How far in advance do I need to make reservations for bistros or brassieries?
If I get to Paris on Sunday when should I start making reservations for smaller restaurants like L'Ardoise. I have made reservations for the Sunday night at Fontaine de Mars which they want a reconfirm before I leave the states(?).
I can't see making reservations and reconfirming every little restaurant I want to go to as my phone bill will cost me dearly.Will a couple days in advance be sufficien?

I was at Fontaine de Mars last Sun.; I made the reservation when we arrived 2 days earlier. The place was filled, but a man seated near us said that he was a walk in.

I reserved Train Bleu via their email reservation service. The other places (bistros) where we ate I made the reservations after we arrived, one late in the day of the evening we wanted the reservation.

This said, if I had a place I especially wanted to go to, I'd probably call ahead from US, or depending upon how long I was going to be in Paris, I'd make reservation when I arrived.

could try "reservethebest.com"...and save phone bills.
I poke around in there just to read the menus and see pictures! ... how pathetic am I? <GRIN>

Hi marilayne,

If you dial 1016868 before the international code, you can call France for 10 cents per minute.

If you dial 1010987 before the international code, you can call France for 3 cents a minute plus 39 cents connection fee. It's a good rate if you plan on talking for several minutes as a 10 minute call is 69 cents. Mike

The easiest thing to do is ask your hotel to make dinner reservations for you. The front desk staff will know how long in advance reservations are needed and whether you will need to reconfirm (usually the day before, if at all).

Here's another recommendation for having the front desk or concierge take care of your reservations.

I would give them a written note (Name of Restaurant, phone number, Our Name, Number of Persons, time...) and they would make or confirm the reservations for us. They were terrific about this.

I make reservations at the "must be booked way ahead" places from home, but local restaurants are usually available the same day or the day before.

I've had wonderful service from Reservethebest.com

Please know that it IS customary to confirm reservations the day before or the day of at the fancier restaurants. If you don't they may cross you off. Especially at places where they take only one reservation per table for the evening.

And, reservations are also very much appreciated, for whatever reason, even if you phone on your way over.

Thanks for the info.I wasn't sure if my hotel does this as it is a two star
hotel. My French student daughter is calling for reservations at La Regalade
this morning, we will try the telephone prefix.

You can reserve a table at any of the Paris Flo Brasseries at this site:

http://www.flobrasseries.com/resa/en/