Inside our 17th-century cellar in Nice Old Town

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Our story

Les Folies d'Edmonde opened in May 2022 at 16 rue Benoît Bunico, a small alley in Nice Old Town that corresponds to the former Giudaria — Nice's historical Jewish quarter, closed off by gates at night until the late 18th century. The cellar's stone walls are medieval; the vaulted ceiling was added later (17th century). One room, exposed stone, low ceiling. Since opening, the team has served more than 88,000 cocktails and hosted over 800 events.

Rue Benoît Bunico is a small alley in Nice Old Town corresponding to the former Giudaria, the Jewish quarter of Nice until the 18th century. The alignment of the street and the tall adjoining houses date from that period; the stone walls of the cellars themselves are medieval. The gates that used to close the street at night are gone; the arcades have remained.

The story behind our name

The name "Les Folies d'Edmonde" pays tribute to Edmonde, the founder's maternal grandmother. The story begins in a bar: that evening, Edmonde ordered an apricot juice. Her husband, Pierre-Yves, encouraged her to add a little alcohol. Staying true to her tastes, she asked the bartender for cognac. Pierre-Yves tasted the blend and fell in love with it. From that day on, Edmonde's apricot-and-cognac became her signature cocktail—the only one she would agree to drink.

Every cocktail on our menu carries a family first name: Henriette (maternal great-grandmother), Edmonde (maternal grandmother), Marie-Madeleine (paternal grandmother), and André (her husband). A cocktail list that is also a family tree.

The sisters behind the bar

Caroline and Aurélie are sisters — granddaughters of Edmonde, their grandmother, whose first name gave the bar its title. They opened Les Folies together in May 2022.

Caroline writes the cocktail menu. She had already opened a restaurant when she was younger, but the bar idea took shape during her student years in Dijon, behind the counter of an Irish pub where she pulled her first service shifts. At Les Folies she runs the cocktail classes and signs every new recipe that lands on the menu.

Aurélie's path is less obvious. A veterinarian by training — with a particular affinity for farm animals — she circled back to her first love after the European Bartender School. She refines her sister's ideas, dials in the balance on each drink, and stands behind the bar a few nights a month.

Together, they sign the cocktails and run the mixology classes. Caroline runs the bar every evening; Aurélie joins behind the counter a few nights a month.

The spirit of the place

No two nights at Les Folies are the same. The live program is refreshed every two weeks and rotates between open-stage jam sessions, hosted karaoke, drag shows, flamenco and live bands — while the same team stays behind the bar every night. The four signature cocktails — Edmonde, Marie-Madelaine, Rosie, Germaine — are named after members of the founding family, and the menu is deliberately kept short so the bar has time to execute each drink properly.

A cocktail bar open every night since May 2022, at 16 rue Benoît Bunico, Nice Old Town.

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