At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails is a 2016 book written by Sarah Bakewell that covers the philosophy and history of the 20th century movement existentialism.

The title refers to an incident in which Sartre's close friend and fellow philosopher Raymond Aron startled him when they were in a cafe, by pointing to the glass in front of him and stating, "You can make a philosophy out of this cocktail.

Bakewell traces existentialism from its 19th-century roots in the works of philosophers such as Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche, who questioned conventional beliefs and focused on individual experience, freedom, and responsibility.

Parisian cafés, where thinkers gathered to discuss freedom, authenticity, and the nature of being, became a breeding ground for the development of existentialist ideas.

The existentialist emphasis on human freedom and individual choice influenced postwar literature, existential psychotherapy, and political activism, leaving a legacy that continues to shape contemporary thought.