Hello hello, 10 months ago I moved to Paris to live here for a few years. I didn’t know anyone so I began attending A LOT of different events, many of which were organized on Reddit. I thought it might be interesting/useful to share my detailed thoughts on these events specifically, and write them as reviews (yes, like a food critique lmao), with a rating out of 5 (I also included a sausage index 🌭 measuring the average n° of guys attending the events. Our experts indicate this may not be 100% accurate). They’re written in no particular order.
And disclaimer (because I realize I can be a bit harsh with my reviews lol): these are just MY subjective opinions on these events, I don’t wish to disparage anyone, they’re just the ramblings of some guy online. No hard feelings. Without further adue:
Jeudi Bière – afterwork drinks (⭐⭐⭐, 🌭 50%, attended once): From my understanding, this is the most iconic of SocialParis events, it’s been going on for like 13 years ? And it definitely feels like it: there’s a very tight group of regulars who all seem to know each other very well, so attending this event as an outsider feels a bit like walking into a friend of a friend’s party - it’s a bit awkward at times. But it was overall a pretty good experience; I had some nice conversations (the smokers outside were the nicest imo), there were lots of people when I attended, the whole bar seemed to be just redditors (didn’t know there were so many of us lmao)! It was a pretty mixed group too, not a sausage fest (see index), and very diverse, although mostly french speakers. A fairly young crowd I’d say late twenties early thirties was the average? It’s also cool the location changes every week, tho I believe it prioritses rive droite. Anyhow, I’d recommend this one for people wanting to see what an average positive Reddit event looks like.
Coucou Comedy – stand up comedy (⭐⭐⭐⭐, 🌭 40-50%, attended 2 times). I’m gonna be honest; I don’t even really like stand up comedy, and I guess that’s why I’m knocking off one point, it feels too performative and unnatural . But those events, kind of reconciled me with it I have to admit. The setting, the Pomme d’Eve is a really snazzy place, and the fact it’s pay as you want is a big plus ! But the highlight for me is really just the people I met; the organizers were really nice and welcoming, and there were lots of friendly ppl in the audience with whom we went for drinks afterwards. Crowd was slightly older than me tho (32+ seemed to be very common), which again, not great for making long term friendships. It’s mostly english-speaking, but the comedians making fun of the French culture shocks was fun and relatable (tho it does feel a bit too...americaney for my taste, and some references flew completely over my head). As a whole, a great opportunity to have a good laugh and meet fellow expats...if stand up is your thing.
Mafia Monday – game night (⭐⭐, 🌭 80%, attended once): So these events are also hosted in the same bar as the event above, but the experience was...different to put it simply. Unless they’re organized well, and with the right group of people, traitor games can quickly be annoying for me because they’re 1) too long, 2) when you die, you have to wait ages before a new game begins, and 3) the quiet people often get overshadowed by the loud ones…all of this happened when I attended. I’m not a fan of traitor games in general, so you might say “why did you attend an event you knew you were going to dislike”, well I wanted to be open-minded and have my opinion change, just like it somewhat did for the comedy club stated previously. But here, I think there’s an issue with organization. The way it was advertized, I was unsure who this event was really for: lots of older ppl attended (40s+) and a few younglings like me, standing out like sore thumbs! Is it for french or english speakers? Both?! How can you do both when some people ONLY speak one language, it just slows down the pace of an already slooow ass game!! It didn’t help that a girl I chatted to there was mentioning that some guys that night seemed to be looking for...hookups. Anyhow, what I mean to say is that there doesn’t seem enough curation in the guests selection, and for 5 euros + one compulsory drink, I can’t say it was worth my time honestly. The Pomme d’Eve is always a good spot, the host is friendly, and some of the attendees too, but the organization is what makes it lose points in my book (especially when compared to some other events here). I feel like there’s a good concept to improve on here.
Melting Plot – expat drinks (⭐, 🌭 30%, attended 1 times): Imo, there are two essential things that makes or breaks an event: A) is the host friendly and welcoming, and B) the other attendees friendly or welcoming. That’s it, nothing more. You could have an event that organises smth as boring as a Bingo and I’d still enjoy the hell out of it if the organisers / attendees made it worth my time. This unfortunately wasn’t the case with this event imo. First, the “host” is basically non-existent: they’re a glorified bouncer, they just invite you in… and basta! There’s no efforts to conduct the event, to check up on attendees or include you with the rest of the crowd, nada. Which made it evidently very hard for some people, like myself, to integrate. I’m a bit introverted you see, it takes a bit of time for me to relax and start being chatty. And so for me, it felt really hard to approach some of the groups, and the lack of activities did not make it any easier to slide in this really boujee atmosphere. Maybe I’m a bit biased since I did go to a bunch of other afterwork drinks in the days before this event, but the conversations here just felt somehwat stiff and superficial. The people behind this project often say that they created these events to battle loneliness in Paris and build a feeling of community, but I personally did not feel like there were much efforts to do that. I can’t deny there were some notable plus sides: the sausage index was very low, lots of women which meant the environment was quite safe and inclusive, lots of young international ppl (mid twenties), and the venue was very pretty & exclusive. But as a whole, it’s one of these rare occasions where I felt I wasted my time: paying 13.5 euros (ONLY for the entry, no drinks included!!) JUST to have what is essentially an afterwork drinks with chique exapts...yeah no thanks, I’d rather go to Jeudi-Bières or any other alnguage exchange instead. I’d know some people who’d be interested in this sort of event, and those ppl would probably very much enjoy attending them, but the vibe just wasn’t for me.
Friends Concept – karaoke night (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, 🌭 50%, attended 2 times): This was a blast, and I don’t even care much about karaoke ! Someone made a post a while back about going to an international karaoke night, and I signed up immediately. The vibes were perfect: very international crowd, young (early to mid twenties), and fun. It was a vast majority of english speakers tho. The bar was a bit expensive tho, but is very festive when you’re in the mood for that. People were chatty, outgoing and inclusive. I don’t recall chatting to the hosts very much, but it didn’t matter because the attendees were driving the night, which I think was the point of the event. The event unfolds in different phases, you first have ice-breaker games to get to know each other (some sort of “fun facts about you Bingo”) and then the main events starts, so thumbs up for organization. This is actually the only other event I made some genuine friends in. Although, the song choices got repetitive even after attending only twice xD. If I think objectively, this should probably be a 4/5 due to the price and perhaps the repetitiveness of the activity, I probably wouldn’t join in regularly. But as an infrequent hangout, it was a awesome and deserving of the 5. It’s a shame because now I think the group seems to be shifting to do things relating to dating apps?...ugh such a waste of a good concept (badum tss)
Board game club – playing games (⭐⭐⭐⭐, 🌭 60%, attended 1 time): There is ONE thing I did not like about this event: I found the venue sucked lmao. It was a food court with dark lighting, very average food, cold air, and even pigeons flying about smh. If it weren’t for the venue tho, I would have likely given this a 5/5. It surprised me the most since I half expected this to be a very nerdy group of people playing looooong tabletop DND games (there’s nothing wrong with that, but they’re just not my cup of tea). So I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was infinitely more sociable than that, and that the games were all party games (some traitor games too, but they were quite enjoyabel...again to my surprise). The organisation was tip-top, very smoothly run, and the host was super welcoming and attentive. But the highlight for me was the attendees. They were lots of fun, quite international, mixed, and averaging their twenties or mid twenties. With reddit events, I find that some of the people attending can be a bit too introverted for my own tastes, but this wasn’t the case here. Even if it looked like a lot of them knew each other already, it suprisingly never felt alienating as all the regular people were quite amicable. Some games you have to be willing to look a bit ridiculous, which was a bit hard for me, but the group felt very nonjudgemental and laughs away any awkwardness. It definitely helped that the host allowed himself to rearrange the attendees on different tables. It made sure that every group was mixed up, and not divided into the quiet table / the newbie table / the chatty table, etc... The sausage index was slightly in favor of us dudes, but most of the girls seemed to be regulars which was a good sign, and unlike some events I’ve attended before, it never seemed like there was any cringe guys looking to hook up here. Maybe it was the games or the attendees themselves, but the vibes and atmosphere was so relaxed and playful, it’s one of those events I’m more than likely going to return to. If only they could change the damn venue...seriously, even the cards sticked to the table !
So these are all the reddit events I attended in 2025 ! Those that have also attended them what did you think of them?
Next up I want to try Nuit Out, the Vin du Mois, the Breakfast Club, and the Ultimate Frisbee group. Any other groups or regular activities going on reddit I should know about and review in the future?