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Le Baromètre: 17 Rue Charlot, 3rd, M° Rambuteau, ☎ 01 48 87 04 54 (€-€€). Open Monday to Friday, 7:30am to 11pm; kitchen open from noon to 3pm and 8 to 10:30pm. Closed August.
An old-fashioned wine bar and bistro with specialties like andouillette or tartare served at lunch and dinner. Or you can just pull up to the bar and order a tartine of Poilâne bread and cheese and a glass of wine anytime of day.
La Réserve de Quasimodo: 4 Rue de la Colombe, 4th, M° Cité, ☎ 01 46 34 67 67 (€€-€€€). Open Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 9pm.
Tucked into a 12th-century building on the Ile de la Cité between Notre Dame and the Quai aux Fleurs, this wine bar and adjoining wine boutique have a real Old Paris atmosphere. There are also special evenings with live entertainment such as storytelling or magic acts. If you’re not up for a full meal, it’s possible to order the dessert and wine menu for €9.50.
L’Escale: 1 Rue des Deux Ponts, 4th, M° Pont Marie, ☎ 01 43 54 94 23 (€). Open Tuesday through Sunday, 7:30am to 9pm; kitchen open noon to 3pm. Closed August.
This family-run wine bar on the lovely Ile St-Louis has a comfortable mix of loyal regulars ordering “the usual” and tourists warily eying up the tartare. When in doubt on what to drink, try the excellent value vin du mois, sold by the bottle for under €15. If you’re just stopping in for a drink, avoid lunchtime and come instead after 6pm to unwind with the Parisians.
Fish – La Boissonerie: 69 Rue de Seine, 6th, M° Odéon, ☎ 01 43 54 34 69 (€€€). Open Tuesday through Sunday, noon to midnight, kitchen open noon to 3pm and 7 to 11pm. No Amex cards, no cigars.
Owned by a New Zealander who owns the Cosi sandwich shop across the street and an American who own a wine shop around the corner, this casual wine bar with the colorful mosaic façade and wooden benches serves fresh and creative Mediterranean cuisine and strong French wines. Popular with the local French bobo’s as well as the expat Anglophone crowd and tourists wandering by, so be sure to reserve a table if you’ve come to eat.
Lavinia: 3-5 Boulevard de la Madeleine, 8th, M° Madeleine, ☎ 01 42 97 20 20 (€€€). Open Monday through Saturday, noon to 3pm; tapas served 3 to 8pm lunch. Strictly non-smoking.
Choose a bottle from the cellars of the largest wine store in Paris and head upstairs to smoked salmon or Spanish hams. At lunchtime you can order main dishes of veal and filet steak if you’re really hungry, or come by in the afternoon for tapas and dégustations of not only wine, but fine spirits as well. A bit pricey, but the selection and staff recommendations can’t be beat.
Le Griffonnier: 8 Rue des Saussaies, 8th, M° Champs-Elysées-Clémenceau, ☎ 01 42 65 17 17, www.traditionduvin.com (€€). Open Monday through Friday, 7:30am to 9:30pm; Thursday until 11pm; hot food served noon to 3pm, until 10:30pm on Thursday. Cold dishes served all day.
This traditional wine bar across from the Ministry of the Interior is packed at lunch with suited bureaucrats and politicians enjoying the fine country cuisine. Come later in the afternoon to quietly enjoy the terrines, paté and smoked sausages with reasonably priced Beaujolais or Loire Valley wines.
Le Coin de Verre: 38 Rue de Sambre-et-Meuse, 10th, M° Belleville or Colonel Fabien, ☎ 01 42 45 31 82 (€). Open Monday through Saturday, 8pm to midnight. No credit cards.
Going to this tiny wine bistro is a bit like going to a private French home. Ring the bell and one of the friendly owners will let you in if there’s room (reservations are recommended). The hidden back room is the coziest, with diners crammed in next to each other at large wooden tables. French terroir specialties and hearty salads complement the carefully chosen wines (served by the bottle, €10-15), usually along the lines of cheese or meat platters, or large salads served with baskets of country bread. You will not find cola or fries on the menu, so leave the kids with a babysitter, and don’t even think of asking for a non-smoking table.
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Le Baron Bouge: 1 Rue Théophile-Roussel, 12th, M° Ledru-Rollin, ☎ 01 43 43 14 32 (€). Open Monday, 5 to 10pm; Tuesday through Friday, 10am to 2pm and 5 to 10pm; Saturday, 10am to 10pm; and Sunday, 10am to 3:30pm.
Stallholders from the Aligre market, local artists and transplanted New Yorkers snack on Corsican charcuterie and wines from all over France at the unpretentious wooden bar of the Baron Bouge (often mistakenly called the Baron Rouge). The colorful crowd is at its liveliest after the market closes on evenings and Sunday afternoons, especially for the fresh oysters, available October through April.
Le Rallye-Peret: 6 Rue Daguerre, 14th, M° Denfert-Rochereau, ☎ 01 43 22 57 05 (€€). Open Tuesday through Saturday, 9am to 11:30pm; Sunday and Monday, 11am to 8pm.
Almost a century old, this typical Parisian wine bar and café is most interesting for its covered terrace overlooking the pedestrian-only market street. Food is traditional, home-cooked meals like stuffed vegetables, snails and salads, with giant signs proclaiming “no vacuum-packed dishes, no frozen food.” Except for the Berthillon ice cream, of course.
Vin des Rues: 21 Rue Boulard, 14th, M° Denfert-Rochereau, ☎ 01 43 22 19 78 (€€). Open Monday through Saturday for lunch, 12:30 to 2:30pm; and Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 9pm until around midnight; reservations required. No credit cards.
A ’50s-style historic wine bar with zinc bar and Gitane puffing regulars right out of a Doisneau photograph. On the menu are herrings, sausages from Lyon and roast lamb. Come on Thursday after 8pm for a raucous night of old-fashioned live accordion music, cold meat and cheese platters, and some of the best Beaujolais in town. Not for those trying to quit secondhand smoking.
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