Going to be in Paris next month (first time). Staying at a hotel near the Arc de Triomphe. Looking for some nearby, nice restaurants that won’t cost an arm and a leg. Also looking for any wine bars/shops where we could do some tastings. Thanks in advance
WINE BARS:
Paris By Mouth is an excellent resource; their guide to wine bars: Our Guide to Wine in Paris | PARIS BY MOUTH
The Arc de Triomphe is in the 8th Arrondisement. Per the following map, wine bars in the 1st, 2nd, 7th, and 9th are reasonably close, and the whole city is readily accessible via the Metro:
I particularly like Juveniles in the 1st, and Fish - La Boissonnerie in the 6th.
:
R.M,
Paris is an easy city to get around so don’t just limit yourself to the arrondisement you are staying in. The Metro is easy to navigate and the bus system works well. It is a fabulous city for long walks so you could always set off an hour or two earlier than your reservation.
Some great places to eat include:
Les Papilles: for a casual bistro.
Le Severo: for meat, pork products for entrée, beef for main. Plenty of good Burgundy and Rhone on the list.
La Cagouille: for seafood and a well priced bottle of white Burg.
L’Ami Jean: Basque food with a modern twist.
Astier: classic Bistro, terrific service.
Jeanne B: owned by the Astier people. Casual, good quality produce cooked well.
Bofinger: formulaic but fun. Alsatian Brasserie, good charcuterie.
Septime: Hot at the moment. Hipster central, you will need to grow a beard and tolerate orange wine. Food and service is brilliant.
Mon Vieil Ami: A strong accent on vegetables but have had some cracking game dishes here as well.
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Wine bars
Le Vingt Heures Vin: A lot of fun. Some interesting wines.
Le Verre Vole: Plenty of natural wine but you can find a drink. Food is good.
Willi’s wine bar: Cheap Raveneau and Dauvissat. Strong on Rhone.
For fancy pants dining try:
Pierre Gagnaire: 3 star that pushes the limits.
Carre des Feuillants: 2 star with 3 star food. Excellent wine list. Well priced for lunch.
Le Cinq: Great dining room, fabulous service and excellent food.
Goust: Well priced wine list. Inventive food.
Sauterne: Modern inventive food but natural wine central.
La Tour d’Argent: Brilliant wine list with tons of bargains. Fabulous setting. Order the pressed duck and a bottle of red Burg and swoon.
Arpege: Food is some of the best I have had. Frightfully expensive, haphazard service, wine list is not great.
Cheers
Jeremy
Thanks guys!
There are many wine bars, it all depends on the kind of wines you’re looking for.
Just saw this thread and here I am in Paris hitting up wine bars!
Jeremy’s list is pretty good, though I would argue Willi’s prices have crept up, but the lunch deal at $19 EU is still a great one (had lunch there the other day- delicious). Le Paul Bert just revamped Le 6 Paul Bert into a wine bar/casual restaurant that’s more modern than the more traditional Paul Bert a few doors down in the 11th (dinner there the other night was delicious). Frankly, most of the interesting wine bars are in the 11th, I might add. If you’re looking for magnums, a new place called Blue Valentine (awful name) has only big formats and the selection is small but nicely chosen (I had lunch there yesterday and the food was fantastic). Also Frenchie’s wine bar is not to be missed, but get there early or be prepared to wait.
Just be advised natural wines are all the rage everywhere around town, so be prepared to get some amazingly delicious wines and also some clunkers. Parisbymouth.com and The Paris Kitchen are both great resources, and as Jeremy noted it’s such a great city to walk around. Buses are also a fantastic way to see the city on the cheap while traveling.
Have fun!
Cheers! ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Burgundy please!
Thanks,
George
I second Le Paul Bert 6 as a wine bar and a more modern dining alternative to Paul Bert restaurant. Dined there at 2 different occasions last year. The food’s great and although wines by the glass is quite limited, there are always enough things that are interesting. I wouldn’t discount having dinner at the regular Paul Bert restaurant about a few houses down along the same street. Always solid and the wine list offers plenty of gems.
Septime wine bar is about 5-10 minute walking distance away from Paul Bert. In spite of stubbles and beards, the wines are good, either by the glass of by the bottles. For us, it’s a place to go before heading out to the real dining destination.
In addition to the very good recommendations mentioned above, I’d add
L’Avant Comptoir
Frenchie Wine Bar
Vivant Wine Bar (the adjacent 8 table restaurant is great, too)
Semilla (across Rue de Seine from Fish (same owners) and superior, in my opinon.)
Verjus Wine Bar (below the Verjus, the restaurant).
We are putting together a visit there in May, and I just ran across two articles in the Guardian…
From 2012…
10 Best Wine Bars in Paris
From 2 weeks ago…
Top 10 Budget Restaurants & Bistros in Paris
Along with the typical interwebs B.S., there a lot more recs (and dissents) in the comments following the articles.
Septime and Goust just picked up a Michelin star in the latest guide.
We have a reservation at Septime in May. I’m really looking forward to dining there. If you’re wondering how I got a res this far in advance, a friend with an inside connection set us up. We’re dining at Spring the night after. Semilla was touted to us as to where we should eat on Sunday.
When we arrive in Paris, we’re going to Bistro Paul Bert. It’s close to our hotel (Mercure-Gare de Lyon). We’ll only be there one night before heading to Burgundy (with day trips to Chablis and Jura). The restaurants above are for when we return to Paris.
Wine shop wise, I hope to hit both Caves Auge and Le Verre Vole in Paris.
Sounds like a great trip! I am wrapping up my own right now (sigh…), but sounds like you’re spot on with places to eat/drink. I would just suggest also popping into Le 6 Paul Bert as they’ve redone it and have a drink at the (new) bar in front. Always nice to see a new take on things, and this is quite different from the more traditional Paul Bert.
Most importantly, have fun!
Larry, the Lenoir’s Les Roches Chinon is only 15 euros at Cave Auge
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My favorite wine bar in your vicinity is Le Garde Robe in the 17th. Natural wines. Reasonably priced and wines for sale at retail. Excellent charcouterie. Metro 2 - Rome
If you like beer, Le Supercoin in the 18th specializes in artisanal French ales. One of the best organized and best described beer list I’ve seen. Young crowd. Metro 12 - Jules Joffrin
Le Garde Robe
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Bob, Cory said those vintages will be coming down the pipeline soon enough. The only wines that I’ll consider bringing back are ones I can’t get here or are really difficult to get.
Right, but it’s a great deal if you’re buying to drink while in town. I went through four bottles.
Good choices. I bought a few hard-to-find (for me) Overnoy/Houillon at Caves Auge in early December.
Fyi, you may want to consider dining at La Verre Vole. Very good rustic/regional French dishes and the wine prices are very very reasonable. Wife and I had a 2008 Allemand Chaillots for Euro60 with our dinner, but there are many bottles to choose from at all price points. Also bumped into our very friendly wait staff at Le Paul Bert 6 Bistro and her sommellier friend buying their personal home dinner-party wines at La Verre Vole during our dinner.
I was there this week-end. Nice selection of artisanal beers at decent prices. And it’s apparently possible to order pizzas from the place across the street and eat them in the bar with a good beer.
I don’t know many wine bars in Paris (I mostly drink at some friends’ place when I visit) but one of my favourite is certainly “Le siffleur de ballons”, nice selection leaning towards organic/natural wines (I had a Chinon Les Roches there, among other things). There’s a restaurant just opposite with a nice wine selection as well (same owner if I understand correctly), I remember drinking a Cheverny from Philippe Tessier, great wine at a great price.
I understand the draw to drink great (famous) wines in Paris, but I’d rather explore the new French wine scene in small wine bars.