A strange find, this, tucked down a long, narrow alleyway off rue Amelot, opposite the back entrance of Pop In - look out for the green Stella sign. Inside it's red and black...

Unlike some places that eschew good food for alcohol and a funky interior, colourful Ave Maria scores highly for all three. The kitsch interior is decked out in a canopy of...

The bar contained within this beautifully restored belle époque building sparked the Oberkampf nightlife boom. Its booths, mirrors and adventurous music policy put trendy...

Chez Prosper welcomes punters all day long with that simplest of pleasures: a smile. Yes, even when squeezing past people queuing for a spot on the sun terrace, the waiters are...

The 'Grocery Store' is rue Jean-Pierre-Timbaud's answer to La Mercerie: it, too, is a big old space filled with junk. Cupboards of kitsch china and lampshades made from kitchen...

The small, unpretentious Interface is on the trendy and très gay rue Keller. Friendly staff cater mostly to thirtysomethings; this is a great place in which to start the...

Late opening and Eric Perier's diverse range of nightly entertainment - DJs (weekends), videos, live acts (Tuesday to Thursdays) and the odd open mic event - are the...

The Bellevilloise is the latest incarnation of a building that once housed the capital's very first workers' co-operative. Now it competently multi-tasks as a bar, restaurant,...

The Flèche, housed in a disused station hall, straddles the abandoned petite ceinture railway that encircles Paris. Closer in style to urban venues in Berlin and New York, it...

Far enough (five minutes) from rue Oberkampf to feel off the beaten track, the Gutter is not out-and-out libertine, but you're on the right lines. Certainly, a come-what-may...

La Maroquinerie's former life as a leather factory is little in evidence these days. It's now a bright café and bar. The food is excellent - you can eat your way through the...

Opposite the landmark Charbon and infinitely more grungy, the spacious Mercerie has bare walls (bare everything, in fact) and room for the usual Oberkampf shenanigans of...

This tastefully decorated club-bar-restaurant complex holds regular rock concerts, as well as club events most Thursdays to Saturdays. The agenda here changes constantly, so...