I told you a while ago that I was going to wait a bit before sharing my good addresses with you, to do it "properly". It took me a bit longer than expected but here I am! And for this first address, no sweets (I make so many cakes at home that when I go out, I often avoid sugary things). So I decided to test a great bar near my workplace: the Dindon Dandy.
Behind this funny name, there's a wine bar/cocktail bar where you can taste very good plates (I love bars where you can snack!). After a very nice evening with a friend, I decided to come back to interview Adrien, the owner, so he could tell us about his new baby!
Hi Adrien, can you tell us a bit about you and your team?
Hi Camille! We're a team of 3: Bob who I've known for over 6 years, Alex who I met 8 years ago, and me.
When I was younger, I started working in restaurants while studying advertising. When I got my degree, I asked myself whether I should join an advertising agency but it's a rather particular field and I wasn't sure it really suited me. Ultimately, I decided to stay in the restaurant business and I don't regret it!
After various experiences, I started a business in the 15th district 4 years ago: 200 seats, 15 employees... It was going well but I didn't feel right about it. When my partner left, I decided to sell the restaurant and create my bar, something more intimate, convivial... That's how Dindon Dandy was born.
Why open a cocktail bar, what's your difference?
We're not trying to create an event and become a trendy bar at any cost – you know, the kind that serves you an amazing cocktail but doesn't give you a look. We're looking to stand out from the ordinary while staying pleasant. We're going all in on service, while offering good products and quality drinks. We want to do everything well and achieve perfection, basically we want to "serve good vibes" and we want people who come here to leave with a smile because they had a great evening.
We offer quite a wide range of alcohol, whether wine or cocktails (we work with 2 neighboring wine merchants) but we're not meant to become a "food bar". We offer plates to accompany our drinks but that's not our core business, we're not looking to become a tapas bar for example.
And on your plates you offer very good products: bread from Monsieur Fernand, Spanish and Italian charcuterie (and OMG, that Espelette pepper butter!), how do you choose your suppliers?
We work with 4 charcuterie makers with whom we've built a real relationship and in whom we have complete trust. We're looking to build partnerships with passionate people, with whom we enjoy working and who can offer us good products at affordable prices for our clients.
We're always looking for new things, we listen carefully to their suggestions and our menu changes based on their advice and deliveries. It's a real pleasure for us to build our plates by seeking out small producers that we can promote. Again, we're looking to do things well, but always without pretension.
The Dindon Dandy, a funny name for a bar, where does it come from?
When we moved into the bar, there was barely anything left but the staircase. Since we're on rue de Paradis, we wondered if there wasn't something to do with "Stairway to Heaven". And then the renovations took longer than expected and we started becoming friends with the bars on the street, l'Ours, le Mérou... We figured we should continue the tradition of animal names! Since the colors present were those of a turkey and it was an original animal, it fit perfectly!
We can see real thought behind your decoration, what were your inspirations?
At the turkey there are 2 atmospheres, downstairs it's more bistro/counter style while upstairs we're more in a cocktail bar. What we wanted was to offer an intimate, convivial space where you enjoy staying.
The decoration mostly came from inspiration found on Pinterest. Then, like everything else, we rummaged around to build our ambiance. The bricks are in fir (I really loved the red cedar ones but outside the US it's impossible to find), the light bulbs come from a small locksmith in Levallois and are installed in a way that respects our acoustic insulation constraints and the sofas were hunted for.
My opinion:
A complete success for Le Dindon Dandy. I've had a great evening every time I've been there. The atmosphere and the welcome are very warm and you want to sink into one of the sofas and hold onto your glass of wine until late in the night. Besides, I'm not a wine specialist and the servers gave very good advice (prices start at 4.50€ for a glass of red).
The cocktails are really good and at average prices for this kind of place (12-15 euros). The charcuterie plate, well-stocked and original, is 19 euros. The products are of quality (whether in drinks or food), the service is top-notch. What more could you ask for?
The Dindon Dandy
4 rue de Paradis, 75010 Paris
