Le Colimaçon

Wandering around the Marais in Paris, we were after somewhere we could eat classic French food — not done up, just a warm, unpretentious bistro. Le Colimaçon turned out to be exactly that.

It sits on Rue Vieille du Temple, small and welcoming, and makes no great claims from the outside. Inside the tables are close together, the light is low and the service is friendly. It has that slightly cramped, slightly noisy Paris bistro feel we love — the kind of room you want to sit in for hours.

We started with the escargots. They arrive the classic Bourgogne way, with butter, plenty of garlic and parsley. If you like escargots at all, this is more or less the plate you come to Paris for; leaving the bread without mopping up that butter is close to impossible.

The menu leans to classic French cooking. Confit de canard is one of the standouts here. The duck comes crisp on the outside without being heavy, and the potatoes cooked in duck fat beside it make a properly filling plate. On the meat side there are several strong options, from tartare to aged cuts. In a bigger group, the côte de bœuf is worth considering to share.

The wine list is good too — a wide range of French bottles, and they'll help you match them to the food. To our minds this isn't a place to eat quickly and leave; it suits opening a bottle and stretching the meal out.

What we liked most about Le Colimaçon, though, wasn't any one dish but the room itself. Despite sitting right in the middle of the Marais, it doesn't feel like a Paris restaurant built for tourists. Small, intimate, faintly romantic, and genuinely a neighbourhood bistro.

If you're in Paris, particularly around the Marais, and you want somewhere with character for classic French cooking without the show, make a note of Le Colimaçon. We left happy.