This is one of those suburban bars where you feel like time never passes. La Nouvelle Comédie in Montreuil could have looked exactly the same 50 years ago (but none the worse for that). There’s a peaceful mixture of rock’n’roll black leather jackets and North African vibes that recalls a time before the myriad modern challenges faced by the ‘cité’ urban developments today. The crowd is more mixed than in any central Parisian bar, with all ages, jobs (or lack thereof) and styles represented. There’s a stage where bands like the Riquet Jug Band hammer out old school blues and swing while people dance, perhaps followed by the Moonshiners and their brand of enthusiastic rockabilly.
With pints at €4, everyone gets into the spirit of the place pretty quickly. Behind the stage is a door to a courtyard marked ‘fags and bbq: smoke out zone’. One chap turns out sandwiches and grilled merguez sausages, including a barbecue in summer, cheerfully calling out to anyone passing as he works. Back inside, the bar is done out like a French football fan’s wet dream, with table football, 1994 World Cup memorabilia, PSG scarves and a screen for showing matches. At the same time, football isn’t the point here – everyone comes with their own story, be they a punk rocker or a merguez griller. Come and hang out, and you’ll probably get to tell your own.