Aux Deux Amis

This is one of Time Out's 100 best bars in Paris. Click here to see the full list.

Be warned: don’t rock up at Aux Deux Amis on a Friday night expecting to sit down. If, like most people, you haven’t reserved, you’ll be staking out a few square centimetres at the bar. Here you can chat with your neighbours while good-naturedly knocking into each other, wines and beers in hand. Then, it’s time to eat. The melting ‘Tortilla de Janine’, the princely acorn-fed ham with grilled almonds, the brilliant house mozzarella… according to the whims of the chef, there will also be things like fresh sardines, black pudding purée, cabbage salad, crunchy beetroot with Bismarck vodka, herring, and sterling classics like burrata and manchego cheese. The setting for all this? Tiled walls and floors, 70s neon lighting, a hip clientele and plenty of wine, which is all 100% natural and served by David Vincent-Loyola, formerly of Chateaubriand, who has transformed this old neighbourhood dive into an unmissable stop on the Rue Oberkampf. At midday, his acolyte Mathieu Perez joins the kitchen, offering an impeccable, affordable set menu. If things start to lose their fizz, the lovely terrace is a great place to let the party spill over and outside.