The 75 Interview with Patrick Dooley

We go behind the bar at Harry's with a true boulevardier.

I could start this newsletter by saying Patrick Dooley is a boulevardier. That’s the name of the 1920s magazine he revived after unearthing original copies in the cave of Harry’s Bar, with a little-known story by young Hemmy tucked in the pages—what Patrick calls his Indiana Jones moment. According to The Boulevardier’s 1927 editor, Arthur Moss, “[a] boulevardier is a perpetual fun seeker. Their life is a permanent holiday. All they demand of society is wine and a song.” As for the drink, a Boulevardier—Bourbon or Rye Whiskey + Bitter Campari + Sweet Red Vermouth—it’s one of many classics invented behind the bar at Harry’s, where Patrick tends to the bar.

In a former life across the Atlantic, Patrick was the right hand to New York State’s most powerful politician. In Paris, his tattooed arms, not quite hidden beneath Harry’s signature white lab coat, stir and shake beverages perfected over decades at one of the city’s most iconic bars, where tourists flock, and locals don’t give a shit—we go, too! He helps orchestrate cool collabs with bars like 1661 from Dublin. In his “free time,” if you can call it that, he’s the creative director of The Boulevardier. With his team, he’s working on the second volume, focused on life and bar culture in Paris today.

I asked Patrick if he considers himself a boulevardier, and wasn’t surprised when he said yes. “I’m always putting together some sort of production of a party that reflects that.”

A lover of a dirty martini and a good stiff drink, I’m pumped to dive into Paris’s cocktail scene—just as passionate and dynamic as its restaurant counterpart, but with slightly softer edges. Like it’s got bite, sure, but the teeth aren’t quite as sharp. Patrick lives and breathes this world, and I can’t think of anyone better to call for mostly boozy Paris intel.

First, I wanted his take on the main differences behind the bar, New York versus Paris. “In New York, I always have this hum of anxiety—asking if someone wants something else or giving the bill to usher them out. Here, people can take their time. Some regulars stay all day. People just enjoy themselves.”

As for who are the bigger boozers, New Yorkers or Parisians?

“You’d think Parisians, but the East Village could probably outdrink the Marais.”

He reminisces about drinking tequila on the third floor of Piano’s—just a cup of tequila paired with Rihanna.

On the state of cocktail culture in Paris: “We’re spoiled for choice, especially after Covid. You can go to hotel bars, cocktail bars, wine bars, everything. Rive Gauche, Rive Droite—it doesn’t matter. There are so many options.”

Inside Harry’s, a Paris institution

So, what’s the best city in the world for cocktails right now? Even on the periphery of the industry, his answer is unsurprising: Singapore. “Specifically, the ladies at Fura have an incredible menu. They have a jellyfish martini, mealworms in margaritas, fermented wines… I could talk about that place for a while.”

Martini: gin or vodka? He chooses gin. “As much as I love a Dirty Martini or a Hot & Dirty, after a long week, I love a super dry gin martini.” He mixes it with Botanist Gin, no vermouth, and maybe some orange bitters.

His cocktail hot take? “I wish bartenders would stop clacking their shakers before they start shaking. It’s really giving kid-at-the-pool, mom-look-at-me, cannonballing.”

Outside of Harry’s, where does Patrick go for a drink in Paris? “If I have a night off, I’d go to Astoria Bar in Montmartre. Next door is Au Clair de Lune, a super old Parisian bar. Then I’d walk down to Pigalle and go to Dirty Dick for a muy thai.”

Recent openings that excite him? Memento (Marais) and Superfine (11th). “I hear they have a Sbagliato I’m due to try.”

Best bar food? “At Devie, in the lower bar—you can have a sausage roll. Barnie can mix you something to pair with that.” He’s also heard great things about the poulet frit at Harmony.

If it’s wine he’s after, he heads to Montezuma. “They have little booths on the top floor, very New York-esque. Great natural wine, incredible music, and the team is sweet.”

For a proper pint: The Wellington, The Cambridge Public House. “I also like Cork and Cavan. Lowbrow, but right on the Canal Saint-Martin. A pint on the canal on a sunny day…” His mind drifts to brighter times, on a rainy February day.

Hangover cure in Paris? Very New Yorker: a grandma slice from Rori, with hot honey (and one for the road for cold leftovers the next day).

Finally, his favorite restaurant in the city? Chez Denise. “I think that was Bourdain’s old haunt. You can get a huge confit de canard. One of the last places where you can order a bottle of wine and only pay for what you drink.”

A classy touch, fit for a true boulevardier.