L’Experimental COCKTAIL CLUB

As the pioneers of the speakeasy cocktail scene in Paris, Experimental Cocktail Club now run a global portfolio of ultra-hip dining & nightlife institutions.

In recent years, Paris’s cocktail scene has experienced a dramatic renaissance, introducing a new era of inspired mixology to the City of Lights. Paris has three men to thank for this revolution: childhood friends Romée de Goriaino , Pierre-Charles Cros and Olivier Bon the handsome trio behind the Experimental Cocktail Club, otherwise known as “ECC”. Inspired by New York’s eclectic nightlife and dining scene that they felt was lacking in Paris, these entrepreneurial Parisians decided to take matters into their own hands, and thus the Experimental Cocktail Club was born. Fast forward seven years, and ECC has become an international success story, laying claim to a global portfolio of cutting-edge cocktail bars, restaurants and now, an ambitious 38-room Paris-based hotel project scheduled to open in September 2014.

e ECC journey began in Paris’s trendy Montorgueil district, where the rst Experimental Cocktail Club bar found its home. With a “secret speakeasy” vibe and a selective list of meticulously crafted yet a ordable cocktails, their rst bar was designed as a minimalist, neo-Baroque den with cool DJ sounds and a cosy, dimly-lit ambiance. While seeming like an on-trend designer installation, the truth is that the trio of friends decided to re- t the bar themselves when bank funds proved hard to come by. Following the smash hit success of their rst venture, the team opened a second Paris-based venture, Curio Parlour, in July 2008 in the Latin Quarter; an underground speakeasy swathed in velvet curtains concealing clandestine nooks, perfect for mellow cocktail sipping. Less than a year later, the ECC opened their third cocktail bar in Saint Germain, Prescription; an ambitious venture designed as a split-level, library-esque hideaway with vintage wallpapers, hidden doors and bowler-hat light ttings.

Romée de Goriaino states, “When people come to one of our places, we want them to feel as though they’re part of a members club. While we never wanted to open a members club, we still wanted to convey the feeling of being one”. One of the hallmarks of the ECC concept is the signature interiors of talented French designer, Dorothée Meilichzon, who has created a distinctive design for each ECC venture. With their trademark ability to attract the “It” crowd of très chic Parisians and in-the-know foreigners, the ECC establishments may be temples of style, but cocktail creativity remains at the heart of their business. Connoisseurs can expect meticulously executed classics, inspired new creations and expert mixologists at every venue.

ECC’s popularity kick-started the city’s latent cocktail scene, and hip hangouts were soon popping up across the city. How does de Goriaino feel about ECC’s part in the city’s cocktail revolution? “I like that we became the reference,” de Goriaino replies, “and 99% of these new bar owners came up through us.” He’s not wrong. e stellar success of Paris’s latest institutions Candelaria, Glass, Artisan, Little Red Door were launched by ECC’s top alumni. Refreshingly, de Goriaino is more than happy to share the local cocktail scene with the fresh faces of its newcomers.

In the years following their trailblazing debut, the ECC founders have maintained their experimental energy. eir foray into wine came next, opening a wine bar in Saint Germain, Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels, highlighting an extensive selection of lesser-known wine labels to some of the nest vintages in the world—many of which can be enjoyed by the glass. e team recently transported the concept to London’s Covent Garden, which has become an instant hit with the city’s in-the-know crowd for its excellent wine list and soul-satisfying sharing plates of tru ed mortadella, fresh burrata and legendary croque-monsieur. London’s Chinatown also marks the home of ECC’s typically hard-to- nd, latenight cocktail hideaway: three oors of bare brick, hand-painted wallpapers and vintage spirits with a notoriously di cult entry policy.

“One of my most exciting moments in our journey so far was when we opened our rst overseas ventures. I have always lived and studied abroad, and from the start, we envisioned to one day be trading in London or New York City. When we signed our rst lease in London, I realised it was all happening … my head was spinning! Opening abroad is a big challenge when you’re a small company”, de Goriaino re ects.

Diving into the culinary world, Le Beef Club was their rst restaurant project in Paris a stylish steakhouse showcasing meat sourced from Tim Wilson’s English farm and Parisian meat maestro, Yves-Marie le Bourdonnec. In a clandestine twist, guests can then descend through a separate unmarked doorway to nd Le Beef Club’s subterranean cocktail bar and club, Le Ballroom, perfect for late night partying accompanied by killer cocktails and cutting-edge DJ sounds. eir next Paris restaurant venture, the hip Peruvian-inspired Fish Club, serves up seasonal mussels and oysters alongside inventive seafood tapas and sharing plates.

Unsurprisingly, the ECC odyssey does not stop there. Seven years after the ECC transported New Yorkinspired mixology to Paris, the ECC team brought the inspiration behind Paris’s speakeasy trend full circle by opening an ECC cocktail bar in New York’s Lower East Side. eir Ibiza-based beach club is also bound to be one of the island’s coolest party spots this summer. “Whether you go to La Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels in London or in New York City, the Beef Club in Paris, or the Experimental Beach Bar in Ibiza, we want people to feel as though they’re having a unique experience in a special place, to know that it’s a property run by Experimental Group. Why? Because it is the guarantee of having the best music, drinks, food and interior design”.

So what does the future hold for Experimental Cocktail Club? In short, a lot. e team has just opened a new La Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels wine bar in New York’s trendy Broome Street, and September 2014 will see the opening of ECC’s rst hotel venture, Le Grand Pigalle. “We get to travel a lot and we always prefer to be in hotels that fully respect the DNA of the city we’re in. Do you want to be in a New York-style hotel in Paris ? Do you really want to be in a Paris-themed hotel in the middle of Manhattan? No. ere’s so much more to o er in terms of interior design, concierge services, food and drinks which replicate the standards that you can nd elsewhere in the word. So the concept of our new hotel will be to give foreigners and locals a non-touristy, or non-cliché, introduction to the Parisian lifestyle.”

“For instance, we’ll have a wine bar on the ground oor that will o er 500 di erent wines. By pressing a special button, you can have a sommelier come to your room and help you choose one of the many bottles that we propose. It will also be the same with cocktails; each room will have a cocktail kit, where you can ask our bartenders to come and prepare something for you in your room. It’s all about o ering a unique experience”, de Goriaino explains.

As usual, ideas are owing thick and fast with the ECC team, so don’t be surprised if a new hotel pops up in London, a hip new dining project appears in New York, or an underground nightlife project emerges in Los Angeles. “We want to be remembered for being innovative and disruptive in every industry we operate in; be it a hotel, a steakhouse, a ceviche bar, wine bars or cocktail bars”, says de Goriaino . Given the team’s phenomenal success so far, there’s no limit as to where their collective talents will take them next.