October 15, 2026 - - Wine shop - | No comment
La Cale: Set Sail for Natural Wine in Belleville
At 113 rue de Belleville, La Cale brings together natural wine, seasonal cooking and a distinctly maritime atmosphere. The Paris wine bar is the work of Matthieu Lévy, whose fascination with the sea is written into almost every corner of the place, from old sailing cloth to the tables designed by his boat-making brother.
“I love the whole maritime aesthetic,” Matthieu explains. “I love the decoration and the raw materials.”
Old sails from traditional sailing boats and catamarans have been reused throughout the space. The result is less a carefully constructed theme than an invitation to travel, something Matthieu says the food also reflects.
Yet the maritime décor never comes at the expense of warmth. La Cale is one of the neighborhood's most welcoming places, with a cozy, relaxed atmosphere that makes it as much a local favorite for an after-work drink or an evening out as a destination for natural wine lovers. Nautical touches give it character, but the hospitality makes people feel at home.
La Cale's wine selection is predominantly natural, with more than 400 natural wines available in its current selection. But for Matthieu, the point isn't simply to put “natural wine” on the label. He is particularly interested in bottles that can stand on their own, regardless of how they are classified.
“I really like introducing people to wines that, if you don't tell them what they are, would be almost impossible to identify as natural wine,” he says. “Because they're incredibly straight, very fine, with beautiful emotions that you sometimes struggle to find in some conventional wines.” He also has patience in the way he approaches wine. Some bottles, he says, simply need time.
“There are wines that you have to wait for a little. You taste them at the right moment and, well, you feel like crying because they're so good.”
That curiosity continues into the kitchen. Rather than maintaining a fixed menu, La Cale works with around ten to twelve fresh dishes, changing substantially every two or three weeks and following the seasons. The cooking draws on different influences, with the team focusing on seasonal produce and, where possible, ingredients from nearby.
Some of the dishes from the current menu include a tarama whose recipe Matthieu says has been developed over around ten years, alongside Moroccan brioche-style pitas. A flame-grilled mackerel is served with ajo blanco, fig-leaf oil and redcurrants, while the porco tonnato combines slow-cooked pork belly with the tuna-based sauce traditionally associated with vitello tonnato, finished with fried capers and small chilies.
The wine pairings receive the same attention. A Riesling from Poema des Bongiraud brings acidity and freshness to the rich mackerel, while a Pinot Noir from Pierre Frick in Alsace complements the porco tonnato with its roundness and earthy notes of forest floor, fresh earth, and mushroom.
For Matthieu, the combination ultimately creates a place where food and wine can take people somewhere else. “It's about inviting people to travel, particularly through the food.”
With its constantly changing menu, extensive natural wine selection, and deliberately tactile interior, La Cale feels less like a place built around a particular formula than one built around curiosity. Come for a glass, stay for a plate, or let Matthieu find you something you might not have ordered yourself.
