Tips for Paris Cafés and Restaurants

**Restaurants**

France, along with Italy and Spain, is one of Europe's great food countries, and in its center, Paris, you'd expect to eat wonderfully. In practice, though, just getting a meal can be surprisingly hard. Here's how to eat and enjoy cafés without feeling awkward.

If you want real French cooking at a place locals frequent rather than a tourist trap, book ahead whenever you can. French diners linger over meals for two hours or more, so restaurants generally leave a reserved table empty and refuse other guests before the booking time. That means an empty table may not be available to you, and that is the kind of moment when people end up thinking they were the victim of discrimination.

Most restaurants now take bookings through their websites or through TheFork. Some can be booked straight from a Google search via Google reservations. If a place takes phone bookings only, ask your accommodation to help by email. Offering a few dates and times improves your odds.

Paris restaurants typically serve lunch from noon until about 2 or 3 p.m., then close for a break and reopen at 6 p.m. for dinner. A three-course lunch of starter, main and dessert is great value, so use it to try classic French cuisine.

**Café terraces**

A terrace café was one of my Paris dreams, probably after seeing too many photos of Hemingway. In reality, the tables are small and packed together, and it takes more nerve than a restaurant. Try to go at a quiet time of day. A café inside a museum or gallery is a gentler way in.

Paris is quite tolerant of smoking at outdoor tables. Nobody hides a cigarette because children are around, and you'll see people smoking while pushing a stroller. If you need bottled water and there's no supermarket nearby, walk straight into the café and buy it at the bar.

**Café and restaurant etiquette**

- Wait at the entrance until staff show you to a table. - To sit on the terrace, you need to act as though you're only having a drink. The tables are tiny, so if you also order food, you'll usually be seated indoors. - Once seated, remember which server is assigned to your table. Order and pay through that person only. Some places have one server and some have two. You pay at your seat through your server. - Don't raise your hand or call out. Keep looking at your server until you make eye contact. It's frustrating, but it's considered a sign of respect. - A meal, or even a cup of tea, can take two hours or even nearly three hours through to payment, so leave plenty of time. - If you're in a hurry, tell the server when ordering that you have another reservation at a certain time. Even when not in a rush, it helps to mention a next appointment. - You can ask to pay first by quietly holding out cash or a card when the server comes to the table. The gesture for requesting the bill gets the message across without words.

**When you need a restroom**

Restrooms are the most important thing in Europe. After eating at a restaurant or café, stop by even if you don't need to. By the time you feel the urge, it's too late. If you're desperate, head to a nearby café. You don't need to wait at the entrance to be seated: go straight to the bar, order a coffee and use the restroom first. Keep some coins and tissues on hand for pay toilets, which usually cost 0.5 to 2 euros.