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PRACTICALITIES

Breakfast

What the French call petit déjeuner is not every Anglo-Saxon’s cup of tea. For many, a croissant with butter and jam and a cup of milky coffee do not a breakfast make. Masters of the kitchen throughout the rest of the day, French chefs don’t seem up to it in the morning. But there’s method to their meanness; the whole idea is not to fill up – petit déjeuner means ‘little lunch’, and the real déjeuner (lunch) is just around the corner!

In the Continental style, people here traditionally start the day with a bread roll or a bit of baguette left over from the night before, eaten with butter and jam and followed by a café au lait (coffee with lots of hot milk), a small black coffee or even a hot chocolate. Some people also eat cereal, toast, fruit and even yoghurt in the morning – something they never did in the past. Commuters will often eschew breakfast at home altogether, opting for a quick coffee and a sweet roll at a train station kiosk or at their desk in the office.

Contrary to what many foreigners think, Parisians do not eat croissants every day but usually reserve these for a treat at the weekend, when they may also choose brioches (small roll or cake sometimes flavoured with nuts, currants or candied fruits), pains au chocolat (chocolate-filled brioche) or other viennoiserie (baked goods).

Lunch & Dinner

Many Parisians still consider déjeuner (lunch) to be the main meal of the day. Restaurants generally serve it between noon and 2.30pm (or 3pm) and dîner (dinner or supper) from 7.30pm to sometime between 10pm and midnight. With the exception of brasseries, cafés and fast-food places, very few restaurants are open between lunch and dinner. The vast majority of restaurants close on Sunday; in August, when most Parisians flee for the beaches or the mountains, many restaurateurs lock up and leave town along with their customers.

As the pace of life is as hectic here as it is elsewhere in the industrialised world nowadays, the two-hour midday meal has become increasingly rare, at least during the week. Dinner, however, is still turned into an elaborate affair whenever time and finances permit. A fully fledged traditional French meal at home is an awesome event, often comprising six distinct plats (courses; Click here). They are always served with wine – red, white or rosé, depending on what you’re eating. A meal in a restaurant almost never consists of more than three courses: the entrée (starter or first course), the plat principal (main course) and dessert or cheese.

Snacks

Though Parisians may snack or eat between meals, they do not seem to go in for street food; hot dogs stands and noodle carts are nowhere to be seen and eating in public is considered somewhat anglo-saxon (English or American) and thus rude. You may encounter a crepe-maker on a busy street corner in Bastille, Marais or the Latin Quarter, or someone selling roasted châtaignes (chestnuts) in autumn and winter, but generally people will duck into a café for un truc à grignoter (something to nibble on) or a patisserie for a slice of something sweet to be eaten on the trot.

Opening Hours

Restaurants generally open from noon to 2.30pm or 3pm for lunch and from 7pm or 7.30pm to between 10pm and midnight for dinner. Only brasseries serve full meals continuously throughout the day (usually from 11am or noon to as late as 1am). National and local laws require that restaurants close for 1½ days a week and that employees work no more than 35 hours a week (though exceptions can be made). That means most eateries will be shut for a full day and (usually) an afternoon. Be advised that the vast majority of restaurants in Paris close on Sunday – there’s a distressing tendency for many to shut down for the entire weekend. Supermarkets are generally open from 8.30am or 9am to 8pm Monday to Saturday, with a few open Sunday (9am to 12.30pm or 1pm). Due to the quirkiness of restaurant opening hours, we have listed them under each review.