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FOOD AND DRINK

Reader question: Do I really need to reserve before going to a restaurant in France?

When visiting France, you are probably looking forward to the French gastronomy, but can you just turn up at a restaurant and get a table?

Reader question: Do I really need to reserve before going to a restaurant in France?
A waiter takes an order at a French brasserie in Paris. (Photo by FRED DUFOUR / AFP)

For many foreigners, eating delicious food is at the top of their priority list when coming to France. However, you might find that you should make a reservation before eating out, depending on where in France you are visiting and the type of food you are looking to enjoy. 

Do I need a reservation? And if so, where would I need one?

Whether you are staying in Paris or in a small town in the countryside, you might be surprised that the small bistro on the corner is fully booked when you walk up looking to dine in. Lots of restaurants in France, including small family-owned type places, are often more in demand than you might think. This is especially common in small towns where locals may be consistent patrons of the town’s crêperie, for example.

Also when it comes to small towns – especially those in touristy areas such as Brittany or the south of France – much will depend on what time of year you are there. If it’s the height of summer or the school holidays make sure to book in advance. 

In big cities, like Paris or Lyon which are home to scores of popular restaurants, making a reservation might not be necessary – depending on where you want to go. If you wander around for long enough, then you will likely be able to find a restaurant that will take people on the spot. In fact, several popular or trendy restaurants even have an explicit policies against reservations, in which case you will need to plan to stand in line for ‘first-come, first-serve’ table. If the restaurant has a website or social media presence, you can check online to see if they clearly state ‘no reservations’. 

However, traditional French restaurants mostly take reservations, and typically they do so by phone call. Some might allow you to come by in person in advance and make the reservation. 

READ MORE: Apéro to digestif: What to expect from every step of a French dinner

Even though France is becoming more tech-friendly, many restaurants continue to rely on phone calls, rather than the internet, for their reservation planning. Calling ahead can also allow you to clarify the restaurant’s hours of operation, as they sometimes differ from what might be listed on Google Maps or there could be an unforeseen closure or shift in the schedule.

Typically, it is best to book about one to two days in advance, but if you are on holiday and generally make last-minute plans then calling as soon as a restaurant opens to get a table at lunchtime, or as soon as it reopens in the evening might be OK. If the restaurant is highly coveted then you may want to see if it is possible to book about a week (or more) in advance. 

High-end restaurants, especially those featured on the Michelin guide, will expect reservations in most cases. 

READ MORE: 5 eco-friendly French restaurants from the new Michelin guide

When booking for holidays, such as Christmas or Valentine’s Day, you may need to book several weeks (at least two to three) in advance. 

What time should I make my reservation for?

Even though they are neighbours, the French certainly don’t follow Spanish dining habits of having the evening meal at 10pm, but having said that dinner in France is usually eaten later than in the US or Scandinavian countries.

Of course, dinner time in France varies between families and regions, but here are some guidelines.

Lunchtime tends to run between 12pm (noon) and 2pm – that’s when restaurants operate their lunchtime service, so that’s when it’s time to eat. 

Following the restaurant opening rule, the evening meal period typically starts from around 7pm. That’s when the tables are ready and a lot of restaurants won’t accept a booking before 7pm (some might even start at 8pm).

If you want to eat after 2pm but before 7pm you need to look out for a restaurant that advertises ‘service non-stop‘ (also called service continu), these are quite common in tourist areas and big cities, but are generally not the best restaurants. 

In Paris, people tend not to book a table before 8pm to 8.30pm – and plenty of restaurants (not just fast food joints) remain open until midnight.

READ MORE: Reader question: What time do the French eat dinner?

Don’t be fooled into thinking that means Parisians don’t eat until late every evening. Most don’t go out for a meal every night, and may dine a little earlier when they’re at home.

In most towns, cities or villages, restaurants and bistros open for evening service between 7pm and 7.30pm, although tourist resorts often have places that are open all day.

In smaller towns, you may find that restaurants don’t open every night – shutting on Monday is common – or shut their doors earlier, perhaps, than you’d expect, so your window of opportunity for a meal may be slim – especially in the colder months.

How can I go about making a reservation? What websites can I use?

As mentioned previously, you will likely need to make a reservation on the phone, especially for the French countryside. 

In order to do so, you will need to say a few things: that you want to reserve a table, the number of people who will be in attendance, and the time and date you would like to request.

First, you should begin by saying hello and asking if they take reservations: “Bonjour, est-ce que vous prenez des réservations ?”

If they say yes, then you can proceed with your request – let’s say you want to reserve a table for three people on March 30th at 8pm, you would say: “Est-ce que je pourrais réserver une table pour trois personnes le 30 mars à 20h ?”

If you are generally wondering if they have any availability that night, you might say “Avez-vous des places disponibles pour trois personnes le soir du 30 mars ? Et si oui, à quelle heure ?”

Be prepared to give a name phone number if they need to follow-up with you. It may be wise to write down your French phone number (or your international number with the correct area code) before the call.

In urban areas, some restaurants take their reservations online – either on their own website or on sites like TheFork.com. You may also be able to book on OpenTable.

Should I tip?

When asked, more than a quarter of readers of The Local France said that they tip sometimes (if they felt like it or had spare change), and almost half (43.5 percent) said they would reserve tipping for those times the service had been particularly good. 

One reader based in Strasbourg, Lauren Lever, said: “At a café if I pay in cash or have a few extra coins I will leave the spare change … [but] I often pay with a card and do not tip. However, if we have a really nice experience with great service we will tip nicely to show our gratitude, usually around 10 percent of the bill”. 

READ MORE: ‘We tip less in France than in the US’ – readers reveal who they tip, and how much

Helpful vocabulary

Couverts – This translates to “Cutlery”, but in French restaurants it is used to reference how many people will be seated at the table.

Réserver – To reserve

Combien de temps dure l’attente ? – How long is the wait?

Vous êtes combien ? – How many are in your party?

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BRITS IN FRANCE

Bad food but good culture: What the French really think of the UK

They might not love British cuisine but the UK remains a very popular destination for French people to visit, while thousands of them also want to make the move permanently.

Bad food but good culture: What the French really think of the UK

Almost three million French tourists travel to the UK every year with the country’s vibrant cities, history and culture given as the top reasons for their trip.

And a recent survey has revealed a surprisingly positive view of their neighbour from French people – with one exception.

The French participants in the study were asked to rank 60 different countries based on several different topics – tourism, culture, people, exports, governance, immigration and investment. 

So what did they say about the UK?

Bad food

French survey respondents placed British food at the very bottom of the list – in 60th place out of all 60 countries. 

This is far lower than the UK’s average, which was 18th amongst the other nationalities interviewed.

In an interview with The Guardian about how the French feel about British food, the British comedian, Tatty Macleod, who was raised in France said “English food to [the French] is essentially fish and chips (…) they think of Brits as beer louts with unhealthy diets”.

This has been a longstanding feeling amongst the French – in 2018, another comedian, Al Murray, went across the Channel with the documentary series ‘Why does everyone hate the English?’

In France, he teamed up with radio host Antoine de Caunes, and when launching the programme, they conducted a small survey of several hundred viewers to find out the top 20 things the French ‘hate’ about the English.

There were a couple of food-related comments: “Their inability to cook” came in fourth place, the “lack of variety in their diet” took 11th place and “the fact that they put ketchup on everything” came in 12th place, according to a round-up by Ouest France.

It’s been suggested that many French people have bad memories of food they were given on school trips to the UK, often decades ago, and certainly bad food is a recurring theme in French films and TV shows about trips to the UK.

Worth visiting

Despite not having a taste for British cuisine, the French did have a positive view of UK tourism, placing the country 5th for both “vibrant city life and urban attractions” and for being “rich in historic buildings and monuments” in the IPSOS study.

According to Visit Britain, the UK welcomed 2.8 million tourists from France in 2022.

In the culture category in general, the French ranked the UK in third place out of all 60 countries. 

One aspect of British culture that French people seem to really enjoy is the royal family.

In 2021, 6 million people in France watched the funeral of Prince Phillip, 4 million watched the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and the royal weddings of princes William and Harry attracted 9 and 8 million French viewers respectively.

Charles de Gaulle once remarked: “The French have a taste for princes, but they will always look abroad'”.

READ MORE: Why British royals are so popular in France

And in terms of visiting the UK, IPSOS’ findings are in line with previous data about where French people choose to go on holiday – the UK was the fourth most popular country among French people, as of 2019, according to Le Monde.

A 2021 study by Visit Britain also found that 10 percent of French people would pick the UK as their top global destination.

Moving to the UK

And there are plenty of French people who decide to make their stay a long-term or even permanent one.

The UK ranked in third place as of 2023 for French students to study abroad.

It also comes in third place – behind Switzerland and the US – for having the most French people living there.

After Brexit, over 240,000 French people applied for the EU settlement scheme in the UK from 2018 to 2021, and once applications were reviewed, approximately 130,000 received settled status and 93,100 received pre-settled status. 

Among the French, London is sometimes nicknamed ‘France’s sixth city’ due to the number of French people living there.

Polite, well-mannered and funny

The French ranked Brits in 21st place for the question “If visited, people would make me feel very welcome”. This is an increase of two spots from the 2022 results.

When scouring the internet, British politeness does come up often in French clichés about the UK.

Ouest France reported that over a third (36 percent) of French people interviewed for Al Murray’s show “appreciated the politeness and good manners of the English.”

Three out of every 10 people also thought Brits had a good sense of humour – and Brits felt this way about themselves too. 

In a 2009 survey exploring British views of the French, 71 percent of participants said that the French are ‘sexier’ than the British, but 80 percent said the British had a better sense of humour. 

READ MORE: Do the French really have no sense of humour?

Driving on the left-side

And finally, to get a better idea of French opinions about Brits, The Local turned to Google.

We searched both anglais (English) and britanniques (British) because the French do have a bit of a tendency to mix them up and refer to all inhabitants of the UK (and sometimes even the Irish) with the sweeping les anglais. 

The first suggested response had to do with driving on the left-side of the road, which also popped up in the survey by ‘Why does everyone hate the English?’ as the number 1 thing the French ‘hate’ about the British.

READ MORE: Tea and Dordogne: How do the French perceive the Brits?

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