Cave Nansouty

A lively place that is much better than it looks from the outside. Sounds scary? well, just try it then... A very easy going classical no bullshit-bistro. Very good wines - selected to please rather than to show off. 

Le Pantruche

Le Pantruche is an excellent new charming bistro, located in a small side street, right off the vibrant Rue des Martyrs. Discrete, but warmly decorated, and with perhaps just as many tables inside as you could imagine. As both guests and staff are nice, open and accommodating; the proximity of a large number of potential friends just adds to the vibe of the place. The kitchen is inventive, but solidly grounded. Particularly worth exploring is the excellent application of fish and sea food, for example in oyster tartare, mackerel, or the likes. Wines are good - some even very good - and available for a bargain. Most definitely worth the visit - again...

lepantruche.com

Milord

Context is everything: Imagine that the sun is shining warmly on the first sunny spring day in Paris. You are wandering carelessly on the butte de Montmatre enjoying the weather, the people and the extraordinary places on your way. You feel like a brunch. This place appears in front of you, covering the pavement with uneven tables on the mounting street. People are passing by, saying hi, telling stories, passing by again, walking their dogs, their wives or even their mistresses. And you're enjoying your brunch. Very simple although overwhelming and not expensive (the word cheap doesn't really sound nice). So you can simply chill in the afternoon sun while enjoying the generous plates. Feels good.

Le Tout Petit

In the heart of the friendly neighborhood around Batignolles, you'll find a small square, somewhat in between a little decorative parisian park and a white painted church. In the midst of all the cafes and bars generously welcoming its visitors, a tiny restaurant has been squeezed in between its neighbors, Le Tout Petit. The ambiance is cosy, it's almost always crowded, particularly outside during the summer time. The prices are very reasonable, or even, regardless of your pick, you can be almost sure that it's a good buy. The food is very decent, but simple; salads, plates with cheese or charcuterie, and a single hot dish of the day. It's not sophisticated, but the staff is very friendly and relaxed. A fair selection of wines too. 

La Baignoire

This restaurant happens to be located less than 30 meters from my apartment. In itself, this does of course not lead to any kind of bias in this assessment... still: This is really un resto du quarter. An unpretentious, better than very decent, place. With small funny bath tubs, taps and other stuff decorating the relaxed - read, not over styled - deco, the place greets you with a direct view to the large kitchen (although this sometimes reminds you that occasionally, you do fry things in a kitchen). If you decide to come early, know that the restaurant is filled later than most places in Paris - and usually with a rather young and lively crowd. The wine list is not overwhelming, but it does the job. And no wines cost more than 40 euros, in itself a clear indication of a preference to serve food to the locals, rather than becoming bobo'ised. And the food is simply good. A plain entrecôte, comme il faut. Good potatoes, by the book. Nicely done cod tartare, fresh and appetizing. And a very nice and warm staff. Friendly. The place you are really glad to have around the corner.

www.labaignoire-paris18.com

Le bistrot des vignes

The owner of Bistrot des Vignes has established several places in Paris with the same name (very useful, for example if you're not capable of remembering the name of more than one restaurant...). The place is nice, cosy and the staff is somewhat correcte. The dishes are classical, decently prepared (although not to the point where you would talk about it), and the wines are also ok. Placed in the lively and charming Rue des dames, this is a decent stop on the way.

www.bistrotdesvignes.fr/

Aux Deux Amis

This place is a strange mix between a noisy bar and a classy neo-bistrot. For those who prefer things quiet and nicely wrapped in, this might be a bit to much. For the rest of us, the place is excellent for tasting a series of interesting and well prepared dishes. Although the noyeau is French, some twists of Mediterranean kitchen are to be expected. Excellent wines. Very much Oberkamf. 

Cafe des Musees

Cafe des Musees is a classical Parisian bistro in the best sense of the word. In Rue de Turenne, the street where you always can find just one more shirt to buy, this place is just in front of the church, well located between Place des Vosges and Rue de Bretagne with Le Marche des Enfants Rouges. The place is simple, but charming with its black and white tiles and the red wooden strips of tree. The waiters are charming and nice, even enough to forgive them a few faux pas along the way... The food is simply good, comme il faut, well prepared and simple, based on good products. And when you can start out with a bottle of brut nature bubbles from Drappier for 40 euros, you are already very well of. Most definitely a good address.

www.cafedesmusees.fr

Ma Cave Fleury

When you happen to do your afternoon stroll in the area around Rue Saint Denis, this small, cosy and personal Champagne bar is the perfect stop. If you're sitting outside, then keep an eye on your bag. And then relax and enjoy the extraordinary selection of exquisite - mainly organic - bubbles at almost no cost. And top up with a beetroot snack or some foie gras to keep the balance. Although the place is small and a makeshift, it does hold a nerve - but then again, good bubbles just make everything easier.

www.macavefleury.fr

Le Baratin

Le Baratin is an excellent and cosy small neo-bistrot in the 20th district, just above the Parc de Belleville. The focus is on natural wines and well-prepared solid yet elegant, dishes, particularly around entrails. Although particular, the food is sharp and well thought. Very reasonably priced (the cadeau for moving up on the steep hills of Belleville).

Barav

Barav - short for "bar à vin" - is a cool wine bar in a perfectly chill neighborhood. Located in the Haut-Marais the bar is the perfect yet unpretentious hang out place, when you just want to share a good bottle of wine with some good friends. Or even a stranger... The concept is simple: A simple bar on a corner, a lot of randomly selected chairs and tables where people can sit. A limited menu. A wine shop of the house next door, open until 22.00, the "cork price" or droit de bouchon is almost ridiculous at 7 euros (but also helps attract a mixed and funny crowd of young locals). This concept allows you to taste a rich variety of very good and well selected wines for little money. Once the wine shop closes next door, a decent selection remains in the bar. Simple dishes are served, and a number of decent servings with cheese or charcuterie. 

Le Comptoir des Petits Champs

A very charming place in the very heart of Paris. Nice ambiance and people are generally good company, despite a high tourist ratio. Although the place is well-priced the food is not overwhelmingly good. Appears a dating restaurant. Very straightforward decent menu, plain and simple.

www.lecomptoirdespetitschamps.fr

Quedubon

As you are just about to think that there is absolutely nothing in the 19th district, aside from the magic Buttes Chaumont, a funny modern bistro appears: Quedubon. And it is "just good stuff". For example like a well conceived tuna tartare. Or pickled pork. An unpretentious place with delicious and well-prepared food, served by cool and charming waiters. An impressive and well selected wine list. Good and interesting bottles. Well priced.

Cafe Constant

This is a good place. Regardless of the number of tourist guides that crowd the place with backpacking tourists and the likes, the place is simply excellent for the price range. The cafe is next to Constant's more high end restaurant and bistro just a few meters away. Although the place is crowded and the tables are changing owners continuously, the room holds a good vibe. The kitchen is simple and traditional, but everything is done well. The menu holds different levels of sophistication and prices, allowing for a broad and funny crowd to mix. The clientele covers both outsiders as well as locals, providing a melting pot that seems slightly more tasty than in most 7th district restaurants. The wines offered are not many, but well selected and probably reflect the good cellars of the sister restaurants nearby. Good wines by the glass.

www.cafeconstant.com

Laiterie Sainte Clotilde

In the very bourgois neighborhood of the 7th, restaurants are often something only for the nearby ministries during lunch hours. Laiterie Sainte Clotilde is also worth a visit in the evening. Not for its decor, but the place is nice and does very much with very little in terms of good feeling. The food is sharp and creative, well conceived and well prepared. Dishes such as chestnut salad, boeuf Saint Marcelais are delivered very well. The prices are also reasonable for the area.

Le Cafe qui Parle

On the border of Montmartre and just across from the cemetery, you'll find the cafe that talks. Usually crowded in the evenings, this place serves very well-priced and decent food. The kitchen serves classical French kitchen with some renewal, such as the interesting bababane (did I miss a "ba" here??). The people are friendly and the wines are well selected in a non-expensive price range. 

Le pas sage

First of all, hold on to your belongings when you're moving around in the sometimes hipster-slum'ish, sometimes just measly street of Rue Saint Denis, as you're staring at one of the few businesses older than serving food. This changes somewhat once you enter the small three meter something shelf of a restaurant, le pas sage. The place is locate in an old Parisian passage, not too far away from the quite different Montorgeuil, while the wording in French means something like "the wise step". The place is gifted with beautiful waitresses demonstrating the obvious limits of the outside business. The food is good, well prepared and the prices are absolutely reasonable. The deco is relaxed and their wines are unpretentious but well selected. A good juicy pork is worth a try.

Chateaubriand

An unusually good place. The style and ambiance is cool, so is the staff. Yet still knowledgable and able to make you feel good. For 55 euros you will get more than 9 highly innovative dishes of the highest quality created with no faults. It's a must do. The kitchen is basque inspired, and the food is light and elegant. The wines are creative (even a bit too creative at times, the thing with the craving for natural wine...) and most often very well selected. Be clear about your wine preferences in order to let all your wishes come true. They most likely will...

www.lechateaubriand.net

La table d'Eugene

Moving up North of the Grand Boulevards, even beyond Sacre Coeur and Montmartre, you will find the old 18th, what some people would clim is the only remaining parts of the real, old Paris. This small restaurant/bistrot, has an appetizing menu, served extraordinarily well. The place is small, but cosy; and the couple running it will most certainly take good care of you. The wine selection is equally good and very well priced. It's very simple: It's a good address.

Le Verre volé

This cosy win bar near Canal Saint Martin is a centre of good ambiance. The small open kitchen corner serves excellent, but simple food, for a mixed and lively crowd. The style is unpretentious, but sharp and precise. The price-value ratio is extremely good. And the buzz is on. Then, what's the but? The but is the hip fancy of intestines and natural wines. Although the blood sausages are good, I draw my personal limit before les andouillettes. Even though the menu is often narrowed down to just a few - good - selections, it almost always also holds traditional meat and fish. The wine selection is rich, and with a large number of exciting small producers it is mostly good, although you might be recommended particularly daring wines as your night comes along and your sommelier also has a glass or two. If you're able to navigate safely through halfway oxidized nature wine and the most hard core parts of the French kitchen, this is most definately a place that will bring you lots of good experiences.

www.leverrevole.fr