Restaurants
Le Marché des Enfants Rouge, 39 rue de Bretagne, 3rd arrondissement
The oldest food market in Paris apparently, dating from 1615, although you can't really tell. It's a dense, bustling open air market which feels indoors because of all the canopies jutting out of the various stalls. As well as fruit, veg, flowers, oysters and wine (vin chaud available at a bargain €2 in winter), it houses vendors of a variety of foods: African, Tajines, Bento boxes, Italian, French and more. Best on a warm day.
Domaine de Lintillac, 20 Rue Rousselet, 7th arrondissement
Traditional fare from Perigord (Foie Gras, Cassoulet, Confit de Canard...), Friendly, bilingual owner will talk you through the menu and recommend appropriate wines etc. Warm and cosy atmosphere- individual toasters on each table for the bread on which you spread the foie gras. Fantastic classical guitarist every Wednesday 8pm-10pm playing under the banner 'Romantisme Anglais'...!
Au Limonaire, 18 Cite Bergère, 9th arrondissementLive French Chanson (about three groups/artists per night) and good food. It gets busy, so book ahead, and don't think you can leave after your meal- you can't move without disrupting the whole concert, for which the audience is respectfully silent. Great French experience for no great cost.
Crêperie Bretonne Fleurie, 67 Rue Charonne, 11th arrondissement
Great crepes, great cider (in mugs), friendly service, good value, on a good street for bars afterwards.
Pause Café, 41 Rue Charonne, 11th arrondissement
Great for generously sized, delicious brunch (not cheap at around €16 though!) Nice pastel 50s school furniture (probably never seen in a school), and an interesting chandelier.
Le Bistro du Peintre, 116 Avenue Ledru Rollin, 11th arrondissement
Lovely French food, friendly service, great Art Nouveau décor. Several vegetarian options!
Au Metro, 8 Place Felix Éboué, 12th arrondissement
Traditional French food, in a warm red, French Brasserie, complete with charming little individually lit booths.
Sushi Kyoto, 7 Avenue Docteur Arnold Netter, 12th arrondissement
All you can eat Japanese food including sushi, maki, soups, edamame, kebabs (japanese style). Who would've thought it would exist outside of a dream, All-you-can-eat (or more eloquently in French, Buffet Volonté) sushi etc. €13 in the day or €18 in the evening, the challenge of eating up to 18 dishes with the risk of a €5 fine if you waste anything (I'm not sure how many grains of rice actually constitute waste here), makes for a fun evening in the 12th arrondissement. For the open-minded a nutella and banana maki roll is available to round off your meal (and is delicious). Elasticated waistbands recommended.
La Coloniale, 161 Rue de Picpus, 12th arrondissement
Eccentric looking but very tasty Cambodian food served by a woman who sings jazz songs to herself as she darts around.
L'Ourcine, 92 Rue Broca, 13th Arrondissement
Some of the best food I've had in Paris. Absinthe available with water tap. About 30 Euros a head but worth every cent.
Crêperie de Josselin, 67 Rue du Montparnasse, 14th arrondissement
Rustic yet huge creperie, bustling with French families and Breton memorabilia. Very tasty double crepes - one crepe on top, and one on the bottom with the filling in the middle, mmmmm.
Smoke, 29 Rue Delambre, 14th arrondissement
Cosy restaurant with good, genourous salad composées for €6.50-€9.50 at lunchtime, and some good fruit tarts for afters. 'Smoke' lager at €4.50. Nice Jazz posters fill the walls..
More to come...
Bars
NOMA
Le Bar'Bouille, 13 Rue de Bretagne, 3rd arrondissement
Go for the great mural of brilliantly depicted international stereotypes in a bar, which spans two walls. Then if the weather's good sit outside on the terrace especially around 5pm during film makers 'golden hour', when the sun starts to sink away, for a great view of bustling area, before moving onto...
Le Barav, 6 Rue Charles Francois Dupuis, 3rd arrondissement
Fantastic bar and 'planche' restaurant (board of cheese, meats, essentially French tapas) in the heart of NOMA (slang for North Marais, brilliant). Their unique draw is their cave of about 50 wines is on show and browsable. You pay the price painted on the bottle plus 5 euros corkage and the bottle is yours. If you don't finish it, they'll put the cork back in and you can take it home. Nice decor and decent music at a non-intrusive volume!
Le Marché, 2 Place du Marché St Catherine, 4th arrondissement
It's a restaurant really, but I haven't tried the food, so I've put this in the bars section. I went with a friend for a tasty, reasonably priced carafe of rouge and sat in the nice warmed terrace looking over the square.
Le Petit Café, 6 Rue Descartes, 5th arrondissement
Nothing mindblowing, but a nice little bar and cosy terrace up a hill near the Pantheon on a nice little square. Good area for light bar-hopping.
Chez Georges, 11 Rue des Cannettes, 6th arrondissement
Rustic bar of old stone, covered in black and white photos of yesteryears popstars, and a favourite with the Art-college crowd. The cosy cave downstairs also has a bar. Upstairs you can get a 'grog' which involves hot whiskey and lemon and is great when you need warming up and want booze at the same time. Last time I was there an old French man wearing a beret and drinking at the bar. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?
Oberkampf
Au Petit Garage, Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, 11th arrondissement
Fantastically shabby bar which looks a bit Eastern block, with it's dated higgledy-piggledy furniture. Great, (super-strength) Mojitos- €5 in Happy hour. Decent music.
U.F.O. Bar, 49 Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, 11th arrondissement
50s UFO/ Science fiction decor. Cheap wine!
Belleville
Le Bellvilleoise, 21 Rue Boyer, 20th arrondissement
Big, fun venue with live music and balls of all kinds. Nice plantlife in bar/restaurant with Mezzanine and stage.
Lou Pascalou, 14 Rue des Panoyaux, 20th arrondisement
Fun-size bar tucked into a sunny corner off the main Belleville boulevard, decent choice of inexpensive beers etc. When we went it was rammed with people listening to a lively brass-based jazz troupe. We sat outside and were able to listen while we wondered at the logistics of getting a sousaphone into a place that tiny.
Bastille
Le Bastide, 18 Rue de Lappe, 11th arrondissement
With some of the most expensive, tackiest and also small and interesting bars around, Bastille is a must for anyone on a night out. The Bastide and Bar Sans Nom (see below) are two of my favourites of the latter category on Rue du Lappe. Le Bastide is run by a friendly, well-bearded gent with a record player and a good collection of tasteful vintage long-players which he keeps spinning between pumping reaonably priced pintes of pression. Old band posters and school style coat pegs line the walls of this cosy bar.
Bar Sans Nom, 49 Rue de Lappe, 11th arrondissement
Dimly lit and cosy with sofas and strange paraphanalia dotted all around. A nice quiet bar to get away from the hubbub of the Place de Bastille and talk without strain. You will be given a menu the size of a table and kept topped up with free peanuts all night.
Bistro Les Sans Culottes, 27 Rue de Lappe, 11th arrondissement
Very French.
Le Lèche-Vin, 13 Rue Daval, 11th arrondissement
Shock your feint-hearted friends in this little, reasonably priced gimmic bar in Bastille, with its huge collection of Jesus and Mary picures and memorabilia, contrasted with the hardcore pornography coating the walls of the toilets.
Café L'Industrie, 15, 16 and 17 Rue Saint Sabin, 11th arrondissement
Three venues with the same name in Bastille area. Dim, warm and woody, with a good wine list by the glass, carafe and bottle, and now with Jazz Manouche every Tuesday in one of them, it's an essential visit if you're in the area. All three are similar but differently sized, and are reserved variously for food, drinks and I can't tell what else. They are sure to tell you with their welcome where is best suited to your needs.
More to come...
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