce happy hour back in the 1990s). If you're in a group and want to be able to sit down together on a busy night you might need to reserve a table but otherwise standing room is plentiful as are the choices of drinks in this eclectic watering hole. If you've not been - take a bunch of your friends over to the left bank and have a great night. I've been popping in there since being in Paris for work in the 90s it's as good as ever - apparently they have a cellar bar now which goes to 5am! Just as well that wasn't a feature when I was 33 years younger.! I've only rated food 4 as I didn't eat. People seemed to be enjoying their food. If true to form it will be uncomplicated, delicious and just what you need to keep you going on a night of partying.

This was my favorite bar in Paris when I was studying abroad in 2013, then was my favorite bar when I moved to Paris in 2016. I haven't been back since, but I'm visiting my old 2016 friend group in Paris tomorrow and of course we will come back! I can't wait! Great memories were made there over the last decade, and there are more memories with friends to come :).

Great neighborhood, very welcoming staff and good prices. Saturdays can be crowded due to a language exchange event they host

My go-to spot in Paris! Great atmosphere, incredibly kind & hospitable staff, and always an all-around fantastic time every time I'm there! Can't recommend enough!

Will forever remain my favorite place in Paris. Great atmosphere, young and vocal crowd. Great place for games, football, and cocktails. Adios mother F is potentially lethal and their best cocktail.

Faboulous place, lovely staff and owners, and a very decent pint of plain.

Kind bartenders, and good place to watch American sport matches.

Do I remember my night here ? Not much but the club area was lovely great music, nice atmosphere just be sure to arrive early for the club coz the line is damn long on Fridays

A fantastic bar, great staff, great atmosphere, start upstairs with great cocktails and mixed drinks and friendly bartenders, continue till the early hours downstairs with more of a club atmosphere, pro bartenders a DJ and dancing without the club prices ! There is something for everyone in this bar! Enjoy

This bar, for a few years, served as the headquarters for many of my friends from the American School of Paris and I. I don't really know why we went there, but we did, and always had a blast going there. It's fairly big, with two floors and the bartenders have always been quite friendly. Walking in, on the upper floor, the bar lays on your right side accompanied by some stools all along the counter. Then at the end, is a seating area with a few tables. On the lower floor is the "cave" which is more open and has a really cool look to it. If you wanted to dance around, you'd be more likely to do it on the lower floor. The music is usually classic songs from the 80s and 90s, and occasionally some newer stuff as well. They have a decent choice of beers on tap, a few cocktail specials which are posted on a blackboard and which they often cycle and the staff is friendly. The place is also very affordable. What more could you ask for?

It was cool. I am not sure I will rush to go back again before I leave at the end of the summer but I do not regret going. Plus, it's FREE for ladies. Can't get any better than that :-). Music: American music. Mostly current pop and hip-hop (on Saturday night). It was cool but their clearly wasn't a DJ just sort of a random play list that really didn't always mesh from song to song. Dance Floor: This place is not lacking in any way shape or form people dancing. Sometimes you go out and it is soooooo beyond lame but that wasn't the case. People come here to party. Five stars for attracting a crowd that didn't come to just stand on the walls. You can come here and dance until dawn. Drinks: The drinks get 5 stars. As I venture into the world of trying mixed drinks I am quickly learning that everyone that stands behind a bar and serves drinks necessarily is skilled... :-/. This place, however, serves up some GREAT, well balanced drinks! Location: It is a few blocks from the Metro...at least the one we took Staff: They are cool and the Bartender spoke English. #Winning

The year was 2002, and I was a young American embarking on my first extended stay abroad. It never really occurred to me until I stepped off the airplane at CDG that "oh man, I don't speak their language and they don't speak mine and WE CAN NOT COMMUNICATE." So while I would try my hardest to attempt to communicate in one of the most beautiful languages in the world in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, I must say in those days I did lean towards the nightlife frequented by Anglophones, if not for the comfort factor, then really for the convenience of actually exchanging ideas with clarity. My group of friends frequented The Long Hop (http://www.qype.co.uk/place/149508-The-Long-Hop-Paris ) which was a typical American/Brit sports bar full of young people speaking English and ordering Budweiser and Long Island Iced Teas and getting all around unruly and uninhibited. After the Long Hop closed, those who weren't quite ready to call it a night, as well as the bartenders from The Long Hop would head over to Le Violin Dingue, an underground bar in what could best be described as a cave. Situated between the Maubert Mutualite and Cardinal Lemoine Metro stops in the Latin Quarter, Le Violin Dingue was less Anglocentric than The Long Hop and darker and more sexy. From the street front entrance, you immediately step down stairs and practically have to duck and crawl through caves to get to the open area underground. The place is cavernous, with a central bar in the middle serving cocktails to the crowd both in the front and back. The cocktails were similar (overpriced and weak to this American palette), the bathrooms absolutely putrid, and the crowd a mixture of Anglophones and friendly Parisian locals (perhaps French chavs? Fravs? It's difficult to tell local culture from a foreigner's perspective). Drunks came rapidly from the bartenders, and I started working towards my goal of drinking 15 vodka poms (vodka with apple juice) a night. At 5 a.m., when (I believe) the bar closed, I noticed my friends had left me alone, incredibly inebriated, and without any money to catch a cab home. I had no choice but to ask for help from some nice Algerian drug dealers I had befriended who had been so kind to offer me heroin, cocaine, and marijuana earlier in the night (they are so thoughtful!). This plan of course did not turn out as successfully as I imagined it, as I drunkenly and miraculously stumbled back to the 14th arrondissement from somewhere in the 19th arrondissement at around 7:00 a.m. The thought of vodka pom still makes my stomach unsettled to this very day.

This is the best bar in Paris. At least from the point of view of a partying studying abroad American college student. Our hotel was right around the corner, so this was our "spot," our home away from home bar that we made it back to every evening after we were out all night at wherever in the city. The staff was so very accommodating, handling us obnoxious drunk American brats like champs and making our time there amazing. The basement opens around 12 (?) and it's awesome. Check it out. WooWoos are the best drink in Europe and I certainly brought those back stateside with me. If you're looking to make out with a french man, dance on top of an historic bench to Lady Marmalade and drop all your drinks on the ground to a packed, bar wide slow clap, this is where you want to be. An FYI, no one will beat you up if you stumble out of the bar face first at 6am screaming the national anthem. And the best part? It never really closes. Party on, mes amis.

One of the few bars open until late (or early--around 3:30am upstairs on weekends and 4:30 downstairs). Friendly bilingual staff, and a quirky dive bar ambiance. Upstairs, you can watch sports matches and listen to anything from classic rock to country. When it's quiet on weeknights, the bartenders will even bring out a beer pong table upon request. Best for chatting over a couple of beers. Downstairs (the "cave," which opens starting at 12:30am) is mostly for dancing. Here, the music is mostly pop and there's a coat check. For girls, entry is free. For guys it's 10€ on Fridays and Saturdays. Clientele is mostly students--both foreign and French--though there are quite a few regulars and American tourists who come to reminisce about their years spent in Paris.

If you're a young American studying abroad, this is the place to go! The Bar is nice but the dance floor downstairs is the place to be! Oh you missed the metro? No big deal! Go dancing until it opens again.

We walked in at 2am and stayed til 4:30 (note that several drinks had already been consumed so my review may be biased). There was no line, but the two guys in our party of four each paid a 10€ cover. The door girl did take my friend's bag for safekeeping though which was lovely of her. After getting stamped you go down this little spiral staircase to what looked like an old cellar - small stone archways lead to the dancefloor (tall people beware) and it has this great vaulted roof. Always wanted to drunkenly party in the catacombs (sans skulls)? This is your place. Cocktails were 8.50€ but strong. The crowd was young but friendly and everyone was dancing up a storm. Music was mainly recent stuff, given a generic electro twist. There are couches on the other side of the bar if you feel like scoping the talent from a stationary position. When we left at 4:30 the dancefloor was still pumping. Recommend the hell out of this place if you're looking for a night of dancing like it ain't no thang in a judgement free zone.

This is the funnest bar with the cutest bartenders and nicest bouncers (cave-guard, i like to call them). The "cave" down below basically plays the same music every night (80s, 90s stuff, but everyone has a good time). Very tourist friendly-- probably too tourist-friendly, but I fit right in, of course, so no complaints. The bathroom is a terrible sight.. try to avoid it, but you probably won't care after a few long islands.

This bar is great because it's open super late and plays the most current sports, including the only bar in town showing the NBA Finals.....thank you!! (Go Mavericks) Friendly staff, open seats for late night game watching right in front of the television.

This is a great spot for drinks with friends, especially during their happy hour (19h00 to 22h00). My favorite thing about the bar is the great location (it's incredibly convenient if you are a student at Pantheon-Sorbonne!) and the chill vibe of the general area (fyi: there's a creperie next door in case you've had a bit too many drinks). The drinks were typically around 8 euro and go down 1-2 euro during the happy hour. My favorite drinks were the chocolate-based drinks (i.e. Bailey's) - they did a great job of making them! I noticed that there was a downstairs basement area that opened later in the night (possibly a dancefloor) but we didn't go downstairs to check it out. It did appear that there was a cover for guys to go to the basement but there was no cover for the ladies.

Really easy, laid back club/bar in Paris. Not exactly the most quintessentially Parisian bar, but it was perfect for a large group of girls looking for somewhere open late and hen party friendly! Reasonably priced drinks, and good current pop music, and open late! Went on both Friday and Saturday night - thought the Friday was a bit busier, but Saturday night got busy around 2:30am.

This was my favorite bar as an American student in Paris. Whenever I felt homesick, the bartenders welcomed me with smiles. The cave bar downstairs was especially fun during Halloween. I still have photos. Michelle, the owner at the time, was welcoming to all. After over ten years, I took my husband back and we had the best night ever. We still talk about that first night in Paris...

Stopped in for a drink which turned into several. The crowd was mixed but due to it's proximity to a school there are a lot of people in the early 20's. The bartenders were friendly and did rounds of shots with us. All in all I had a fun night and they play good music!