Brasserie du Théâtre

The Brasserie du Théâtre is officially my favorite bar in Montbéliard. Ok so let’s be honest, there aren’t that many bars to choose from here, but of the ones I’ve tried the Brasserie is by far my favorite.

It’s not that they have amazing drinks here, or even drinks that are extremely inexpensive, it’s the informality of the joint. You walk in and you feel like you’ve just arrived at your best friend’s place. Everyone is really down to earth, exceptionally friendly and interesting to talk to. I’d say the hardest thing to do while I’ve been here is to make French friends. Not because French youth aren’t nice, it’s just more difficult to join into an already established group. But at the Brasserie, every time I go, I meet a new person. Usually, someone who approaches us and we all just start talking and introducing ourselves.

The first time I went, I went to see a British rock band. The band turned to be a French band playing the “Strokes” and other punk-like music. But, the concert was held in a little room above the bar with painted walls and a rigged audio system. It was great, simple, raw and make-shift.

My second experience at the bar was to celebrate the birth of the new Beaujolais of 2007. Basically, everyone comes around to try out the new wine. I met up with another assistant, thinking we would go to try a glass or two and make an early night of it. We ended up closing the joint. When we arrived the bar was hosting a seminar on energy conservation. We snuck in quietly, said hi to the bar tender Ludwig (yes like Beethoven) and asked if we could enjoy a glass upstairs away from the seminar goers. Without a second thought, Ludwig said of course as if we owned the joint and we followed the other bartender upstairs. Seconds later a group of French people joined us on the comfy leather couches and we shared some wine, comté, sausage and olives along with the bartender too. By the end of the night, there were more than 20 people upstairs with us. Cheese was flying through the rooms with attempts to make 3-pointers into people’s glasses and it was fabulous.

So this time around, I met up with some other assistants I hadn’t met yet and we bonded over a beer or two. Again we talked freely with the bartender and some other gens (people) in the bar. So relaxed. We left giving each other bisous (double kiss) on the way out.

Small towns might not have a huge night life to offer, but at least they have great small bars where everyone knows your name (even if sometimes they mistake your name for Leslie!).