L'Ivress Sentier — Restaurant in Paris

Situated on one of the quiet streets connecting the busy areas of Sentier and Grands Boulevards, l’Ivress provides a perfect wine oasis from the noisy terraces and chain pubs of boulevard Montmartre. It is an authentic wine bar offering a small, but carefully chosen, selection of excellent wines at reasonable prices. The owners, two young wine aficionados from Lyon, have a particular predilection for wine from independent wine sellers. To choose your tipple, you’re invited behind the bar where the barman will suggest a wine based on your personal preferences. You’re even allowed to taste it before you choose! As in any good wine bar, planches (wooden platters) of cheese and charcuterie (cold cuts) are available to accompany your drinks. Those at l’Ivress are particularly good. The mixed platter comes with a small pot of honey for the cheese, mini-gherkins for the meat, and as much crusty baguette as you can eat. They also offer foie gras, smoked salmon on toast and, for the veggies, a variety of vegetarian dips. Though the name means ‘drunkenness’ (albeit with the ‘e’ at the end mysteriously missing), you’ll not find rowdy drunks here; rather, a laid-back after-work crowd chatting enthusiastically against the subtle bar soundtrack of chill-out tunes and indie rock songs. The décor is cozy yet chic, with exposed brick walls, a permanent exhibition of framed photos, and floor-to-ceiling wine shelves. If you’re lucky you’ll find a free table by the window on the squashy leather sofas, although, more often than not, these spots have been reserved. In fact, the only downside to this welcoming cave à vin is its...

What an unbelievable place, we popped in for a glass of wine, stayed for 4 and a half hours. We were greeted with a smile and a friendly atmosphere, the staff were really inviting. We had to taste the wine before being given our drinks to make sure we chose something we liked. A great way to avoid a bottle we didn't like. Our 2nd choice was our favourite , questions about what we liked were greeted by advice and recommendations. No hard sell of the most expensive wine, we were pointed to the cheaper end because of our tastes. The food was delicious, perfectly accompanied by the wine. I could have spent 7 nights there and tried many wines, sadly we only were there for 1 night. My favourite place in Paris by far, the staff couldn't do enough to help, guide and...

This place was close to our hotel so we went there for a glass of wine with cheese or ham. The "planche" had a lot of variety, not just cheese and ham but also spreads and vegetables (see photo), and had the originality of being a slate instead of a wooden board. I just asked for a couple of glasses of red wine, but the waiter took care to ask a few questions regarding our tastes and ended up recommending a Medoc. Since we were in Paris, when I asked for the bill I was expecting a big gash on my finances, but a bit over EUR 20 was less than I was expecting and, so, a...