Le Verre Volé

Le Verre Vole sits at 67 rue de Lancry, a short walk from the water in the 10th, and Time Out treats it as one of the bars that made Canal Saint-Martin a wine destination. It is a cave a manger, a wine shop you can eat in, and one of the originals of the format that now defines natural-wine Paris.

The system is the draw. The walls are the shop, so you pick a bottle off the shelf, pay a small corkage and drink it at your table with food. Star Wine List and Paris by Mouth both point to the depth of the natural and low-intervention selection as the reason the room earned its reputation.

It is small and it has been popular for years, so a seat is not guaranteed. The kitchen runs two evening services, and reservations are strongly suggested for lunch or dinner, a point the listings repeat. Charcuterie, cheese and a short bistro menu fill the plates, built to support the bottle rather than compete with it.

The crowd is a mix of canal-side locals, wine people and visitors who read the same guides, which keeps the room knowledgeable and the turnover lively. It runs daily, lunch and dinner, which makes it a reliable stop in a quarter where opening hours can be patchy.

Come to pull a natural bottle off the wall and eat beside the canal, but book ahead. For more in the city, see our Paris wine bars guide, the best natural wine bars in Paris, and the best wine bars in Paris.

Reservations are worth it for both the lunch and the two evening services, since the room is small and has been popular for years. A booked table beats the door at prime time.

Daytime by the canal is the calmer visit, while evenings run busier and livelier. Either way the shelf bottle plus corkage is the reason to sit down.