La Prune folle (CLOSED)

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

Proprietors Sol and Victor welcome their customers with broad smiles at La Prune Folle [the crazy plum]. Opened in April 2012, this café-bar elegantly encapsulates the trend for vintage twee with a few Formica tables, random second hand Chinese lamps, family photos and period wallpaper. And while the design definitely counts in its favour (take a look downstairs), the relaxed ambiance and the tasting menu are the icing on this cupcake. “We wanted to create a place where you feel really at home,” says Sol, a former sports instructor and talented pastry chef in whose retro teahouse the waiters are always friendly and the cakes have pride of place on the bar. Fancy tapas at 11am or brunch at teatime? No problem. La Prune Folle isn’t uptight about things like that.

The menu’s sweet notes sing out the strongest, with things like spiced carrot cake and an unctuous cheesecake. But cocktail hour is not forgotten – with whole regiments of tapas to accompany it. Try the “Vin gourmand”, various wine samples with three mini tapas for €8. There’s a bit too much ABBA on the sound system for all but the most nostalgic audience, but most won’t be able to resist the set lunch menu, which includes a pudding for just €1 extra. This place definitely brings the good life to Oberkampf.