Yves Camdeborde's Le Comptoir du Relais in Paris helped invent the term bistronomie in the 1990s and still serves the dining-room version every weeknight.
Signature: Pâté en croûte, Têtes de veau
Order: The pâté en croûte for two and whatever offal main is on the chalkboard.
Tip: Lunch and weekend service runs walk-in; dinner Mon-Fri needs a booking six weeks out.
Le Relais de l'Entrecôte in Paris's 6e runs one menu: salade aux noix, contre-filet steak, fries, secret-recipe butter sauce. No menus, no choice, no booking.
Signature: Steak frites with house sauce, Profiteroles
Order: Steak medium-rare, frites for the second helping, profiteroles to finish.
Tip: Queue from 12:00 for lunch or 19:00 for dinner. The Marais branch is the easier ticket.
Le Cherche Midi in Paris's 6e is the neighbourhood Italian trattoria the Saint-Germain set treats as a canteen. Hand-rolled pasta cooked to order, daily.
Signature: Hand-rolled pasta, Tiramisu
Order: Whatever filled pasta is on the daily menu, the tiramisu, a glass of Sangiovese.
Tip: Open seven days. Lunch is the steal; the prix fixe lands under €25 with coffee.
Polidor in Paris has run a Latin-Quarter bistro at the same address since 1845. The carte still holds bœuf bourguignon, blanquette de veau, tarte tatin.
Signature: Bœuf bourguignon, Tarte tatin
Order: Bœuf bourguignon in winter, tarte tatin with crème fraîche, a pichet of red.
Tip: Cash preferred. The shared tables are part of the experience; come at 19:30 to share with strangers.
Cravan Saint-Germain in Paris's 6e is the Franck Audoux five-floor cocktail house in a 17th-century townhouse on Boulevard Saint-Germain, with a rooftop.
Tip: Book the rooftop kiosk for two hours; main bar walk-ins go to the salon on the second floor. Cocktails €18-22.