Mekane in Paris

Charles Compagnon's open-plan neo-bistro — Asian-inflected cooking, no reservations, all-day kitchen.

Half-punk, half-precise — the natural-wine small-plates bistro that rewrote the 11e in 2011.

Oberkampf natural-wine canteen, charcuterie and small plates, run by ex-Chateaubriand.

Modern Vietnamese on rue Amelot — the 11e room that does the spring roll seven ways.

1906 Art Nouveau room on the Left Bank — Chartier's brother house, listed.

Bertrand Larcher's original Paris crêperie — Bordier butter, Breton cider, Tokyo-trained discipline.

1924 corner bistro with an open kitchen — and Paris's most decorated bœuf bourguignon.

A Provençal bistro hiding behind Place des Vosges — and the city's largest pastis collection.

Tiny natural-wine bar inside the covered Passage des Panoramas — a Paris postcard.

Female-led cocktail bar with bi-fold windows on the Belleville-Canal axis — zero pretension, real depth.

Naturophile cave-à-manger by the canal — visiting chefs, no reservations, minimum-intervention list.

The no-reservations rue du Nil counter from Gregory Marchand's group — natural wine and small plates

Julio Guerrero's neo-taquería on rue Lacharrière — Mexico-City standard, natural wine, Le Fooding register.

12 rooms, exposed beams, quiet 4e side street — the Marais's small, well-priced character hotel.

1889 Abbesses brasserie — shellfish counter, Cantal charcuterie, no Montmartre theatre.

République speakeasy hidden behind a working laundromat — push the right washing-machine door, climb the staircase.

1902 Art Nouveau brasserie on Ledru-Rollin — Mucha frescoes, listed interior, honest cooking.

Canal Saint-Martin Cambodian institution — bo bun, summer rolls, banana-tapioca dessert, packed every night.

Vegan French on rue Saint-Paul — twenty-plus years reinterpreting French classics without animal product.

A turn-of-the-century café preserved without irony — zinc bar, red banquettes, all-day terrace.

French-spirits-only cocktail bar in a graffiti-clad doorway — World's 50 Best Bars regular.

Canal Saint-Martin's natural-wine institution — 400 references, plates from the kitchen behind the bottles.

Christian Constant's cast-iron-pot canteen on rue Saint-Dominique.

A working 'routier' off Trocadéro — checkered tablecloths, 18-euro lunch.

Sentier rum den behind a grilled-cheese counter — Joseph Akhavan's 100-plus-rum library, Diffords-listed.

Ethiopian institution on rue Sauffroy — the 17e Batignolles room that has held the cuisine in Paris for decades.

The Picasso of pastry, in his original Saint-Germain showcase.

The wine bar inside the Septime universe — 90 natural references, 30 standing seats, no booking.