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CHEZ OMAR Map North African €€€

01 42 72 36 26; 47 rue de Bretagne, 3e; couscous & tajines €12-22, grills €12-26; lunch Mon-Sat, dinner to 11.30pm daily; Arts et Métiers

Once a favourite of celebrity types, Chez Omar doesn’t seem to attract the very rich or particularly famous these days, but the quality of the couscous remains top-notch, judging from the crowds. Apart from the food and the serving staff, don’t expect anything else to be North African at Chez Omar: it looks almost exactly like the corner street café it was a quarter of a century ago.

LES DOMAINES QUI MONTENT Map French, Wine €€€

01 43 56 89 15; www.lesdomainesquimontent.com, in French; 136 blvd Voltaire, 11; menus €14.50 & €25.50; lunch Mon-Sat daily; Voltaire

What better way to enjoy wine with a meal than at a wine merchant’s establishment amid shelves and cartons of bottles? The optimistically named ‘Estates on the Rise’ serves a table d’hôtes – a set meal with little or no choice – at lunchtime of a cheese and charcuterie or a plat du jour. These can be paired expertly with any of the wine around you and expert advice is included in the price! There are several other Domaines qui Montent, including a Montmartre branch (Map; 01 42 64 18 91; 42 rue Véron, 18e; lunch Mon-Sat daily; Abbesses or Blanche).

MANSOURIA Map North African, Moroccan €€€

01 43 71 00 16; 11 rue Faidherbe, 11e; starters €8-16, mains €17-25, menu €30, with wine €46; lunch Wed-Sat, dinner to 11pm Mon-Sat; Faidherbe Chaligny

This is an especially attractive Moroccan restaurant that serves excellent milk-fed steamed lamb, if not the best kascsou (couscous) and touagin (tajine) in town. Someone in your group should definitely order the mourouzia, lamb simmered in a complex combination of some 27 spices and served with a honey sauce.

LE PETIT MARCHÉ Map French, Café €€€

01 42 72 06 67; 9 rue de Béarn, 3e; starters €8-11, mains €15-25, menu €14 (lunch only); lunch & dinner to midnight daily; Chemin Vert

This great little bistro just up from the place des Vosges fills up at lunch and then again in the evening with a mixed crowd who come to enjoy the hearty cooking and friendly service. The salad starters are popular, as are the brochette d’agneau aux épices doux (spicy lamb brochette). The open kitchen also offers a fair few vegetarian choices.

AUX VINS DES PYRÉNÉES Map French €€€

01 42 72 64 94; 25 rue Beautreillis, 4e; starters €7.50-13, mains €14-25, menu €13.50 (lunch only); lunch Sun-Fri, dinner to 11.30pm; St-Paul or Bastille

Located in a former wine warehouse a couple of doors down from the house where rock singer Jim Morrison of the Doors died in 1971 (No 17–19), this is a good place to enjoy a unpretentious French meal with a lot of wine. The place has been able to retain its old-world charm and it’s not surprising that a crowd of bobo (’bohemian bourgeois’) locals, a few showbiz parisien types among them, have set up headquarters here. The fish, meat and game dishes are all equally good, but worth a special mention is the foie gras and the top-notch pavé de rumsteak (thick rump steak). The wine list offers a wide choice of celebrated and little-known estate wines.

CHEZ JENNY Map French, Alsatian €€

01 44 54 39 00; www.chezjenny.com; 39 blvd du Temple, 3e; starters €5.90-17.50, mains €17.50-24.50, menus €19.50 & €23.50; noon-midnight Sun-Thu, to 1am Fri & Sat; République

This cavernous brasserie dating from 1932 serves a huge choucroute garnie and excellent baeckeoffe (€22.50), an Alsatian stew made of meat and several types of vegetables, but we suspect that most people visit to admire the stunning marquetry of Alsatian scenes by Charles Spindler on the 1st floor. A quick and tasty lunch at Chez Jenny is flammekuche (€14.50), an Alsatian-style tart made with cream, onion, bacon and cheese.

BISTROT DE L’OULETTE Map French €€

01 42 71 43 33; www.l-oulette.com; 38 rue des Tournelles, 4e; starters €11-14, mains €19-24, 2-/3-course menus €12/17 (lunch only)