10 Things To KNOW about Restaurants ETIQUETTE in Paris

If you got money to spend...why should it matter to these arrogant bastards?

Great video. Thank you for explaining those nuances to us Americans.

So if i eat fries with my hands, pizza will the society ladies at the next table be swooning? will the waiter declare "you must leave at once you barbarian..."

Another bit of advice: if you know you're gonna need help in a restaurant, it's a good idea to come early, before the waiters are very busy. They'll have more time for you then.

I’m an American so I want to know - do I have to remove my baseball cap when I sit down to dine indoors? 😂

Misstake bro i pay for my shit they need to server me i could give 2 shits

I'll take some of these tips but some of these tips I am not doing. Especially my elbow on the table and bread on the table. The bread past is disgusting! Especially on a table that is being shared by multiple people. I don't even do that at home and I clean the table.

I hate France but the food looks good as American also if i ever go to France I will eat my fench fries with my hands I will eat my pizza with my hands and I will put my hands under the table
I don't care what the French think

Much more useful than the many boring French lessons you get on-line (moi, je parle français).
I'll recommend you to my friends.
Let's see what you come up with next.
À la prochaine.

Do not promote tipping it is bad form They don' expect it a full stop Waiters in France are paid a living wage Don't import the bad habit from the USA

Share a meal, drink water and no tip, just don't go on holidaym

I just want to know all the restaurants you were eating at 😂 it all looks so good.

My wife and I live in Kansas. We have also lived in Europe and have spent much time in France. Trust me, we know when we are not in Kansas. Have you ever been to Kansas? Even if you only visit, I bet you will know you are not in France.

Went to Paris once a had a rip off experience, never again. Horrible place and horrible people. Thanks to Paris for sending us elsewhere like Greece or Italy. Fair prices and nice people.

As with many things in France. Eating and etiquette are overrated. The first time I visited Paris almost 30 years ago, almost no waiter (or any Parisian) spoke English and if you wanted to drink on the terras you’d pay 3 times the price compared when you ordered (and drank!!!) at the bar. Earlier this year I was in Paris and I noticed things have changed… waiters speak English, no ridiculous prices on the terasses ( but remember, you are still in Paris, so certainly steep prices ). Pitty Paris did not evolve their street food culture… if you want a quick bite on the go, like as an alternative breakfast or lunch, the only thing you find in the streets are crepes (a very thin very overpriced pancake). Paris is nice to visit once in a decade, but very overrated. Streets are packed with tourist, and when you visit the louvre, everybody only seems to interested ind the david statue and the Mona Lisa. A stamp sized ( exaggeration!!!) painting where Leonardo da Vinci just could not figure out how to paint her smile/mouth properly.

The walking and eating thing is very real. I snacked on a banana on the street one morning and a lady greeted me with “Bon appetit”

maybe this is the thing where they ask if we want to round up the price to make a donation to an association?

Omg 😮 I had to rewind it several times about the bread on the table. GROSS! Why not just call it bacteria bread😮😮 I'm putting in on my plate or in the basket. USA USA 😅

Aww I spent 6 weeks this past summer in France. I wish I had watched this video before I went. I had it explained to me by several waiters that they do not expect a tip unless you want to make a point that you got exceptional service. I wonder if they were simply being modest and didn't want to imply that they expected one. I kept tipping and waiters were making comments like "You're American, aren't you?" and when I asked why, he said "Americans tip by percentage" and that the wait staff don't expect that. So after several conversations with different waiters, I stopped tipping. Oh dear. (I'm a French teacher and wanted to understand the culture better.) Well, now I know for next time, which I hope will be soon! :)

Tip Nº6 ? I use my card all the time for dinner and always just ask the waiter to add a few euros, which they always do. For drinks, I always leave a cash tip.

In French Canada we would call all of these 10 points, basic savoir vivre.

Good thing I watched this! Did a few of these the last time I was there. Will do better next time!

As I parisian waiter (sorry in advance for my english) I would like to react on each point :
1 : Yes that's totally fine, feel free to notice it to your waiter, in this way he can gives you the appropriate cutlery.
2 : Yes, I (and I think most of my colleague) prefer to give you a doggie bag, nobody like to throw food (even most of kitchens ask me "didn't they like it?" when I have to throw an unfinished dish to give you an idea).
3 : It depends of what do you want to substitute, sometimes it's just impossible because of the dish itself but I don't agree on one point : It's pretty common to ask for a substitution, otherwise yes feel free to ask.
4 : Totally agree, in most of time, if it's just because you don't like it, you will have to pay the dish, if it's the kitchen or the waiter who did a mistake don't worry you won't need to pay anything.
5 : You can grab a table if you want, but I just let you know that we don't like this, yes you should ask someone to seat you (except if we say something like "sit wherever you like" for sure). It's a way for us to welcome you properly and to keep the control in the restaurant because it can be messy really quick. For the napkins that's false but you should following it (if there is a napkins that's for eat however it's just for a drink) but if you want absolutely one table particularly feel free to ask to your waiter. Except if it booked it should be fine.
Exception for bars and terrace where it's common to just grab a table.
6 : You can let a tip with your card, you have just to tell how much you want to tip before the payment, in this way your waiter will add the amount to the bill. If you still worry about this feel free to ask to your waiter if he accepts tip with credit card.
7 : I never came to USA so I don't know how it works but yes during the service sometimes we really don't have a time (like even 30 second is a large amount of time for us). In any case if you have question feel free to ask them, a good waiter will always answer you with a smile. Yeah, except for taking order or to serve you dishes we don't come every minutes to ask you if everything's doing good. If we have time we try to do it for sure. Just be sure to know what you want to order/ask when you're calling us, people who calls us and are just like "soooo, 2 minutes please" are making us crazy. And no that's not a reason for you to wait, like if you're waiting more than 5 minutes the waiter for taking your order that's not normal (but please be comprehensive if the restaurant is full and you see your waiter running everywhere).
In some restaurant we're pay in the percentage of our work but that's really rare.
8 : In most of restaurant, we don't really look on it. If we see you finish you dish we come to take it, otherwise we don't. Also if you haven't finish you dish but you have finish to eat don't worry, we will notice it. A good waiter knows everything what happens in his tables.
9 : Feel free to eat and put your hands in the way you want, except if you go in a really elegant restaurant like gastronomic and in this case yes : you should learn the french manners.
10 : Feel free to put the bread where you want, but it's common to let the bread in its basket and the sliced bread in your plate. We know that US people use to eat butter with their bread so feel free to ask in the worst case you waiter could be surprise but whatever don't hesitate to ask it. In a casual bistro if we have the time to really take care of you we can serve you even after the first glass but as I said most of time we really don't have the time to do it.
11 : If you want to eat a croissant or drink a coffee while walking, feel free to do it. People doesn't care about what you're doing.

I discover your channel few days ago and I'm really curious about what US people think of France so I'm watching your videos and I really appreciate your content, you're giving really good advices.

Also feel free to contact me if you have more questions and don't forget : it's useless to worry about how to behave or whatever, just be you (and kind) and everything will be fine.

I would love to spend a month in Paris but I’m 80 years old and use a small handicapped scooter because I can’t walk long distances. Do you think that using a handicapped scooter in Paris is an option and how can I determine if that is possible?

I can't believe you said "working on it" in reference to still eating!

Sorry but my husband and i when we were in Paris, we asked to share a pizza for lunch and the waitress said: mais ca ne se fait pas ici!! So you are wrong! And by the way, we are from Quebec and we understand French

Horrible
Another proof to legally ban ketchup 😅

Thank you for this video! You've helped me feel less intimidated by the restaurants in Paris. I learned about terrace seating and plain water (although isn't okay to ask for a carafe d'eau?)

10%tips in France never heard of that and I’ve lived in the country for almost 25 years , it might be a parisien thing

Maybe say " pardon" or "s'il-vous-plaît" . Calling out " serveur" is very rude

This was more about how Americans don’t understand the rest of the world . Good service to other Americans. Love from NZ.

French people eat with their fork and knife; as opposed to most Americans, they know how😂

Living in France and, sorry, I'm going to eat with my hands when I want. I don't feel that how l eat my meal is a matter of etiquette towards the restaurant. (I might feel differently when eating at a restaurant with some French people, but that is to make them comfortable. I'm sure the restaurant staff doesn't care.)

Right now I’d be more concerned about the bedbug problem in Paris if I was traveling there soon. Hope they get that under control as I will be visiting in April 2024.

It’s also considered poor form to eat (or even rest between courses) with your elbows on the table. But that’s not restricted to France.

Do not eat soup with your hands

I love like this is just basic restaurant etiquette…. What’s the difference between this tips and all restaurants??

Are the US that different?

Having travelled through EU a lot for years, I concure with this advice, which really works for all of Western Europe. Remember to take it easy, speak in an indoor voice and let your friendly attitude be your ambassador in Europe. I make mistakes, but I always show appreciation that I am in their country as a guest.

Basically all of these tips are 100% accurate for Italy as well.

I would like to know if French Tourist give in US tip ?

its fine to eat with your fingers in france if its pizza, french fries or burgers.

lol, nobody but the american tourists tip in france. this vid is wrong about tipping

I don’t like places like this as an introvert 😅. Paris is packed with people and no children?

I couldnt taste or smell much when I ate in Paris due to all the cigarette smoking everywhere, all day and night.

You have an American accent, why do you say doggie bag? It’s called a to-go-box.

Just because you do it, it does not mean that it is OK. It is just bad habit and a lack of and respect for another culture.

Very interesting! Just about all of the above also applies to restaurants in Italy 🇮🇹

Hi, Eric born and raised in France. Only tip if the service is very nice, which is very rare in Paris, so to force them to be nice, most of the time, you should not tip them.
Sharing meal or asking for doggy bag is ok for one star restaurants and lower, not for Michelin 2 stars or 3 stars.

Is it possible to not leave any tip? I come from a place where we just dont toss around money for nothing. Waiters job is one of the easiest tasks to do, Im not giving out gifts for that

Rule number two should be: “as we are not Parisians the rules are not for us”. Is BS. You are in Paris and you should adapt as much as you can.