Le Saint-Sébastien is the Paris 11e wine-bar bistro that pours a tighter natural-wine list than its size suggests, with smoked herring and beef tartare to match.
Signature dishes: Smoked herring with potatoes, Beef tartare
Must order: Smoked herring on warm potatoes, beef tartare cut by hand, a glass of muscadet.
Tip: Lunch is the easier ticket than dinner. Closed Mon-Tue, full Wed-Sun service.
Address: 42 Rue Saint-Sébastien, 75011 Paris
Braden Perkins and Laura Adrian's Verjus in Paris's 1er runs a no-choice tasting menu and a bar-à-vins below, both built around growers' wines and seasonal produce.
Signature: Tasting menu, ingredient-led
Order: Whatever course features fermented or pickled produce that night.
Tip: If Verjus is booked, the Verjus Bar à Vins downstairs takes walk-ups and runs the same wine list.
Racines in Paris's Passage des Panoramas pours an Italian-leaning natural-wine list and serves hand-rolled pasta from Simone Tondo. Twelve tables, all dinner.
Signature: Hand-rolled pasta, Aged beef
Order: Whatever filled pasta is on, a steak with rocket, the panna cotta.
Tip: The Passage des Panoramas closes its gates at night; ring the bell to be let through.
Le Bistrot Flaubert in Paris's 17e is the Michel Rostang bistro annex now run by Nicolas Baumann and the Groupe Éclore team. The cooking discipline holds; the room runs at half mothership prices.
Signature: Veal liver, Floating island
Order: Whatever offal main is up, the chocolate dessert, a glass of saint-joseph.
Tip: Lunch is the steal: a two-course set for under €35, including a glass of wine and coffee.
Tomy Gousset's Tomy & Co in Paris's 7e earned a Michelin star in 2018 and still runs the seasonal kitchen everyone in the embassy quarter books for a long lunch.
Signature: Sweetbreads, Pithivier of game
Order: Sweetbreads in winter, pithivier of game in autumn, the soufflé to finish.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. The five-course tasting at €98 is the deal of the room on weeknights.
Le Mermoz in Paris's 8e is the neighbourhood bistro chef Thomas Graham took over after Manon Fleury: a single chalkboard, fish-forward small plates at lunch and a longer carte at dinner.
Signature: Beef tartare, Brown-butter cake
Order: Whatever raw-fish starter is up, the beef tartare, the brown-butter cake.
Tip: Lunch only Mon-Wed, dinner Thu-Fri, no service Sat-Sun. Book a week ahead for dinner.
Le Bistrot Paris in the 7e runs a classic carte where the lunch menu rotates daily and dinner stays close to the Lyonnais playbook. A regulars' room.
Signature: Steak tartare, Profiteroles
Order: Steak tartare with a poached egg, profiteroles with hot chocolate sauce.
Tip: The lunch menu at €24 is the city's most under-rated set, including coffee and a small carafe.
