Travels with Terri

You can’t go very far in Paris without running across a place to dine and that’s a very good thing. But choosing the perfect spot can be a challenge, especially when faced with so many choices. My best advice is to use your ears. If most patrons are speaking French, that’s a great sign as it means the spot is popular with residents. You’d never frequent a restaurant with mediocre food, and neither would any Parisian. A large percentage of local patrons equals good eats!

Another consideration is matching the “type” of dining to your needs. As you wander around Paris, you will encounter cafes, bistros, and brasseries, and knowing the difference will make it easier to choose. Cafes usually have a simple menu to accompany their coffee and other beverages and most serve the same menu daily. Bistros take dining a step further and feature different menus for lunch and dinner. French home-style cooking and slow-cooked foods like cassoulet are typical bistro fare. While bistros are small and intimate, brasseries are larger, open, and noisy. The word brasserie is French for brewery and the original brasseries were either attached to beer-making facilities or were owned by them and specialized in the beer they produced. They have extensive menus featuring classic French dishes like boeuf bourguignon, steak tartare, onion soup, confit de canard, and of course beer.

There are many fine-dining restaurants throughout the city that serve both traditional and nouveau cuisine. These usually open past 7:00 pm for dinner only and don’t have cafe or brasserie in their name. Every place we’ve dined in Paris had a menu posted outside, which made it easier to decide if it fit our needs (and budget.) Those with only French menus cater to Parisians and are a good bet for an authentic dining experience. Another option for great food is to go ethnic. Since most tourists want French food, Indian, Thai, African, and Middle Eastern (among others) cater to residents and offer amazing food at decent prices.

As someone who both reads and writes reviews on travel sites, I’m always a bit dumb founded when fellow Americans fault a place for something that is simply a cultural difference. The most common complaint is slow and/or indifferent service, which is of course the opposite of what we’re used to in the States. In Paris, once you’ve been seated, the table is yours for the evening. In the US, the faster you eat and get out, the better. In most of Europe, servers make a living wage, so they don’t have to shmooze for tips. In the US they have to rely on tips to make ends meet so of course they’re going to be very friendly and overly attentive. What we view as indifference is merely the French way of being polite and reserved with people they don’t know. Being in the know before you go may sound like a cliché, but it will make your dining and other travel experiences memorable rather than complaint-worthy.

If your budget allows, I highly recommend booking a special dining experience during your time in Paris. Our favorite was a dinner cruise on the Seine with Le Calife. Originally constructed in 1939 as a cargo barge, Le Calife has been converted into a stunning floating restaurant (all meals are prepared onboard). Details include a copper bar, a spiral staircase, a music room with a Steinway piano from 1879, and stained-glass windows from the late 1700’s. Another great option is to book an in-home meal. We had an amazing dinner at the home of our host Bianca in 2016. Her top floor apartment on Île Saint-Louis (one of two natural islands on the Seine) has spectacular views of Paris from Notre Dame Cathedral to the Eiffel Tower. Every course was delicious and the six of us (two Americans and four Italians) savored every bite while chatting about everything from art, food, and wine to history and politics. A memorable evening for sure!

Here are other dining tips you may find useful:

• Go ahead and grab an unset table (outdoors) if you only want drinks. The small bowl of snacks they bring with your order is complimentary.
• If the table is set, it’s for dining only so the expectation is that you will order a main course and a drink per person at the very least.
• An appetizer is an entree, and the main course is a plat principal.
• To order tap water, ask for a carafe d’eau (pronounced dough.)
• Don’t expect a glass full of ice. Kitchen space is at a premium and ice machines aren’t the norm in most eateries.
• If any dining establishment insists that you must order their 3 or 4 course menus, walk away. Only “tourist” spots will do that.
• Ask for an inside table if smoke bothers you.
• Tax and service are included in your bill. If service was outstanding, add 10%.
• Serving sizes vary. A main at a restaurant will serve one person while a pizza at a bistro will serve two.
• Never order a well-done steak. Rare is the norm, but some chefs will do medium to cater to tourists.
• Ask your server for the check. As I mentioned, the table is yours until you are ready to leave so they don’t bring your bill until you request it.

Hope you find these tips helpful. I’ll be back in early 2024 with some new adventures. Have a wonderful holiday season!