El Nopal

Canal Saint-Martin's neo-bistro tide pulled the 10e dining axis east in the 2010s; El Nopal opened on rue Eugène Varlin a few steps from Quai de Valmy in 2011 and held the no-nonsense Mexican street-food bench while the Marais and the 11e took the rest of the conversation. Handmade tortillas, slow-cooked meats, sauces that don't dial down the heat, gorditas, quesadillas, tortas, tacos. The room is small, the storefront purple, the queue formal at dinner. Time Out Paris stocks it, Tripadvisor consistently. The casual Mexican counter for the post-canal-walk lunch, sits alongside Furia (11e neo-taquería) without overlapping register.