L’Antiquaire in Lyon – Enjoy your cocktail accompanied by jazzy tunes

L’Antiquaire in Lyon –  Enjoy your cocktail accompanied by jazzy tunes

The TGV connects Frankfurt with Marseille in eight hours, and if you’re not in a hurry, you can get off in between. For example, in Lyon, where you can eat and drink excellently. L’Antiquaire was my first drinking destination in Lyon and to sum it up in advance, I had a good seat at the bar, great conversations with guests and the bartender and flawless drinks.

L’Antiquaire opened in 2010 and is a long proven institution for classic drinking. It has this special speakeasy atmosphere. But actually, the word speakeasy is a bit of a misnomer, as the bar is easy to find. It has that retro American spirit of the 1950s and 1960s, with the bartenders dressed in vests and ties, with jazzy tunes to treat your ears and dimmed subdued lighting to soothe your eyes. You can sit at the bar or find your place on the leather benches. Music plays a big part in the concept. It is always jazz and blues, nothing beyond the ’70s, in accordance with the retro American interieur.

Visually, acoustically and sensorially, L’Antiquaire offers a journey back in time to an American retro bar inspired by the 1950s and 1960s.

The menu is clearly arranged and easy to understand. The DNA of the cocktails is classic. They have structured the menu with spirits for everyone from agave to vodka to whisky. You will find aperitifs, and old school and signature cocktails using contemporary techniques, including milk punch. You can ask the bartender for a personal recommendation too. My bartender suggested a Boulevardier, but swapped out the Whisky for Mezcal. A very good start to a long night ahead.

I opted for the Peanut Sazerac. It comes with a spoon made of dark chocolate pairing the peanut butter fat washed concoction perfectly. Pleasantly sweet but with a strong alcoholic note and nice texture. I followed that with one of my favourite classics, a Brandy Crusta. The bar plans to have more cocktails on tap very soon, which will certainly also be very interesting. Since opening, L’Antiquaire has continued to develop and improve. 

 

The bar is the home of Marc Bonneton’s Bacardi Fizz – a drink that was the winner of Bacardi Legacy in 2011. It is a mixture of rum, lemon juice, Chartreuse, egg white, cream, sugar and sparkling water. To be more precise:

4.5 cl Bacardi Blanca
1.5 cl green Chartreuse
1.5 cl lime juice
1.5 cl yellow lemon juice
1.5 cl liquid sugar
2 cl egg white
3 cl milk cream, 35% fat
4 cl sparkling water

Garnish with a decorative mint head and serve in a Collins glass

Finally, it remains to say that I stayed much longer than planned, which is always the ultimate proof that you like the place and, above all, that you were very well taken care of.