The Best Natural Wine Bars in Paris

The original, and still the best argument for what a natural wine bar should be. Bottles line every surface, the kitchen sends out serious small plates, and the list skews Loire and Jura. Go at 7pm before it fills entirely. The staff know everything on that list and will match you without condescension.

Order: Ask for the current Muscadet sur lie — they always have something unexpected from the appellation.

Descended into a proper cave beneath the Belleville hill, this is the more democratic sibling to the Canal Saint-Martin scene. The list is shorter but curated with real conviction — small producers, low intervention, very little by the glass that costs more than €10. Regulars come twice a week.

Order: Whatever Gamay from Beaujolais they're pouring by the glass. There's always one worth knowing.

A proper zinc bar in the old sense, with a natural wine list that changes weekly and a kitchen that produces food you'll still be thinking about the next morning. The terrine de campagne and a glass of Auvergnat rouge is the move. Packed by 8pm every night of the week. No reservations.

Order: Côtes d'Auvergne rouge — earthy, honest, exactly right for the room.

The wine bar arm of Bertrand Grébaut's restaurant empire, and the most rigorous natural wine list in Paris by some margin. Every bottle has been chosen with real care. The space is small and the conversation tends toward the specific — bring something to say about Jura, or be prepared to learn. Outstanding by-the-glass options change daily.

Order: Ask what Overnoy or Ganevat they have open. They often have something extraordinary.

The stand-up wine bar adjacent to the famous bistrot, with a list that mixes natural producers into a genuinely Parisian selection. The atmosphere is exactly right — old-school without being precious about it. Go on a Tuesday when it's not crushed and work through a few glasses with the charcuterie board.

Order: A Sancerre rouge from a domaine the sommelier recommends — they stock growers you won't find elsewhere.

Camille Fourmont's ten-seat bar on Rue de Folie Méricourt is what a wine bar looks like when someone has thought very hard about what matters. The list is short, the food is exact, and the room itself is something to sit in. One of the most copied wine bars in the world — the original is still better than any of them.

Order: The producer's selection by the glass — whatever Camille is excited about this week.

A genuine cave beneath a 17th-century building near the Panthéon, with walls that make everything taste slightly more serious. The selection is tilted toward small Loire and Rhône producers who don't export. Very little English spoken; very much worth making the effort. Best visited mid-week when the students leave it to the regulars.

Order: Mâcon from a producer they've sourced directly — they do this unusually well.

Opening at 8am on market days, this is where Aligre traders and locals drink vin nature before 11am without any self-consciousness about it. The list is chalked up daily, the cheese comes from the stalls outside, and the whole experience is about as Parisian as anything still accessible to visitors. Go on Saturday morning.

Order: Whatever Chenin they have by the glass — the picpoul de pinet is also usually reliable.

Half caviste, half bar, all conviction. The owner has been sourcing from the same twelve producers for fifteen years and knows their cellars personally. Standing room only at the bar — but the bar is where you want to be, asking questions. Tuesday and Thursday evenings are best for finding the owner ready to talk.

Order: Ask for something from the Ardèche — they have a few growers there that nobody else in Paris stocks.

The kitchen here is serious enough that the wine plays a supporting role rather than a lead, which is exactly what a bar-restaurant should aim for. The natural wine list is extensive and well-annotated, the small plates are the correct size for drinking rather than eating, and the room fills with people who know what they're doing. Book a table.

Order: The Corsican whites — Au Passage stocks producers from the island that rarely make it to the mainland.