I've been to Paris with the RS tour and I'm returning in June for a solo trip. Even though I've been before I'm still a bit confused about dining. How do I know when I can just sit down at a table and when I should wait to be seated? Also, is it always ok at a café to just get coffee or do some expect you to order food?
One other question, must I have exact change for the Roissy bus?
Thanks for any help.
I'm not sure whether it's allowed or not? I'm not the expert on rules but I once owned a restaurant. If I see a place I'd like to eat and it has seats available, I greet someone before sitting down. In Paris, I'd expect waiters to speak English. I try to catch their eye, say Bonjour, and ask if it's okay to sit down. Normally that's greeted with a bien sur (I have been asked by some whether I was having lunch/dinner) and them pointing me to a table. If I want a different table, I say so and they take me there.
I think taking a table to order only a cup of coffee is something you should ask about beforehand. It may fine during non meal times when lots of tables are available but might be considered really bad during busy times for the cafe when tables are in demand. I have done similar for a glass of wine, maybe 18:00, before going to dinner elsewhere and it wasn't a problem.
If you are wanting to sit on the terrace (outdoors), it is usually okay to take any available table unless there is a "fence" around the area, then catch the eye of a waiter. If sitting inside, wait to be seated, or at least pause for a moment to see what others are doing. It is perfectly ok to order just "un cafe" or "un verre de vin" in at a cafe or bar. However, at meal times, do not sit at a table laid out with glassware and silver unless you intend to order food. Also, at meal times, cafes can be extremely busy, so don't expect fast or gracious service if you are just ordering a beverage. If you need "Les toilettes," cafes and bars are your best bet, just be sure to order at least a beverage as "payment" for the convenience.
Never sit at a table that is set if you are ordering just drinks. At cafe terraces during the day (not meal hours) just grab a seat at an unset table. If the terrace is fenced off then catch the eye of a waiter and gesture to the table to see if it is okay. If you want to eat, catch the eye of waiter before sitting at a set table. Often tables are reserved and an apparently empty restaurant can be full up even though it appears empty. We once headed for a table near Vincennes where we were attending an opera and were waylaid with 'complete' ie. 'full' and they finally found us a table but all the set tables inside were reserved and in fact by the time we were served the place was full. We saw every couple who arrived after us without reservations turned away. It is a faux pas to sit down for dinner without being seated or at least getting a nod. Good small neighborhood places as well as more well known places do book out, so making a reservation even earlier that day or the day before is good practice and gets you better treatment, better table and a guarantee of a table.
Also NEVER ever order a drink at the bar and carry it to a table; there are different prices for standing at the bar and being seated and in some places different prices for being seated outside, inside or standing. Those will be listed, usually at the bar.
At any place other than a café, wait to be seated. At a café, you can sit anywhere you want if you are ordering food, if not ordering food, sit anywhere you want that is not "set", ie, placemat/tablecoth, untensils, etc. Perfectly fine, at a café, to just order a drink at a table that is not set. And you can stay as long as you want at a café, even if you only ordered one drink.
Edit: janet and I were posting at same time 😊
