Bar Kléber © Elise Quiniou
Some rooms carry history more heavily than others. Bar Kléber, at The Peninsula Paris, has a particularly remarkable chapter to tell. In 1973, it was here that the Paris Peace Accords were signed, bringing an end to direct American military involvement in the Vietnam War. Half a century later, the weight of that history sits quietly beneath the room’s gilded mouldings and oak panelling.
The diplomats, negotiators and military attachés who once occupied these tables have long since been replaced by distinguished guests from all corners of the world. The stakes are rather lower these days, but the international character remains. Today, Bar Kléber is a place for cocktails, conversation and the leisurely rituals of an evening in Paris.
There is something appealing about that transformation. The room has retained its grandeur without becoming a museum piece; history is present, but never intrusive. A beautifully made cocktail and a little time spent beneath those chandeliers are enough to make you linger.
Clockwise from top left: Bar Kléber details © Sorya Pedoussaut; drinks at Bar Kléber © Elise Quiniou; dining room at LiLi © Arbes; entrance to LiLi © Diana Photography | Featured image: Bar Kléber © Will Pryce
From Bar Kléber, I make my way to LiLi, where the atmosphere shifts from stately to theatrical. It’s like I have travelled 10,000 miles in just a handful of seconds. Inspired by both Chinese and French opera, the restaurant is one of the more dramatic dining rooms in Paris, with a setting that feels designed for an occasion.
The cuisine is Cantonese at heart, with the precision and polish one would expect from The Peninsula. Delicate dim sum leads into more substantial dishes, with seafood treated with a light touch and classic flavours given room to speak for themselves.
Then comes the Peking duck. Crisp-skinned, rich and beautifully presented, it is the kind of signature dish that earns its place through execution rather than novelty. There is ceremony in the presentation, but the pleasure is ultimately very simple: it is an exceptionally good duck.
Interior of LiLi © Clement From France
What I enjoy most about the evening is the contrast between the two rooms. Bar Kléber offers old-world glamour and a sense of place; LiLi is more exuberant, contemporary and distinctly Asian in character. Together, they capture something of The Peninsula’s particular style of hospitality—polished without feeling stiff, theatrical without becoming excessive.
It is an evening that moves effortlessly from cocktails to Cantonese cuisine, from one beautifully preserved room to another very different expression of luxury. And sometimes, in a city as full of grand hotels as Paris, that is quite enough: a beautiful room, a memorable meal and good reason to stay a little longer.
LiLi details © Agence Pancake
LiLi interior © Clement from France
LiLi tableware © Clement from France
To find out more about The Peninsula Paris, Bar Kléber and LiLi, visit the links below:
The Peninsula Paris
19 Av. Kléber
75116 Paris
France
Web: peninsula.com
Tel: +33 1 5812 2888
Email: ppr@peninsula.com
Instagram: @thepeninsulaparis
Facebook: @ThePeninsulaParis