Getting the Most of Dining Out in Paris
France is renowned as a gourmand’s paradise. One of the world’s true culinary capitals, Paris has countless options for that perfect plate that you will remember for years to come. But Paris is also the world’s most visited city, which means there are a lot of tourists expecting a certain dining experience, which may or may not be realistic. Here are some tips to help you better understand dining culture in Paris and manage your expectations, thereby giving you the best experience possible.
Waiters Have a Different Goal
In the U.S., good service is friendly and attentive service. You’d expect your waiter to be chatty, charming, and hanging on your every word and need. But that’s cultural. It’s not like that in much of the world, and it’s definitely not like that in Paris. So, it’s important to manage your expectations. In Paris, good service is defined by efficiency and privacy, which makes your interaction with the wait staff very different.
You Didn’t Come to Dinner to Make Friends with the Waiter
Diners in Paris expect to be left alone while eating, so that they can focus on their companions and their meals, rather than the servers. It is nearly unheard of to have a waiter check-in on you after your food arrives. In Paris, if you need something you will need to get the waiter’s attention; it is generally considered annoying if a waiter interrupts your meal with questions. They’ll take your order, deliver the food, clear plates, and will otherwise leave you alone. This also means that you’ll never be rushed out of a bistro, café, or restaurant. If you’ve ordered something, you could sit there all day if you chose to. The waiter will not bring you the bill until you ask for it. It would be considered rude to simply drop off the bill, as it would be taken as a suggestion that it’s time to go.
It’s All about Efficiency
Another key thing to understand is that waiters are not working for tips. They are paid a steady wage and therefore are not looking to you to supplement their salaries. Instead, their focus is on providing you – and every other table in their charge – with professional and efficient service. Waiters in Paris often cover more tables than their counterparts in the U.S., so there are more people to serve. As such, long conversations and chit-chat are not considered professional. It keeps waiters from other tables and duties. Some Americans may find it rude if the waiter comes to take your order but leaves if there is hesitation or it doesn’t look like the table is ready to order. In the U.S., it may be common to ask a lot of questions about the menu and engage the waiter in the process of helping you make your choice. If you try to do that with a French waiter, they may find it very awkward.
No Substitutions
French chefs take pride in their food and their culinary decisions. French restaurants actually originated in homes, where chefs opened their doors to the paying public. You’ll notice that many French restaurants have “Chez” in their name – like Chez François, or Chez Marcel. In French, “chez” means “in the house of.” As such, chefs are masters of the house and the menus reflect their heartfelt choices and professional judgements. So, asking for the chef to prepare the listed meals differently, or to substitute one side dish or ingredient for another, typically is not welcome. With that said, if you have a food allergy or a particular dislike for something, that’s a time to ask the waiter and they can guide you to other choices that would be better for you, rather than alter existing dishes. While the influx of tourists is starting to change this slightly, it remains an obstacle for some visitors who are used to having things made to their particular specifications.
Do I Tip?
Most places that have wait staff will include a service charge automatically on the bill, which is typically 10-15% of the bill. And while waiters are not dependent on tips, it is still common to leave some kind of a tip on top of the service charge. If you’re in a café or smaller bistro where the bill isn’t significant, it’s common to leave an extra euro or two for the server. If, for example, you’re total is 8.50€, rounding up to 10€ and leaving the 1.50€ change for the server is common, but not required. For a more substantial bill in a restaurant, tipping is not required; but, if you want to leave 5% on top of the service charge, it’s appreciated. In all instances, if you are paying by credit card, there is not an option for adding a tip, so it’s a cash tip, or nothing. If you want to leave something, it’s good to keep a few 1€ coins and small bills with you.
Water for the Table
Tap water in Paris is safe and tastes good, so you shouldn’t need to worry about drinking it. It’s also free. Waiters in many restaurants will offer you bottled water – “une bouteille d’eau?” (oon BOO-tie doh) – when they come to take your order. But if you say you want tap water, they’ll bring it to you. There’s actually a law that requires free tap water (stemming from the Revolution and the concept water is a natural resource owned by all). Just ask for “une carafe d’eau” (oon CA-rahf doh) and they will bring you small pitcher of tap water for the table.
Some Key Words That May Cause Some Confusion
Because French and English both come from Latin, many words may look similar when written out. But that doesn’t always mean they always mean the same thing… particularly in a restaurant. Here are some key things to understand in French:
Menu vs. Carte – In French, a “menu” is a prix fix or pre-set multi-course meal. If you want the list of all the things the restaurant has to offer, you need the “carte”. In English, we’ve co-opted the term “a la carte”, which indicates items ordered individually.
Entrée vs. Plat – In French “entrée” means “entrance” or “starting place”, so if you see that on a carte or menu, it’s an appetizer, not the main dish. Main dishes are “les plats” or “les plat principaux.”
Filet Mignon vs. Filet de Beouf – In English, we know filet mignon as a tender cut of steak. In France, however, filet mignon will most likely be pork tenderloin. While it is possible to have beef filet mignon in French (which will be called “filet mignon de boeuf”), it will be more like steak tips than what you’d expect from filet mignon in the U.S. Otherwise, assume that filet mignon in Paris will be pork. If you want a nice steak, you’re really looking for “filet de beouf” (leave off the mignon).
Escalope vs. Scallop – while “escalope” sounds like scallop, they are very different on a menu. “Escalope” is a thin cut of meat. If you want sea scallops, you’re looking for “coquilles St. Jacques” (coh-key san zhock).
Ordering Meat
If you order beef or steak, like in the U.S., they will ask you how you want it cooked. Here is a guide to your temperature options:
Bleu – done on a very hot grill for one minute on each side. Internally, it will still be raw.
Saignant – literally it means “bloody,” so this is very rare and is cooked slightly longer on the second side than a bleu steak.
À point – is the equivalent of rare by American or British standards. It will still be significantly red to pink.
Bien cuit – means “well cooked.” This level will still often have some pinkness in the middle of the meat. A steak that is “bien cuit” is cooked until the juices run brown on the surface of the steak and is more like an American medium-rare to medium.
Très bien cuit – means “very well cooked” and should get you a steak that is totally cooked through, as you might expect with a “medium-well” cook in the U.S. If you want your steak cooked more than this, you may never get it right, since that’s just not how Parisians eat meat. I’d recommend ordering something else.
Is It Fresh? Is it Good Quality?
As you look for a place to eat, one of the great things about Paris is that every restaurant is required to post a menu on the outside of the building, so you can decide whether it meets your needs without ever going inside. Even so, in a city with countless restaurant options, it’s difficult to know what you’re getting just from the look of a place or the menu. But there are three ways to make it much more likely you’ll get quality food:
If the menu is in several languages – particularly if it’s laminated and has flags on it to signal which language is which – that’s a big red flag that this may be a tourist trap, which are often focused on volume, rather than a restaurant that prides itself in its food.
Extensive menus with countless options are also a red flag. Most restaurants are small affairs in Paris, and it’s simply not possible or economical to have fresh ingredients in sufficient supply to ensure that every item on an extensive menu can be made from scratch. A large menu usually means the meals are frozen or prepared in advance. Look for menus that have a handful of options in each category – appetizers, main courses, and desserts. This allows the chef to keep the ingredients on hand that are necessary to ensure a fresher experience.
Look for the “house-made” icon. Known as fait maison in French, the symbol that looks like asauce pan with a roof on it is a signal that something is entirely made on site. If the icon is generally at the top of the menu, that indicates everything is house-made. Otherwise, it may be next to specific dishes, which indicates these are the ones made from scratch in the kitchen. Not having the icon does not mean other plates aren’t of high quality or fresh, it just means that at least one of the ingredients used wasn’t made on the premises. For example, caviar will always come from a can or jar, but that does not mean it isn’t of the highest quality. So, if a plate includes caviar, even if the rest of the plate is house-made, it technically can’t carry the symbol.
Eat Up!
We hope these tips help you get the best experience possible. Enjoying fine cuisine in Paris is often the ONE element that can make or break your perspective on a successful trip. Even a cold, rainy morning in Paris can be the start to the “best day ever”, with a fresh pastry or croissant and coffee.