The art nouveau bistro par excellence, le Bistro du Peintre has been a neighborhood restaurant since 1902. Its history shows in its beautifully preserved interior, with its antique chandeliers, floral molding, enormous curved mirrors, and hand-painted tiles. Sit and sip a glass of wine and you’ll be dreaming of Colette and cabarets in no time.

Today, the restaurant attracts all kinds of modern Parisians. In the mornings, beret-capped men almost as old as the bistro take their daily espresso at the counter; at lunch, businessmen wolf down steaks; in the afternoon, tourists munch on sweets and people-watch; at night, bobos (“bourgeois-bohèmes”) sip mojitos on the terrace.

The food is classically French, with dishes like andouillette, duck confit, grilled scallops, and tartare-frites. Plates are tasty, though on the heavy side, with no amount spared of the butter, salt and cream that makes French food famous. If you can, it’s worth saving room for the profiteroles, the cream filled pastries doused in chocolate sauce.