RuddRudd

How are the restaurants? Are they friendly if you do not speak French? I've heard conflicting stories?
Thanks,
Laurel in California

elaine

sorry, who's they?

Parisian waiters are by and large professionals, and like most Parisians they are generally polite, correct, and not interested in being anyone's friend.
That said, I have seldom been treated rudely by anyone in Paris, a much lower proportion of the time than I am in the USA. Courtesy is considered important, friendliness is not.

Almost every cafe and restaurant will have someone working there who speaks some English, but if you aren't used to French bills of fare, a menu decoder is useful. FYI, a 'menu' is a set meal at a set price, a 'carte' is a listing of all the individual dishes. As in, 'a la carte'.

Have a great time.

rex

There ARE conflicting stories.

Ask ten different people you know who are servers in restaurants, how do THEY treat foreigners who come to their restaurants in California and can't speak ANY English. You will get ten different answers, no doubt.

Seek out restaurants with English (printed under the French) on the menu, at least at the beginning. That way you can at least point.

You can find them; they are not rare.

Best wishes,

Rex

oberost

Have been to Paris at least 4 times in the last few years and have NEVER had a problem at restaurants. I do not speak the language but try and sometimes the waiter may be impatient since he wants to get on with your order!!!! That said, they have always helped us with the order no matter if it a restaurant with many tourists or one where we are the only tourists. Don't worry- you'll have a great time.

SuzieC

They don't bounce up to your table and say, "HI there! I'm Suzie and I'll be your server tonight. What can I get y'all?"

As I understand it, a great many of the waiters and waitresses are professionals, not putting themselves through college or modeling school.

Anyway, I've been treated very nicely if not warmly on one or two occasions.

Go. See. Experience. Report back.

Poohgirl

It's been my experience that wait staff in Paris are no different from anywhere else. Some are helpful, some are friendly, and some are really rude. I would recommend familiarizing yourself with French words for some basic food items; I really believe it would be useful.

ira

I agree with all of the above.

miguelgcuadra

I have been to Paris many times and never got a nasty waiter. As mentioned earlier, they do have a different attitude than in some restaurants in the USA.
Do not come in there expecting to be exactly to what you are used in the USA, it is a different country, differernt mentality. Respect to be respected and if the person is nasty and understand some English, just ask her/him if there is a problem if not able to communicate, walk out and go someplace else...many places to eat in Paris.

Desert_Sue

Learn the word "head" in French and any other thing you don't want to end up eating. I found the waiters to be very professional and not unfriendly at all, but serious about their profession. I struggled with menus, not wanting to ask for an English version, so I ended up with a pig's foot one night, but it was delicious.

Christina

It varies all over on all of these items -- friendliness, professionalism, nastiness, etc. Some are friendly, and some are not. Some are rude and some are not. Some are professional, but some are not, and there are indeed waiters in Parisian restaurants who are not doing it as a lifelong profession, but as a gap job when young. Not so much in the more expensive places, of course, where they do tend to have career waiters.

Most waiters are perfectly pleasant and conduct the job without problem. I don't expect waiters to be friendly with me, per se, although there are some in Paris who have been really friendly (sometimes too friendly).

Leely

The best part is that some of the waiters are cute and flirtatious.

More seriously, I don't think I've ever had a waitperson I would describe as rude in Paris. Some aren't exactly what I'd call warm or "friendly", but who cares? The food is fantastic.

dncee11

More people could try to say bonjour or bonsoir to their servers, even if thats the only French words they know. We found the French to be very polite if you are polite to them. They are a bit more formal, especially with strangers. This includes greeting shopkeepers and waiters, (monsieur, madam) saying silvousplait and merci where appropriate. I was suprised how many spoke some English when I tried my (very limited) French. Try this site for more info: http://www.travlang.com/languages/
Good luck and have fun!

suze

I've never experienced a rude waiter in Paris, but generally have found European waiters to be more quiet and strictly professional than in the U.S. As mentioned above, they (thankfully!) won't be introducing themselves by first name as "your server for the evening".

If you don't speak French, I'd study up a bit or have a restaurant phrase book list along so you can figure out what you want to order (and do so by pointing to the menu if necessary).

And bonjour, bonsoir, and merci to the max.

Guenmai

Have been vacationing, in Paris, almost annually since 1976 and the waiters have definitely gotten nicer. But, as anywhere else...sometimes you get great ones and other times awful ones. I'm from California,too...don't expect smiles, purkiness, and "Have a nice day"...it's as odd to them as it is to us for a waiter to spend a brief time with the customer and basically just deliver the food to the table.But, they are very professional and that's what they are there to do.But, don't let it bother you and don't worry about it.It's just a different way of doing things which is part of the travel experience. Have a great time. Happy Travels!

Travelnut

One difference that might be incorrectly construed as 'rudeness' is if the staff refuses you, because you attempt to order the 'wrong' food or meal at a particular establishment.

In other words, there are different 'categories' of restaurants in France. You have the very casual cafe, a neighborhood bistro, a bustling brasserie or a more formal restaurant. If you just want a salad or a coffee with dessert, you don't walk into a restaurant for that. If you see tablecloths, you don't sit down and just ask for a glass of wine.

We were eating dinner at a local bistro, very small maybe 10-12 tables. A foursome stepped into the doorway and stated they'd just like to have some dessert. The manager said, 'I'm sorry, it cannot be done'. Meaning, he has maybe two seatings, all the tables are full / reserved, and he needs to serve full meals. He wasn't rude - the foursome needed to go to the corner cafe or brasserie and have their treats.

If you order a coffee at the bar and pay, then you don't go sit down on the terrace to people-watch. There is a different price for coffee at the counter, at an inside table, and at an outside table.

It is always polite to say "I don't speak French, do you speak English?" especially if you can do it in French, however badly.

RonZ

I can recommend an inexpensive little book, "Eating and Drinking in Paris."

Gavin

Once, in a restaurant well off the Paris tourist track and having nothing but French on the menu, the waitress assisted us by making the appropriate animal sounds and actions to help us figure things out. Good fun for everybody. The chef came out and talked to us in French...some of which we could understand. Not typical but it happened.

crefloors

I found all the waiters to be pleasant and professional, and then there were a couple of experiences at either end of the scale. There was a cafe close to our hotel that we ate at several times, and one of the waiters in there was just fun and funny. He was always flying around from table to table but he liked to have fun, especially with the tourists. He spoke pretty good english and liked to joke, and my sister-in-law had her camera laying on the table and on one of his passes by the table he snatched up the camera and insisted on taking our picture. He would test me on my french..seeing if I knew the words for different things and was so delighted when he "caught" me, and then would tell me what the word was. He was just all around really enjoyable. I did notice that they all liked it if you knew what you wanted when they came to take your order and it's because they are usually really busy. I got confused with my order at one place. The waiter spoke english but had an accent you could cut with a knife, so I had a hard time understanding him and he got a little...well, lets say impatient. But when he came back to the table to bring our drinks, I gave him my very best "desole" and he said "oh madame, eets OK. Hmmm..."this seems to be working"; says I to myself, so I give him one more "desole" and I thought he was going to cry..so from then on we were "friends". Ah..."desole"..a magic word. I had a couple of experiences that were just so "cliche"..everything you hear bad about the French but I never got offended, I just thought it was too funny..I would just think a french Steve Martin..."well excuuuu- sez-MOI"!!!! Just relax and have a great time.

ThinGorjus

If you want a French waiter to respect you, you have to treat him like a piece of crap. I usually am very demanding in restaurants and if the waiter doesn't respond, or is rude, I will spill my drink all over the table so he has to clean it up. Once, a waiter in Paris was very rude to me. I dropped my plate on the floor. When the waiter bent down to pick it up, I kicked him in the head with my foot (I had my legs crossed). Of course, I pretended it was an accident (Oh, pardon Monsieur!). Sometimes you just have to give a dog its due.
Remember, you are in charge. Don't let any waiter intimidate you. Itimidate him instead!!!!

Good night.

crefloors

ThinGorjus: LOL..I'm ending my day on a high note..too funny, I like your style