Discovered this restaurant/bar when very hot and tired after a long days walk. Located just north of Pier 16 (119 South St, New York). Stayed for some food and a few pints ... hmmm .... many pints might be a better way of saying it. I returned here when I came back with some friends four months later to go to a Broadway show. The bartender and the waitress both remembered me. I will go back again the next time I am in NYC.

Thomas Edison is said to have used the Paris Café as a second office while designing the world’s first centralized power stations on nearby Pearl Street. Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill Cody, as well as the famous outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were guests at the elegant establishment. Teddy Roosevelt was said to have dropped in on occasion while serving as the head of the New York City Police department. His purpose was to collar officers who indulged themselves while on duty. Ironically, less than a decade later, the 1930’s notorious crime figures Albert Anastasia and Louis Lepke of Murder, Inc. came to the Paris Café to convene under the dim lights and plot the elimination of their enemies.

I have spotted The Paris in the films The Adjustment Bureau (1998) and Godzilla (1998.

The Paris Cafe was closed for 51 weeks after the devastation of Hurricane Sandy (2012) but it has been renovated (the magnificent Victorian back-bar has been restored and is returned to its original layout) and returns with a fresh look while keeping the old feel and vibe.

More information: http://www.pariscafenyc.com/