Dining in Paris

I get their "go with the flow" desire, but also reservations are becoming more of a thing, as it's so easy to do - and people often cancel them, which doesn't help the restaurants. And restaurant culture in Paris (and France, and other places in Europe) tends to be different than in places in the U.S.

Some suggestions: definitely reserve dinners for the weekends. Pick out some special places (not necessarily fancy or expensive, just a special experience) that your kids will also look forward to, and reserve those, whether on the weekends or not. If you are adventurous, make sure that you plan to visit the variety of different eating options that Paris has to offer. Unlike often is the case in the U.S., a bistro really does have a different feel and type of menu than a brasserie, for example. And a cafe is different from both, as is a restaurant! Cafes mostly are the places with outdoor seating; those are not reserved, but especially if the weather is good, seats can get taken quickly.

Once you are settled in at your hotel in the 2d, you may also walk by a restaurant (cafe, bistro, whatever) in the late morning, check out the place and the menu, decide that everyone in your group likes it. Then walk in and make a reservation for that evening.

If you haven't made a reservation, if you stop by a restaurant (and etc.) right after it opens for the evening (7 or 8 pm), then you may be able to get one of their few tables that is not reserved (if there are any).

Also, unlike in the U.S., restaurants (and etc.) do not generally have a waitlist or want people to hang out outside their place waiting for a table to be free; they may only have one seating per evening. If that is the case, and the restaurant (etc.) is "complet," then you won't be eating there that evening. It's a desperate feeling to be wandering past full restaurant after full restaurant and not be able to eat anywhere. You may end up somewhere that's not the tastiest of French cuisine.

If you're already familiar with all this, then I apologize - you said it's the first time for both your kids, but you may be experienced with dining in Paris already.

When your kids see that some of the restaurant's they like won't let you in because you need a reservation or no tables available, then after the 3rd or 4th time of this happening, I think they may change their mind on making a reservation.

And like Lexma says, another possibility is that you can stop in and poke your head into the restaurant as its opening up and put your name down.

This post from the Paris by Mouth substack is from last spring, but may be helpful:

https://parisbymouth.substack.com/p/where-to-eat-in-paris-when-you-havent

Enjoy your trip, and bon appetit!

Edit: just noticed the post is for paid subscribers — but you might want to consider a trial subscription. The folks who run Paris by Mouth have lots of great info about places to eat. And their food tours are great — maybe you and your family would enjoy one of those.

Aren't all reservations made in advance?

Of the maybe 25 to 30 restaurants in Paris where I might recommend your going for dinner, every single one requires a reservation. Stick with cafés or corporate chain restaurants such as Relais de Venise or Relais d'Entrecôte.

My husband used to love to just wing it, until a few experiences, of no availability, overpriced for what we got, mediocre food, and dragging around from place to place while getting more and more hangry. The hidden gems fill up.

Now we always make reservations, and if we need to cancel, we can. Especially with a group of 4, reservations should be made. I can see not wanting to be too structured, but to agree on a dinnertime every night is not unreasonable. Let them do some research and have some input.

Also, in terms of being unstructured, make sure you check out the availability of your attractions and have at least one reservation a day, so you don't get frozen out. We usually do a "must" first thing in the morning with reservations, and if it is a long list, one in the middle of the afternoon. That gives plenty of time for wandering and a leisurely lunch. Enjoy!

I don't know about dinner, but last time in Paris (early June 2023), we didn't have reservations for lunch. We were in the St Germain area and ate at Cafe Mucha one day, and Breizh Cafe the next. Both were very, very good, reasonably priced, and appeared to have mostly locals there, who seemed to be on their lunch break (based on overheard conversations). I am guessing that reservations aren't as important for lunch. You could make your main meal of the day lunch, and for dinner go to a pizza restaurant, or Asian or Middle Eastern cafes for an inexpensive dinner.

Of course, having a nice typical French dinner at a brasserie or bistro is one of my favorite things to do in France. We love a good pot- au-feu or grilled piece of fish or steak-frites! Learning to adapt to different styles of life are part of the travel experience for your kids, as it was for ours. They grew accustomed to French ways pretty quickly. (I have often found that adults are less adaptable than younger people. We traveled with relatives who were in France for the first time, and one of them did not want to eat her salad after the main course. She insisted on having it first so we were "off kilter" during dinners. She also fussed about eating dinner later. It made for some stressful evenings and meals. This was a person in their 60's!) "Going with the flow" in France, to my mind, means going with the French flow (reservations when necessary). I am sure the youngsters will adapt to a more structured dinner time experience. All will be well.

There will be always a place you can walk in. Most of them will have lousy food which is why they have availability. We learned it the hard way.

touché Tocard.

Maybe you'll have (what I consider to be) the luxury of making no reservations but still being seated at a restaurant that has "quality and variety of food." How would you feel about making reservations for at least two? three? meals and then "mak(ing) use of markets, boulangeries, etc" for the others?

If you are planning on visiting the "'classic' Paris sites" do you also not plan advance tickets for those? If they include museums, Eiffel Tower, etc., that might be a big mistake. I don't know how savvy your kids are, but this is where most parents make an executive decision. But, let's say you have tickets for the Eiffel Tower, you can search (on Google, e.g.) and look for boulangeries, etc., nearby. You would be very Rick Steves, then, as he loves a picnic!
Please come back and let us know how it went. I hope your kids love their first visit to Paris!

One thing you can do is if you want to eat at restaurants "on the fly", consider a crepes place. They generally have pretty quick oturnover of tables, so you can often get in withoout a reservation. And they are pretty inexpensive. But be sure to try the lunch or dinner crepes, and don't just get the dessert crepes. Peter

I am not a foodie and am a solo traveler with an "early" stomach, hahaha! I don't eat high end but enjoy eating at neighborhood restaurants near my hotel. I generally try to be at a restaurant at 7 which is when many open for dinner. I've never had a problem eating delicious food.

I also don't ever really know if I am going to want a big dinner meal, especially if I've had a late lunch that was on the heavier side. Sometimes I will just get one of the delicious pastries from a nearby patisserie to have in my hotel room.

The only time I've made reservations in the last few years was when I was meeting with 3 friends from the forum and I wanted to make sure things worked out.

I've not stayed in the 2nd so no suggestions on where to go in that area.

Much of what Pam says applies to us also. Speaking as a couple who relegate food to about as low a priority as possible, it’s quite simple to eat in Paris without reservations. We do a fair amount of munching on the go, not wanting to spend time eating, so it isn’t about when or where we want dinner but whether we even want dinner at all. In four or five trips we have made reservations once, and we never went hungry and had pleasant enough meals in cafes or the like…crepes make a nice light dinner too especially when nibbled in a lovely little park in the world’s most beautiful city. Your description of your meal strategy mirrors our own, and a very nice baguette sandwich does us quite well. Anathema I know but we’re happy as clams; your kids might be too and that counts for something. You won’t be dining in the finest restaurants but if that’s not important to you then you won’t be missing much. You can always mix it up if need be. Budapest was the only place we’ve ever been where reservations for just about anywhere seemed mandatory. Have a wonderful trip and safe travels.