The decor is vintage clown, due to its proximity to the Cirque d'Hiver, and it's hard not to feel good here.

After all, clowns are supposed to make you happy. Beautiful painted circus tiles, old posters and all kinds of clown memorabilia provide the backdrop for solid bistrot fare and interesting, small-production wines.

The clown theme might sound corny, but once inside and settled in with a good wine and a plate of country sausage or a selection of cheese, it all seems perfectly mood-elevating. Unusual, yes.

Frowning is not an option.

Le Clown Bar
114 Rue Amelot
11th Arrondisement
Metro: Filles-du-Calvaire
Open Daily Until 1am
www.clown-bar.fr

Owners of wine bars are passionate about wine. They believe in forging relationships with winegrowers and go so far as to order barrels of carefully selected vintages, which they will then bottle and store themselves, in the caves, beneath their establishments.

Each wine bar has its own personality with one thing in common, the belief that wine should be carefully paired with food.
Traditional charcuterie (cheeses and meats) may be offered along with more substantial specials of the day.

Whatever the fare, the philosophy is unfalteringly, “ Eat, drink and be merry”.