A wine bar may seem redundant in Paris, since all bars serve a number of wines. Yet there are still several with a distinctive enough character to warrant a special visit. The ones listed here are some of the old stand-bys. There's others like these still around, and some trendier ones too.
This is not often listed as one of Paris' wine bars, but along with its hearty, simple food, this down to earth bistro on the Pont Neuf serves numerous wines.
METROS: Pont Neuf.
I hope this is still there. Ten years ago, I was telling people, hurry, it won't be there in ten years. At the time, the place was stillrun by the same couple that had run it for years and had the kind of neighborhood homeiness only such management could provide. Beyond samples of wine in various sizes and varieties, the bistro takes its name from the open-faced sandwiches which may have cheese, sausage, ham or rillettes (a mushy pork mess that comes across closer to tuna salad than meat) spread on large, chewy slices of country bread. Grizzled locals mix with pouchy-eyed trendoids in black.
This is the Paris a lot of people still expect to find, and rarely do.
UPDATE 2008 - Not only is La Tartine still there, but the couple that ran it had just retired a short while before my visit. A younger, hipper staff runs it now, and the space has been expanded all the way back to the street behind it. But they still have the same yellowed wine lists and still serve various tartines.
METROS: St. Paul
There's several of these in Paris. The original is just off the Boulevard St. Michel, and is small enough to retain its older character. The others are a bit slick and always struck me as pricey, but tend to get attractive crowds.
METROS: St. Michel; Chatelet; Etoile.
LAST UPDATED:fEBRUARY 2009
home page