Corcorans, St Michel
The Corcoran's chain is generally an unlovely one. Regardless of how pleasant the staff are and how much you want to enjoy the time you spend there the exorbitant prices and shadowy gloom that seems to be all pervading in each means that the experience is rarely a wholly satisfactory one. Situated in the midst of a run of trinket shops and kebaberiers amidst the pleasant town house architecture of St Michel their establisment suffers the most from what can only be described as the gloom factor. Spend too much time drinking among the shadows and the ex-pats here and the experience will quickly begin to feel like a deeply unwholesome one.
Dishonourable mentions: any O'Sullivan's or Corcoran's pub, and McBride's, Rue St Denis
Kitty O'Shea's, Rue des Capucines
Despite boasting perhaps the world's oldest and stickiest bar counter top Kitty's saving grace is its welcoming staff. Like the aforementioned Corcoran's it's range of drinks is fairly limited: the usual suspects on tap, a range of five or six cocktails, and a small selection of spirits. Set against this the cheerful creatures behind the bar maintain, with some justificiation, that they serve the best pint of Guinness in town. Bonus points are also awarded to it for being slightly less gloomy than many of its competitors. Finally, although its pints are slightly dearer and there's no happy hour Kitty's status as a more or less freestanding independent enterprise (it's sister pub in Porte Maillot is the James Joyce) lessens the "oh-my-god-how much-am-i-paying for this????" feeling generally felt when one drinks in Irish pubs in Paris. All in all, a pleasant enough pub for any homesick and lonely ex-pat seeking solace at the bottom of a glass. One should definitly not expect more than that though.
Neither honourable nor dishonourable mentions: Quigley's Point, Les Halles
Coolin, 15 Rue Clement
A bit of a headscratcher this. Although its food menu, furnishings, and atmosphere are vastly superior (many well adjusted French people are frequent regulars here) to much of the competition something doesn't just feel quite right about this place. Perhaps it's the fact that it's located inside a shopping centre or maybe its the fact that the fixtures and fittings are just too new or perhaps it's just the "too cool for school" aura exuded by many of the staff members. Regardless of what the decisive factor actually is, taken together they all contrive to undermine the undoubted strong points that the Coolin possesses and make it seem less unique and memorable than it perhaps should be.
Neither honourable nor dishonourable mentions: none. In light of it's competition the Coolin's bizarre combination of apparently being independently owned and run while also being fairly soulless makes it something of a curiosity/freakshow for Paris.
The Cork and Cavan, Canal Saint-Martin
In terms of friendliness of staff, atmosphere, location, and uniqueness the Cork and Cavan is the clear winner in this field. If one drinks there regularly enough it's not uncommon for Kevin or Micky, the gracious owners, to provide a free drink every now and again. Similarly, the Canal Saint-Martin/Belleville area is a hotbed of Bobo (bourgeois bohemians; sort of a cross between hipsters and yuppies) action. While this may sound like a guranteed forecast for intoleralbly high levels of smug the bobos are occassionaly interesting, generally discreet, and usually colourfully attired. In short, they're good to have around for mood. On the gloom index the C&C scores highly as it faces onto the canal so it does not suffer from the poor light that afflicts many of its high rise surrounded competitors. Also, on warm days the chance to sit lazily by the water and drink is one that simply must be seized by all right thinking individuals. All told, with it's good loctation, friendly staff, interesting-ish clientele and proud owners the C&C is undoubtedly one of the better Irish pubs in Paris.
Honourable mention: Connolly's Corner, Quartier Latin - like the C&C this one boasts plenty of character and, again like the C&C, doesn't seem to be operating according to the same manically mercenary philosophy that seems to dominate amongst its competitors.
Conclusion
Irish pubs in Paris are generally a sorry lot but some decent ones do operate. The exceptions are few and far between however and the basic rule of thumb would seem to be to avoid the gloomier chain pubs like the plague. Beyond that, stick to the areas french people recommend (Belleville and Quartier Latin are, unsurprisingly given that the best Irish bars operate here, good spots for pub crawls/searches) and you'll do well. Enjoy!
