A tiny bolthole of a restaurant on the Rue Sainte-Marthe; Mana Léon serves only a handful of hungry customers on its dozen or so tables. Exposed brick walls are decorated with antique oil paintings in gilded-gold frames off-shot by a central hanging Thai-designed lamp radiating a golden glow. On the menu? Crispy, perfectly bronzed nems accompanied by a homemade nuoc mam sauce, a green curry is braised in a rich coconut broth and dessert takes the form of sticky rice topped with honey-soaked mango. If you can't cadge a table, get it to go and wander down to the Canal St Martin. 

Nothing about Armorix is quiet: from its bright yellow facade, its whacky interiors cluttered with shells and knick-knacks and its cluster of high/low tables that draw in an eager crowed. This Sainte-Marthe hangout serves a taste of Brittany: buckwheat (a gluten-free flour) is one of the three ingredients to make its infamous crêpes base. The filling varies from simple to the slightly absurd – salmon, samphire and cream is our go-to – and is rounded off by a honey or caramel-soaked galette. Deliciously good, remarkably simply. Don't miss the happy-hour, where Carnac-caught oysters are served for one euro a piece between seven and eight pm. 

Iconic for its collage-curved front, Dixième Degré hugs the corner of Rue Sainte-Marthe and the tiled, mosaic covered wall of the Rue Jean et Marie Moinon. Inside, is an equally chaos of colour: mix-match chairs sprawl across the hexagonal space and various chalkboards are propped against antique mirrors, lamps and door frames covered with the menu of the day. The €7 mojito never goes a miss. 

Like many of the dinky restaurants along Rue Sainte-Marthe, Mulino Mulé is similarly equipped with brick-lined walls, brushed wooden tables and cord-hanging ruffle lamp shades that exude a remarkably cozy, golden glow. What sets it apart is its very own wheat mill, where grains are processed to create a fresh pasta dough that becomes the epicentre for its Sicilian-focused menu. A sausage ragu simmers away for hours, cacio et Pepe is doused in a peppery sauce and hearty bowls of pasta alla norma are whisked from the kitchen to the crowds of hungry locals.