My first trip to Paris was with my husband only, and actually most of the week I was on my own (wonderful for an ex-art teacher). I used the guidebook and had wonderful meals with locals everywhere (even found myself sitting next to Steve Smith in La Varangue...delightful!). We're taking the family and my Adult brother this time staying in an apartment near Rue Cler, and yes, we'll try doing some picnicing this time. We want them to experience the wonderful ambience at these local restaurants and we feel it's an integral part of meeting/feeling like a local. My kids are older, 12, 17, and 20, and would be well behaved for a few long dinners on the trip, but I'm certain I didn't see one child at dinner in any of the places I ate (Do they not eat out with kids?). Is it OK to take kids in all types of restaurants? ie.- will Chez Agnes be OK with our mob of 6 this time (we loved her tiny place and big grin when she proudly showed us her "Rick Steve's Scrapbook"! BTW we were the only American's there). Is there a difference between a "brasserie", "cafe" and "restaurant"? Is one less expensive than another (although we've saved for this trip for 5 years, I don't want to blow all our budget on eating). Even my youngest will eat almost anything (although he's informed me he wants to eat nothing but bread/pasteries and chocolate on the trip) is it best just to order the regular "menu" for him or do they offer a child's menu/portion anywhere? What experiences have you had? Thanks for your help!
Posted by
Portlandia
3313 posts
Nancy - Have a great trip! Certainly your two oldest will be considered adults and a 12 year old is practically there. I think you'll find that all restaurants will accept your party as an adult group.
There are differences between restaraunts (more formal, full menus, etc.), brasseries (not as formal but full menus and set times for meals) and cafes (their role changes through the day from coffee and croissants to light drinks and meals to standard bar offerings).
Posted by
Atlanta
800 posts
Nancy - our son was 12 on our trip to France and he had no problem eating. His favorite dish was a Croque Monsieur (grilled had & cheese sandwich). He once ordered 2 of them in a small cafe. Great thing about Europe is so much of the time the menu is posted. You can look at it ahead of time and see what kind of place it is. With the smaller appetites we found it very easy to order just an appetizer or salad and then maybe a dessert. No one looked at us strangely or treated us badly for doing so - maybe because the rest of us usually ordered 2 or 3 courses. We ate at Chez Agnes our first night (only 4 of us) and she was very friendly though remember, she seems to do all the cooking herself so it took a while to eat a full meal.
We also had the BEST pizza all over France - very thin crust, including the chocolate pizza in Normandy. Of course my son also enjoyed the 5 course meal (including cheese course) that we had in Brittany. He also ordered foie gras and choked it all down!