France is well known for its gastronomy, for its rules of propriety at the table and for its good chic and good manners, so inevitably, restaurants in France are not the same as abroad. I know that you eat pasta with pesto in front of the TV while eating without cutlery and sometimes even with your feet on the table, but know that this is not the norm. In France, we also have small advantages in the restaurant but also very unpleasant waiters (okay, it’s especially in Paris).
1. The free jug of water
Since 1967 in France, the carafe of tap water is compulsorily included in the price of the meal. This is absolutely not the case in most other countries in the world. You just have to cross the border and go to a restaurant, in Italy for example, to find that the restaurants do not serve water in jugs. You are thirsty ? Well you pay €5.30 for your bottle my friend, that’s how it is. If you really don’t want to pay for the float, you can always drink from the toilet tap, but it’s not very practical.
2. The basket of bread offered
The same decree of 1967 also provides that a basket of bread must be offered with any meal ordered. Like crockery, salt and pepper and cutlery, bread is included in the price of the meal. In many breweries, there are sometimes also small wafers of butter with the bread, but this addition is not compulsory.
3. People who take cheese instead of dessert
A meal in a restaurant is generally a starter, a main course and a dessert. In France, as we don’t really like to be like everyone else, it is possible to have a plate of cheese in addition to or instead of your dessert. Nobody does that anywhere else in the world, but cheese is important damn it!
4. A wine list 5 times longer than the main course menu
Like cheese, wine is very important in French gastronomy (it’s one of our greatest sources of pride). So important that it takes up more space than food on restaurant menus, it often even has a dedicated menu. So of course, many countries have adopted the French wine list, but it is still a very local tradition.
5. Teeth-down forks
In most countries around the world that use metal forks for eating, the fork sits on the table with the tines facing up. In France, the tradition is to put the fork down with the tines down. Why ? Because originally the family coat of arms was visible on the silverware. In France, the coat of arms was on the back of the fork while in other countries, including Great Britain and Germany, the coat of arms was on the other side.
6. A server who does not seem happy that you come to eat in his restaurant
Okay, once again it’s mostly in Paris. Nevertheless, we quite often come across servers with an annoyed look when we ask if we can eat, to believe that we are pissing them off. If you think we’re too ugly to eat on your totally useless terrace, don’t hesitate to recommend another restaurant, my friend, we won’t be asked.
7. Hard-boiled eggs with mayonnaise at 14€
In all self-respecting French brasseries, you can find the essentials of bistro cuisine: hard-boiled eggs mayo, beef tartare and veal blanquette. Obviously, all this costs an exorbitant price to really scam tourists. The most beautiful remains the Cesar salad, a great classic of American cuisine, present on all the menus of typical French brasseries.
8. People who smoke while eating
In France, a third of the population smokes tobacco and this percentage has however decreased a lot since the 1970s. It was not until 2007 that it became forbidden to smoke in closed public places in France, a very late if you want my opinion (I know you don’t but I don’t care). It is still allowed to smoke on the terrace and we see very regularly French people smoking not after their meal but during, when their plate is not finished.
9. Waiters who refuse to let you eat whatever you want
“Ah no, I don’t serve this meat to perfection”, “No ketchup with that, unfortunate! “, “White wine with red meat? *mocking laughter*”… These are the kind of remarks you might hear in a French restaurant. In France, we eat the dishes as they are served to you and woe to you if you dare to ask for salt. This culinary elitism does not seem to exist elsewhere in the world.
10. Tourists who rave about a steak and fries
As France is the country of gastronomy (it will have been understood), foreign tourists flock to restaurants when they discover our beautiful country. Not all restaurants really respect the culinary grandeur of France, but tourists don’t know that. So we see them go into raptures over their plate of fries, “real French fries!” », and a thawed soft cake. It’s a bit sad, but they seem happy; this is the main.
