How necessary are reservations in Paris in February? I'm not talking about the 2-3 Michelin stars but slightly more casual places like Le Coupe Chou, Perraudin, Marty, La Varangue, Moissonnier, Chez Maitre Paul, Fish La Boissonnerie.

You can also see how my list is progressing - any comments on these would also be appreciated.

Merci

You should always reserve ahead in France. You are their guest, and they want to be able to plan ahead for your visit. An excellent book to read which may help a lot with French customs is Savoir Flair by Polly Platt. It is a very enjoyable book to read as well!

I dined at Le Coupe Chou last month and was very disappointed in the food there. We have dined in Paris many times and Le Coupe Chou was not of the quality of what we expect in good Paris restaurants. We usually spend from 25€ to 40€ each for our meals and there are many excellent restaurants in that price range.

I think the point is, reservations may not be required in order for you to get seated, but they are appreciated by managers of small establishments who buy their food/produce fresh and would like a good head-count for the evening. Perhaps you can make your reservation(s) just a day before, when you have a better idea of your schedule after arriving.

i agree with travelnut, as a restaurant owner myself, it is always appreciated. I find that Feb. should be pretty easy, bring a LONG coat and be prepared for lot's of cold, windy weather.

You certainly need a reservation on a Saturday night. If you have a list of places you want to dine at, I would reserve a few days in advance to avoid disappointment. When I was there in late October a few years ago I must have phoned about 20 places and none of them had seats before 10pm dinner on the weekend.

Chez Maitre Paul, once a great restaurant, has lately gotten poor reviews on this board.