thorspecken

We have booked Chez Georges, Ambassade d'Avergne, L;Epigramme, Atelier Maitre Albert. We don't want to carry a lot of stuff to France so wondering how casual we can go and still get in or also to show respect for other diners. Also, we are staying in Latin quarter. is it worth traveling all the way to Bofinger for dinner? Also, not so worried about reservations I made online but a few I made by phone. Do I need to confirm once in France? Staying in three star hotels, would the concierge be willing to confirm for me to save me the intl call?

Scootoir

You could check with each restaurant to confirm if they have dress codes but I have learned to pack a few things to dress up my usual travel wardrobe. I include a lightweight black skirt, opaque tights and cute Privo walking shoes. Along with a beautiful scarf and one pair of sparkly earrings I can dress up one of the tops I've packed and be appropriate for most restaurants or the theater. My travel wardrobe is J.Jill's wearever line with some tops from Loft and Coldwater Creek; the colors are grey, black and shades of wine and red. The same clothes show up in photos from different vacations but it makes packing easy. DH has it pretty easy, brings a tie (sometimes) and a sportcoat.

We stay at the Hotel Relais Bosquet in Paris and the staff there has always been willing to help us with reservations and other needs.

greg

The only time I had to confirm restaurant reservations were when I booked hard to get into Michelin starred places requiring reservation more than a month in advance. In that case, they always told me to reconfirm a day or so before. While I have not been to these particular bistros, similar class of restaurants in the area have been very casual and also often full of American tourists. I like Bofinger, but I don't think it is a must go kind of place. It is really not that far from the Latin Quarter by metro, bus, or by foot.

StuDudley

We spend 2 months in France most years, and dine at around 30 restaurants - usually 2&3 Michelin "knife & forks" places, and some 1 stars. I have never taken a sports coat to France. I wear "business casual" clothes - a nice pair of slacks, dress shoes, and a sports shirt. I am often one of the best dressed people at the restaurant. My wife does the black thing with a nice scarf and a jacket. There have been more & more jeans appearing at nice restaurants in the last 10 years.

We have been doing the 2 month/year thing since '99 - so that is 30 X 14 = 420 restaurants and we have never confirmed and never had a problem.

Stu Dudley

StuDudley

correction, after reading greg's post

A few (3-10) of the 420 restaurants have asked us to confirm the day before our visit. Obviously, if they ask you to confirm - you should.

Stu Dudley

nukesafe

As Stu says, I think you will find few, if any, restaurants in Paris that have a formal dress code. Certainly, men don't have to do the suit and tie bit. I'm sure, however, there is some sort of level at which your reservation would "disappear". Try showing up at Jules Verne in shorts, flip flops, and a wife beater tee shirt.

That being said, I do take a sports jacket with me to Paris because I just happen to feel more comfortable in high end restaurants dressed up a bit. Comes with my generation, and the way I have always traveled on business. I also throw a tie in the bag, as it takes up little room, but have not worn it in Europe for years.

I'll do the same in October. On the plane I'll wear one of my ancient heavy sport coats that clutter my closet; it may be chilly then. A light windbreaker and a sweater will do for 99% of my sightseeing and dining excursions. Whether or not I wear the sport coat when going out, I will throw it away the day I pack to come home to leave room to pack other more important alcoholic things.

Half a dozen more trips to Europe and my closet will have some room in it.

Scootoir

Nukesafe--love your idea. DH has retired and recently decided to eliminate all but a very few favorite ties. Perhaps he needs to take up your idea to eliminate the jackets.

kerouac

Nukesafe, there are charity bins (usually near churches) in which you can discard unneeded clothing.

Ackislander

I love Bofinger so don't think it is too far to go. A jacket I think makes it more likely that you will be seated downstairs but it is not required. By any means.

At Ambassade, last time I was there, most men wore a jacket and open necked shirt without a tie, but I am sure business causal would be fine, especially with dark trousers.

nukesafe

Thank you for the good suggestion, Kerouac. As a matter of fact, I asked our landlord last time to give the jacket to charity. I'll look for one of those bins myself this time.

Actually, it is rather a relief getting rid of stuff. The tiny portion of the closet that my dear wife allows me to use seems to grow smaller every year. Anyway, my collection of ratty jeans is growing. In our small Pacific Northwest town things are really quite casual. "Dress up" is defined as "Clean blue jeans". "Formal" is "Clean blue jeans with no paint spots". Big belt buckle optional.

Christina

I've never been seated downstairs in Bofingers, and I don't dress up. That place isn't that fancy that I've ever noticed. Maybe I just look good, who knows, I don't dress like a typical tourist in sneakers or anything, but I don't wear a dress and heels.

Bofinger is just across the river from the Latin Qtr, I don't understand how it can be considered "far" to go to. If you never want to go anywhere more than a few blocks for dinner, sure. But I really like Bofigers, they have very good food.

3* hotels don't have concierges, that's a mid-level rating. At least I've never been in one that did, that would be very surprising to me to find one in a 3*. They do have desk staff that could probably do that for you, though (call a restaurant).

Patty

Strict dress codes are few and I've seen all sorts of dress even at Michelin starred restaurants. None of the places you list strike me as particularly dressy so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

<i> Also, not so worried about reservations I made online but a few I made by phone. Do I need to confirm once in France?</i>

Did they indicate you needed to reconfirm when you made the reservation? Usually if you need to reconfirm, they'll indicate so. If you're concerned, you can have the concierge reconfirm.

HappyTrvlr

We have had a few restaurants(Michelin star) call us on our cell phone to reconfirm.

JulieVikmanis

Nice choice of restaurants. We've dined in all of them and I can assure you my husband did not wear a coat. He sometimes slings a sweater over his back and ties the sleeves in front in an effort to display a kind of casual chic. If it's cold, he actually wears the sweater. We've never been denied access with such a display of sartorial splendor. To my knowledge none of the restaurants you're going to require a reconfirmation. If you feel safer doing so, I'm sure you're hotel will perform the service. Ours does. I always provide the phone numbers so it's quite easy for the staff to do the job. Enjoy. I expect you'll have some wonderful meals.

BTW husband loves Bofinger (which I agree should be fairly walkable from most of the Latin Quarter, in fact, it's closer than either Chez George or Ambassade d'Auvergne.) I'm not so keen on it, for food that is, but love the decor. They have a small bar at the entry. If you're in the neighborhood during the day, you could drop by and see the place, have a drink and move on to dine for dinner closer to your hotel.

elsiejune

Just returned from an impromptu short visit to Paris. We stayed on rue de Vaugirard in the 6th, bordering the 5th near l'Odeon theatre. I had been meaning to try La Ferrandaise, 8 rue de Vaugirard for several trips without any luck, and was thrilled when our hotel was nearby. I can heartily recommend it to you. It was an excellent meal. The rillettes de lapin entree, and sauté de veau plat principal were exceptional. All in all, much better than Ambassade de l'Auvergne, IMO. There were some men in jackets, but most were quite casual. You will feel very comfortable here, and are sure to enjoy the very fine kitchen. Bon voyage and Bon appetit, EJ

maitaitom

We went to Bofinger for our Christmas night meal in 2006. I wore black jeans, a sweater, an overcoat and probably the most comfortable shoes I owned at that time (not dress shoes, for sure). We were seated under the belle epoch ceiling. Had a nice evening, service was attentive and although I certainly wasn't overwhelmed by the meal, the experience was worth it for me.

I have never worn a sport coat in Paris in 12 visits (well, I probably did as a kid because my dad made me). We don't dine at the upper, upper end restaurants, but we have hit a lot of nice ones. So far, no waiter has thrown me out on my keister for my attire nor have we really ever had bad service, and I dress pretty casually. It's probably because I am always with a beautiful woman (my wife), so they don't pay any attention to me.

AlessandraZoe

Hi thorspeken,

Well, we do carry-on only luggage, so you can bet we're not packing a lot of dress-up stuff. And we live to eat out in Paris.

My husband does like to have a sports jacket for some of the places that we go to, but the tie certainly is not needed.

Stu--I'm laughing so hard about when you said, "My wife does the black thing". Yep, that's us. My daughters and I have our "uniform": black pants, black sort of clingy jackets or cardigans, black tops, and scarves and jewelry. Good to go--can dress up or down as needed plus can adjust to any and all weather.

You can reconfirm your reservations when you arrive at your hotel from your hotel phone or you can certainly ask the desk when you arrive if they would be able to do that for you.

Have fun, Thorspecken.

JulieVikmanis

I was just going to suggest Ferrandaise when elsiejune beat me to it. So another vote for it. I also agree with her that Ambassade d'Auvergne probably is no longer up to its original standards, BUT they have aligote (potatoes, cantal cheese and garlic, that strings to heights of 3+ feet when whipped for long periods) You must order it at Ambassade. A truly unique dish. If it's still on the menu, have their cabbage soup. They pour the broth over a big hunk of blue cheese. Really good.