Paris Cafes - Seat yourself or wait to be seated?
 

I've never been to Paris, and have wondered what is the proper etiquette regarding cafes. How do you know if you seat yourself, or need to wait to be seated? Do you look for a podium or a waiter and ask?

I know that some people will say to not bother myself with such little things, but I'm the type of person who would rather know things like this in advance. Thanks!

In a cafe or bar, seat yourself. In a restaurant, probably wait to be seated. Be aware (in cafes, bars) where there is a "stand at the bar or counter" option, you will be charged more if you sit down - even if you get up out of your seat just to order at the bar or counter.
I can tell a funny story of my first time in Paris. We were in the habit of ordering drinks at the bar, then taking them to a table and sitting down. I noticed we were getting dirty looks but couldn't figure why. Then on our third day, as we took our drinks to a table after having paid for them, a barlady said "Excuse me m'sieur, but it is more expensive if you sit."
So we stood at the bar. As we stood, my son, who was smoking, flicked his ash into an ashtray on an empty table beside us. The barlady attacked again: "Excuse me m'sieur, but is forbidden to use ashtray if not sitting." My son looked along the bar where no ashtrays were in evidence, and raised his eyebrows questioningly. So the barlady responded with "Just flick on ze floor, m'sieur; everyone else does." My son and I looked at each other in disbelief and started laughing, and to her credit the barlady discovered a sense of humour and began laughing with us. "Sometimes m'sieur" she said, "We French can be very dirty people."

The general rule is you take a place wherever and whenever something becomes available, at the bar, at an inside table or outside, on the sidewalk.

You should be aware that most of the Cafés in Paris, as well as the rest of France and throughout Spain have a three tier system, that's why you'll find most of the locals who are only looking for a café, beer, or glass of wine, will be at the bar since it is the least expensive. If you sit a table inside, the price is a little higher, while outside, on the sidewalk, you'll pay the most. This is how they take care of the waiters service fee. Take a look at the menu before you enter. It will tell you if they have separate pricing for the bar and tables. There are actually some places that don?t have different pricing. Another thing to be aware of. Never order at the bar and then look for a table unless it is a single pricing situation.

Anna- There is a nice discussion of cafe dos and don'ts over on slowtrav.com at
http://www.slowtrav.com/france/cafes/index.htm

Thanks everyone for the replies, and jerjohn for the link.

I asked this question, because I noticed a previous thread that said you can seat yourself at a cafe, but only if you see no podium on the outside? Is this correct? What if a cafe has no visible podium - are you still supposed to wait to be seated?

Anna, this is a very good question and I'm so glad you posted it. I am going in January and this info will come in handy. I have been to Paris before, but the last time was in 1992, so I must have forgotten about how it works.

Í can't think of a single café in Paris or elsewhere in France that I've been in where there was a "podium." And I've never been at a café where you had to wait to be seated. There's a distinct difference between café "etiquette" and restaurant "etiquette." At a café, just go to the bar or take a seat. As mentioned, the prices are higher if you take a table.
I don't think you need to fret about this. In almost every case, it will be obvious when you get there. If there's someone standing there greeting you, you can assume you will be seated by that person. If not, seat yourself.

One questions would be whether you are talking about a meal at a "cafe" or simply a coffee or glass of wine.

Some cafes have tablecloths and silverware in place. At those we assumed we were expected to order a meal and we would wait to be seated or at least signal a waiter to see if we could seat ourselves.

If tables were not set, we generally assumed we could just order drinks and we seated ourselves with no hesitation.

We never had a problem using these guidelines. I would like others' input on the "correctness" of this approach.

That's how we do it, Jeanne

I guess I've used a different philosophy :)
When I arrive at a cafe, I don't sit down right away, but rather wait to make eye contact with the waiter, give him a bonjour, and he then either just acknowledges me and I sit down, or he directs me one way or another. The one time I just sat down, never got served :(
...looing forward to next croque monsieur...
Mike

I've never seen waiters seat people at cafes, at least not the real cafe part of the cafe. There are some higher-class cafes that function sort of half restaurant/half cafe for dinner (and maybe lunch). THis is really obvious. The restaurant part has tablecloths. There may be a maitre d' seating people, or they may not care a lot -- but I would never just barge into a restaurant area and seat myself without at least catching the eye of the guy in charge and motioning or asking if it's okay to sit there. Usually, I think they seat people and the guy will be there (or you'll see him seating others) so you'd have to be really rude or oblivious to just go in and sit down in such a case. None of these places are usually that big that you can't figure out what is going on.

As for the "podium", well, I think they do have one of those at the door of some cafes (maybe more a simple stand with a menu), but in a cafe, if there is no one standing there, I would not wait for someone to seat me. I think they have one at the cafe door part of one I frequent often -- La Rotonde, but they don't seat people in the cafe portion, really. They would if you asked them to, however. I mean if somebody came in and just stood there, a waiter might ask you if you wanted to be seated if it looked like you didn't know what you were doing. If the waiter noticed you, however, sometimes they aren't around the door area for a while.

There are also some cafes that really are more restaurants than cafes (Le Grand Cafe near Opera seems that way to me). Even there, the few tables on the sidewalk they have would be okay to just sit down at, I'd say.

michel, i do mostly the same. the waiters are usually very attentive and notice me right away from across the room. i point to an empty table and kind of mouth "d'accord" (very limited french here). 9/10, they reply favourably and occasionally, they direct me to another table. perhaps this is not necessary but i figure at least they know i'm there and it just seems appropriate to ask if a waiter does see you. however, i don't wait if i'm not noticed...just seat myself.

of course in a restaurant or even a quieter cafe, i try to be more formal about it.

I'm certainly no Paris restaurant expert, but I know in my own home city there would not be any one rule that applies to all situations. And as someone who has worked in bars and restaurants, my approach would be simply to stand at the doorway, or patio entry, look around, observe what others are doing, make eye contact with a bartender or waiter (as others have mentioned). Give a polite shrug of the shoulders, point to a table, etc. you most likely will be directed from there.

If you begin to seat yourself in the 'restaurant' area (ie. w/ tablecloths) check the table to see if there is a small sign to indicate the table is 'Reserved'.

Hope this isn't another stupid question... how can you tell if it's a cafe or restaurant? Do only cafes have tables on the outside?

Ooh... almost forgot this other question - are menu's posted outside for cafes, or this only a practice that restaurants do?

The word "cafe" can indeed be confusing at first. Both types of cafe can have sidewalk tables.

In one instance, a cafe is a casual place where customers stop for coffee or a drink. The tables are NOT "set" with cloth and utensils. You can generally assume you are not expected to order food, though light meals may be available.

The other kind of cafe is a casual restaurant where one is expected to order a meal (not just a drink). Here, the tables will be "set" with cloth and utensils. The menu will be posted by the sidewalk entrance.

The best guidance I've found is:

--If there are no place settings you may seat yourself and order just a drink. (If a waiter is nearby, it is polite to get his nod before taking a table.)

--If tables are "set", look for a waiter to guide your seating selection. You are expected to order a meal. If you have any doubts, simply ask the waiter before you take a table. You can't go wrong showing respect to a French waiter.

Is that clearer?

This is a totally different-and maybe silly-question but will ask it anyway.

If you're sitting alone at an outside table and need to use the toilette do you leave your jacket or another possession to signify that the table is still occupied? Does the waiter watch your stuff or do you take your chances?

I have always walked in a cafe and asked for a table, regardless of indoor or outdoor seating. I think it is a courtesy, plus notifies waiter that you are there and they can bring you a menu or whatever. (I wholeheartedly concur with Michel_Paris - you can run the risk of not being served in a timely manner if you just seat yourself without having first made eye contact with the waiter).

francophile~ I'd probably leave a magazine, paperback, paper work, like that but i'm not sure i'd chance a nice jacket, especially if you're sitting right along a public sidewalk. This is another occasion (like getting the table in the first place) that I'd attempt to make eye contact with the waiter and give some kind of silent indication of what I was doing.