Le Caviste Bio – Paris (75009) en

A wine bar specialized in natural wines that also offers dining options at night, thanks to the Japanese chef there.
It’s good, the wines aren’t all that expensive, the service could be less stretched out, but it’s because their staff is so small.
Still a good place to know, especially because it’s one of the rare wine bars that serves a real, good, quality homemade food and that has wine prices on the lower side.

There’s one big table in the first room, we’ll definitely prefer the second room to it, much more intimate and successful. Don’t hesitate to make reservations.
The second room is cozy and well decorated, it’s nice.

The chef is in the kitchen, and the man, after taking care of the shop, takes care of the table service. He admitted that night he was a little tired, which was understandable. He’s very nice and I like his approach to wine, not snob at all, with a real desire of making natural and inexpensive wine.
I exchanged a couple words with the chef as well; she seemed nice and works well by herself.
The only worry I had was on the customer service side, the service could be better, more present, especially since there are two rooms, it can be hard to catch the server’s attention.

There is no table d’hôte, but the prices are adequate (around 16-17 euros a dish).
The appetizers are good for the price as well.
We start with some amuse-bouches, the man wasn’t exactly sure what they were, it’s too bad, probably turnip leaves he thought.
It was good.

With our meal, we chose a wine recommended by the man : a dry Chenin from Domaine de l’Aumonier which paired nicely with both my fish and the pork.
The bottle is 9 euros or so, and the corkage fee is 8 euros or so, I don’t remember but I think we paid 16 euros or so for the bottle, which is pretty cheap.

Appetizers
Fish soup
The man explained that the fish soup was delicious, because the chef cooked a lot with fish, she kept the bones and everything else needed to make a good soup.
This was the best soup I’ve eaten in Paris, for 8 euros, it’s a gift.
The taste of the fish was delicious, and it had a nice spice to it, it also had a little cheese in it, a masterful appetizer.

Bulots and shrimp in their sauce
The bulots are good as well, very good and served not too cold.
There are 3 nice shrimps, 10 euros for everything, a very acceptable price.

Mains
Ginger pork
The person that ate it was happy,  this is a simpler dish, it looks a lot like something  we can make at home.

Steamed hake with sauce verte
My hake was well cooked, and not half cooked like it deplorably often is.
The vegetables beside it are fresh and crunchy. There’s enough food to fill you up, but the composition is pretty simple.

Dessert
A café gourmand

My reviews on wine bars are often very critical for the simple and good reason that when I’m paying 10 euros for an appetizer and 16 euros for a main, I expect the same quality as a restaurant. Everything balances out here, because even if one server is not enough, the staff is honest and caring. Same for the food, if the mains are good but a little simple, the appetizers were very well done, and the wine was delicious and inexpensive. It’s worth going to treat yourself to good wine while eating a nice meal; in this case, the food wasn’t in the shadow of the wine, like it often is. That being said, I’d go here more for the wine than just for the food. But I’ve also become more difficult from trying so many restaurants.
My hat’s off to the spirit of the house however.