L'Atmosphère 49 rue Lucien-Sampaix, 10 e. Mº Gare-de-l'Est. Tues-Fri 11am-2am, Sat & Sun 5.30pm-2am.
Next to the Canal St-Martin, this is a lively bar with food and occasional live music. The Hôtel du Nord on the opposite bank was the setting for the eponymous film of 1938, and the name of this bar comes from a quote in the film.

Le Baratin 3 rue Jouye-Rouve, 20e. Mº Pyrénées. Tues-Fri 11am-1am, Sat 6pm-1am.
Friendly, unpretentious bistrot à vins in a run-down area with a good mix of people. Fine selection of lesser-known wines and whiskies. Midday menu ?9.91.

Le Baron Aligre 1 rue Théophile-Roussel, cnr place d'Aligre market, 12e. Mº Ledru-Rollin. Tues-Sat 10am-2pm & 5-9.30pm, Sun 10am-2pm.
Popular local bar. As well as the wines - around ?2.44 per litre from the barrel to take away - it serves a few snacks of cheese, foie gras and charcuterie .

Bistrot Cave des Envierges 11 rue des Envierges, 20e. Mº Pyrénées. Wed-Fri noon-midnight, Sat & Sun noon-8pm.
Another bistrot à vins purveying good-quality, lesser-known wines to connoisseurs. An attractive bar - though more a place to taste and buy wine than eat - in a great location above the Parc de Belleville. From rue Belleville, follow rue Piat south, which becomes rue des Envierges.

Café Charbon 109 rue Oberkampf, 11e. Mº Parmentier. Daily 9am-2am.
A very successful and attractive resuscitation of a fin-de-siècle café, drawing a young and trendy clientele. Nice plats du jour for ?7.62-9.15 at lunchtime; lots of salads and vegetarian dishes. DJ Thurs, Fri & Sat 10pm-2am, and live music on Sun from 8.30pm.

Café de la Musique 213 av Jean-Jaures, 19e. Mº Porte-de Pantin. Daily till 2am.
Part of the Cité de la Musique, this café, with a popular terrace, was designed by the Cité architect Portzamparc and exudes sophistication, discretion and comfort, but be prepared to pay over the odds for a coffee.

Cithea 112 rue Oberkampf, 11e. Mº Parmentier. Daily 5pm-2am.
Bar and venue next door to the Café Charbon for Afro funk, funk reggae, world beat, jazz fusion, etc on Thurs, Fri & Sat nights. Cocktails ?6.86. No admission charge for the music, but busy.

La Flèche d'Or 102bis rue de Bagnolet, cnr rue des Pyrénées, 20e. Mº Alexandre-Dumas. Daily 10am-2am.
A large, lively café attracting the biker, arty, post-punkish Parisian young. The decor is très destroy - ie railway sleepers and a sawn-off bus front hanging from the ceiling - and the building itself is the old Bagnolet station on the petite ceinture railway that encircled the city until around thirty years ago. It's a nightly venue for live world music, pop, punk, ska, fusion and chanson , and the reasonably priced food also has a multicultural slant.

Jacques-Mélac 42 rue Léon-Frot, 11e. Mº Charonne. Mon-Fri 9am-10.30pm; closed weekends & Aug.
Some way off the beaten track (between Père-Lachaise and place Léon-Blum) but a highly respected and very popular bistrot à vins , whose patron even makes his own wine - the solitary vine winds round the front of the shop. The food ( plats around ?10.67, menu ?19.82), wines and atmosphere are great; no bookings.

Le Penty Bar Cnr place d'Aligre & rue Emilio-Castelar, 12e. Mº Ledru-Rollin.
Small, old-fashioned café making no concessions to modern standards of sanitation, and still charging only ?1.07 for a sit-down cup of coffee.

Le Réveil du Dixième 35 rue du Château-d'Eau, 10e tel 01.42.41.77.59. Mº Château-d'Eau. Mon-Sat 7.15am-9pm.
A welcoming, unpretentious wine bar serving glasses of wine and regional plats or a menu at ?22.87 including wine.

La Ville de Jagannath 10 rue St Maur, 11e. Mº St-Maur. Closed Mon lunch and Sun.
Authentic vegetarian Indian food served in thalis. Lunch menu ?7.62. For a small corkage fee you can bring your own wine.

Restaurants

Les Amognes 243 rue du Faubourg-St-Antoine, 11e tel 01.43.72.73.05. Mº Faidherbe-Chaligny. Mon-Sat noon-2.30pm & 7.30-10.30pm; closed Mon lunch, Sun & two weeks in Aug.
Excellent, interesting food in a very popular place. Booking essential. Menu at ?28.96, otherwise well over ?38.11.

Astier 44 rue Jean-Pierre-Timbaud, 11e tel 01.43.57.16.35. Mº Parmentier. Mon-Fri until 10pm; closed Aug, two weeks in May & two weeks at Christmas.
Very successful, popular restaurant, with simple decor, unstuffy atmosphere and fresh, refined food. Booking essential. Menu at ?21.34.

Bistrot du Peintre 116 av Ledru-Rollin, 11e tel 01.47.00.34.39. Mº Ledru-Rollin. Mon-Sat 7am-2am, Sun 10am-8pm. Small tables jammed together beneath Art-Nouveau frescoes and wood panelling. Traditional Parisian bistro food, with plats du jour from ?9.45.

de Bourgogne 26 rue des Vinaigriers, 10e tel 01.46.07.07.91 Mº Jacques-Bonsergent. Mon-Fri lunchtime & evening till 10pm, Sat lunchtime only; closed Aug.
Homely, old-fashioned restaurant; dinner around ?12.19.

Chez Prune 36 rue Beaurepaire, 10e tel 01.42.41.30.47. Mº Jacques-Bonsergent. Mon-Sat 7.30am-1.45am, Sun 10am-1.45am.
Lovely location for casual canal-side dining. Creative assiettes (starting at ?6.10) guaranteed to tempt both meat-eaters and vegetarians, and a romantic place to sip a glass of wine orindulge in a dessert. Plats in the ?8.38 to ?12.20 range.

Les Cinq Points Cardinaux 14 rue Jean-Macé, 11e tel 01.43.71.47.22. Mº Faidherbe-Chaligny & Mº Charonne. Mon-Fri noon-2pm & 7-10pm; closed Aug.
An excellent, simple, old-time bistro, still mainly frequented by locals. Prices under ?9.15 for lunch, and under ?15.24 in the evening.

L'Ébauchoir 43-45 rue de Cîteaux, 12e tel 01.43.42.49.31. Mº Faidherbe-Chaligny. Mon-Sat until 11pm.
Good bistro fare in a sympathetic atmosphere. Best to book for the evening. Midday menu for ?10.06; carte ?22.87 upwards.

Flo 7 cours des Petites-Écuries, 10e tel 01.47.70.13.59. Mº Château-d'Eau. Daily until 1.30am.
Handsome old-time brasserie where you eat elbow-to-elbow at long tables, served by waiters in ankle-length aprons. Excellent food and atmosphere; good-value menus, including wine, at ?21.04 and ?27.29.

La Fontaine aux Roses 27 av Gambetta, 20e tel 01.46.36.74.75. Mº Père-Lachaise. Tues-Sat till 10pm; closed Sun evening, Mon & Aug.
Small, beautiful restaurant with first-rate menus: midday ?18.29 and evenings ?25.91, both including kir royale , wine and coffee.

L'Homme Bleu 57 rue Jean-Pierre-Timbaud, 11e. Mº Parmentier. Mon-Sat evenings only till 10pm.
Very affordable and pleasant Berber restaurant, popular with students.

Julien 16 rue du Faubourg-St-Denis, 10e tel 01.47.70.12.06. Mº Strasbourg-St-Denis. Daily till 1.30am.
Part of the same enterprise as Flo , with an even more splendid decor. Same good traditional French cuisine at the same prices, and it's just as crowded.

Lao Siam 49 rue de Belleville, 19e tel 01.40.40.09.68. Mº Belleville.
Daily till 11pm. Extremely good Thai and Lao food make this folksy restaurant popular with locals. Dishes ?6.40-9.15.

La Mansouria 11 rue Faidherbe, 11e tel 01.43.71.00.16. Mº Faidherbe-Chaligny. Tues-Sat lunchtime & evening till 11.30pm; closed two weeks in Aug.
An excellent, elegant Moroccan restaurant, serving superb couscous and tagines . Menu at ?25.61.

Le Pacifique 35 rue de Belleville, 20e tel 01.42.49.66.80. Mº Belleville. Daily 11am-1am.
A huge Chinese eating house with variable culinary standards but low prices. Main courses from ?7.62, ?12.96 or ?15.24 menu.

Pho-Dong-Huong 14 rue Louis-Bonnet, 11e tel 01.43.57.18.88. Mº Belleville. Daily except Tues noon-10.30pm.
Spotlessly clean Vietnamese resto, where all dishes are under ?7.62 and come with piles of fresh green leaves. Spicy soups, crispy pancakes, but slow service.

Pooja 91 passage Brady, 10e tel 01.48.24.00.83. Mº Strasbourg-St-Denis & Mº Château-d'Eau. Daily noon-2.30pm & 5-11pm; closed Mon lunchtime.
Located in a passage that is Paris's own slice of the Indian subcontinent; authentic, good-value Indian cuisine. Formules at ?6.86 lunch and ?13.57 evening.

aux Rendez-Vous des Amis 10 av Père-Lachaise, 20e tel 01.47.97.72.16. Mº Gambetta. Mon-Sat noon-2.30pm; closed last week July to mid-Aug.
Unprepossessing surroundings for very good, simple and satisfying family cooking. Main courses ?6.86-11.89; menu at ?9.91.

Le Rendez-vous des Quais 10 quai de la Seine, 19e. Mº Jaurès & Mº Stalingrad. Daily 11.30am-12.30am.
Attached to the MK2 art-house cinema, the outside tables of this café/brasserie sit right on the banks of the Bassin de la Villette providing a relaxing spot for a refreshment before or after the canal cruises which depart opposite.

Rittal et Courts 1 rue des Envierges, 20e tel 01.47.97.08.40. Mº Pyrénées. Tues-Sat noon-2am, Sun noon-7pm.
Mellow bar/café/trattoria which specializes in showing "Courts Métrages"- short films (Tues-Sun 3.30-7pm, Sat midnight-2am). It's in an unbeatable situation overlooking the Parc de Belleville: get a pavement table on a summer evening and you'll have the best restaurant view in Paris. The Italian food is tasty and affordable, with a large pasta selection, including numerous vegetarian options; ?7.62-13.72.

aux Saveurs du Liban 11 rue Eugène-Jumin, 19e. Mº Porte-de Pantin. Mon-Sat 11am-11pm.
Excellent authentic Lebanese food at this tiny restaurant in a lively local street not far from the Parc de la Villette. Very good value with plats for ?4.57 and wine for ?1.37 a glass; sandwiches from ?2.74 to take away; ?6.10 lunchtime formula.

Taï Yen 5 rue de Belleville, 20e tel 01.42.41.44.16. Mº Belleville. Daily 10am-2am.
Admire the koi carps idling round their aquarium like embroidered satin cushions while you wait for the generous soups and steamed specialities of this Chinese restaurant. ?9.91 menu, dishes from ?7.47.

Au Trou Normand 9 rue Jean-Pierre-Timbaud, 11e tel 01.48.05.80.23. Mº Filles-du-Calvaire, Mº Oberkampf & Mº République. Mon-Fri lunchtime & evenings till 9.30pm, Sat evenings only; closed Aug.
A small, totally unpretentious and very attractive local bistro, serving good traditional food at knock-down prices. Plat du jour from ?4.57.

Le Zéphyr 1 rue Jourdain, 20e tel 01.46.36.65.81. Mº Jourdain. Mon-Sat till 11.30pm.
A rather trendy but relaxed 1930s-style bistro with menus at ?10.52 and ?19.82.