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By Root 775 0

popular little restaurant in the centre of the Marais serves traditional French cuisine (try the generous menu traditionel at €29). Despite its name, the only dish from Picardy (unless you count salade picarde) that we could spot on the menu was flamiche aux poireaux, a Flemish-style leek pie. The place is always packed, so book well in advance.

LA MUSE VIN Map French, Wine €€

01 40 09 93 05; 101 rue de Charonne; starters €8, mains €18, menus €9.50 & with wine €15.50 (lunch only), €25 & €30; lunch Mon-Fri, dinner to 11pm Mon-Sat; Charonne

Primarily a wine bar and bottle shop, the very pink (or is that rosé?) ‘Wine Muse’ also does food both day (plat du jour €11) and night and its offerings go well beyond plates of cold meats and cheese. In fact, the evening menu changes every three weeks. It takes its wines very seriously, though, so keep that foremost in your mind.

OSSEK GARDEN Map Korean €€

01 48 07 16 35; 14 rue Rampon, 11e; starters €5-14, barbecue €16-18, menus €9.50 & €12.50 (lunch only), €16.50-30; lunch & dinner to 11pm daily; Oberkampf

Things Korean – especially films – seem to be taking the world by storm these days and Paris is no exception. This place not far from place de la République has excellent barbecues on offer, but we particularly like the bibimbab (€12 to €18), rice served in a sizzling pot topped with thinly sliced beef (or other meat) and cooked with preserved vegetables, then bound by a raw egg and flavoured with chilli-laced soy paste. Staff, in traditional Korean dress, are welcoming.

LE CLOWN BAR Map French, Bistro €€

01 43 55 87 35; 114 rue Amelot, 11e; starters €7.50-10.50, mains €15-18, menu €15/18 (weekday/weekend lunch only) & €25; lunch & dinner to 1am Mon-Sat; Filles du Calvaire

A wonderful wine-bar-cum-bistro next to the Cirque d’Hiver (Map), the Clown Bar is like a museum with its painted ceilings, mosaics on the wall, lovely zinc bar and circus memorabilia that touches on one of our favourite themes of all time: the evil clown. The food is simple and unpretentious traditional French; the charcuterie platter (€10.50) is substantial and goes well with a half-bottle of Brouilly, while the Parmentier de boudin à la normande (black pudding Parmentier with apple) is deservedly one of the restaurant’s most popular dishes.

LE TIRE BOUCHON Map French €€

01 47 00 43 50; 5 rue Guillaume Bertrand, 11e; starters €7-19, mains €15-18, menus €12 (lunch only), €17 & €25; lunch Mon-Fri, dinner to 11pm Mon-Sat; St-Maur

This mock old-style bistro close to the flashy rue Oberkampf has a dozen tables with gingham tablecloths arranged around a polished wooden bar. Add a few old photographs of the quartier, a touch of greenery and some decent bottles of wine and voilà: ‘The Corkscrew’. The cassoulet confit (casserole or stew with beans and meat) and millefeuille de dorade (sea bream in flaky pastry) will tickle your taste buds. Expect friendly, attentive service but book well in advance.

ROBERT ET LOUISE Map French €€

01 42 78 55 89; 64 rue Vieille du Temple, 3e; starters €6-13, mains €12-18, menu €12 (lunch only); lunch & dinner to 10.30pm Tue-Sun; St-Sébastien Froissart

This ‘country inn’, complete with its red gingham curtains, offers delightful, simple and inexpensive French food, including côte de bœuf (side of beef; €40), which is cooked on an open fire and prepared by the original owners’ daughter and her husband. If you arrive early, choose to sit at the farmhouse table, right next to the fireplace. It’s a jolly, truly Rabelaisian evening. The plat du jour is a snip at €12.50

CHEZ NÉNESSE Map French, Bistro €€

01 42 78 46 49; 17 rue de Saintonge, 3e; starters €4-16, mains €10-18; lunch & dinner to 10.30pm Mon-Fri; Filles du Calvaire

The atmosphere at this bistro is very ‘old Parisian café’ and unpretentious, the dishes made with fresh, high-quality ingredients such as salade de canard au vinaigre d’hydromel (duck salad with honey vinegar) and fricassée de volaille aux morilles (poultry fricassee with morel mushrooms). The lunchtime starters are €4 and plats du jour are €10 to €12.