Wine bar€EcussonTue-Sat 18:00-01:00; closed Sunday and Monday
Plein Sud pours an all-natural list in a vaulted stone room on Rue de la Monnaie in Montpellier's Ecusson, with organic farm tapas cut to match the bottles.
Signature pour: A natural Languedoc glass from around €5
Wine focus: An all-natural list led by Languedoc and Roussillon growers
Food: Organic farm tapas, Lucques olives, seasonal farmhouse cheeses
Tip: Glasses start around €5 and the plates stay small, so an evening of Lucques olives and seasonal farmhouse cheese costs less than a sit-down dinner.
Wine bar€€EcussonTue-Fri 18:00-23:30; Sat 11:00-15:00 and 18:00-23:30; closed Sunday and Monday
Le Comptoir Cévenol is bar and épicerie at once by the Saint-Roch church in Montpellier's Ecusson, pouring organic wine beside Cévennes produce.
Signature pour: An organic glass with cheese off the épicerie shelves
Wine focus: Organic and natural bottles alongside Causses and Cévennes produce
Food: Grocery-counter plates, farmhouse cheese, oyster nights
Tip: The monthly Le 7 à Huîtres night pairs fresh oysters with the wine list, booked through the bar's Instagram; Saturday is the only daytime service.
Wine bar€€ÉcussonTue-Sat 18:00-01:00; Sun 18:00-23:00; closed Monday
Le Clandestin hides on Rue de la Valfère in Montpellier with forty-odd Languedoc wines, Iberian charcuterie boards and a happy hour from 18:00.
Signature pour: A Languedoc red from the forty-bottle wall
Wine focus: Forty-plus Languedoc references with Bordeaux guests
Food: Iberian charcuterie and raw-milk cheese boards
Tip: Happy hour runs 18:00 to 20:00 and it pours on Sunday nights, which almost no other Écusson wine bar does.
French bistro€€ÉcussonTue-Sat 12:00-19:30, Wednesday until 22:30
Les Canons stocks 150 natural wines near Saint-Pierre cathedral in Montpellier, a cave à manger where lunch is built around the bottle you pick.
Signature pour: A natural Languedoc red off the shelf, 10 euros corkage
Wine focus: 150 natural and artisanal references
Food: Market bistro lunches, aged beef rib
Tip: Bottles run 10 to 60 euros plus 10 euros corkage at the table; Wednesday is the only real evening service.
Mediterranean€€EuromédecineTue 10:00-19:00; Wed-Sat 10:00-22:00; closed Sunday and Monday
Soulenq doubles as caviste and restaurant in Montpellier's Euromédecine quarter, more than 400 grower wines beside a wood-fired kitchen and terrace.
Signature pour: Any cave bottle at the table for 10 euros corkage
Wine focus: 400-plus references from vigneron growers
Food: Wood-fired Mediterranean bistro plates
Tip: Shop the cave like a wine store, then pay 10 euros corkage to drink your bottle with dinner on the terrace.
Wine bar€€ÉcussonTue-Sat 18:00-01:00; closed Sunday and Monday
La Part des Anges pours wine and plates focaccias on Rue Collot, an evening bar where the dishes run €7 to €17 and the doors stay open to 01:00.
Signature pour: A glass with the ham speck and mortadella focaccia
Wine focus: Reds, whites and rosés with gin-tonics on the side
Food: Focaccias, roasted camembert, octopus carpaccio
Tip: Kitchen and bar both run to 01:00, making it one of the old town's latest proper wine-and-food stops.
