How to pick a good French Restaurant: Best tips and advice


 

It’s no secret that French cuisine is one of the best in the world. Food in France isn’t just for flavor and function; it’s fun, a tradition, part of a greater mentality, and plays a substantially larger role in life than in most other cultures, taking on an almost ritualistic nature in the process.

The best French restaurants have perfected the French cooking techniques, such as sautéing and poaching, and dishes, à la cassoulet and bouillabaisse, to produce food fit for the gods. Book any of our best cooking classes in Paris and learn some of these techniques while at it!

This article will guide on how to select the best French Restaurants for a culinary experience like no other;

1. Know the difference

The Café de la Paix, at the Boulevard des Capucines – Wikipedia

Before selecting a good French restaurant, it is important for you to be able to differentiate the different terms used by eateries in France. They include;

A café is a casual place to stop in the morning or afternoon for a coffee or tea. They can be likened to diners in the United States. Cafés are not a great place to experience a good French meal.

A bistro is a homey, family-run restaurant that tends to be more casual and more traditional than a restaurant. They usually offer traditional Alsatian fare and serves beer, and tends to be open late and between lunch and dinner for off-hour dining.

A restaurant typically has the most sophisticated dining, with talented chefs serving serious food. This is the best place to experience a good French meal.

2. Always follow the crowd

People forming a growing arrow – Unsplash

The locals of any given region will always flock to the restaurant that serves up the best quality meals at the most affordable prices.

Locals regularly having lunch or dinner in the same restaurant is a sign that it’s popular, and you should make a point of checking it out. Chances are very high that you will find value in the restaurant, as the locals themselves have.

Constantly empty, almost half of the tables, indicates that something in the restaurant is wrong: perhaps the average check is high, the cuisine or service leave much to be desired. If the restaurant is not full, then it’s better to very cautious of it.

3. Not too close to tourist attraction

Eiffel Tower – Wikipedia

To add on to the previous point, if you are visiting France, avoid the restaurants you’ll find crowded around major tourist attractions as these restaurants tend to be more about tourism and convenience rather than quality.

While there are occasional exceptions to this rule, opt for a more local spot that might entail walking a few miles from these tourist attractions. For instance, while touring in the iconic Montmartre neighborhood, try the non-touristy restaurants in Montmartre.

Try asking a local, if you can fumble your way through the language barrier, a local could steer you away from the tourist traps and to the places where you’ll find an authentic experience with whatever cuisine tickles your fancy.

5. Online reviews

A person working on a laptop – Unsplash

It is our culture today to detail our experiences, whether negative or positive, on social media. These experiences are read by others to determine where they would like to have similar experience or not.

Therefore, for you to find the best French restaurants near you, you can google the restaurant and read the different costumers reviews that have been written about the restaurant. Some of the reviews can be very detailed, even giving you advice on the best time to visit the restaurant, the best meals the restaurant has to serve and other personal information that you might be looking for.

It is also important to remember that not all online reviews are truthful, so be very careful when you are using online platforms to find information on different restaurants. Try to do as much research as possible before settling on the restaurant to dine in.

5. Do not go crazy

Danger sign – Unsplas

When looking for the good French restaurants we encourage you to be courageous and avoid the tourist trap restaurant’s and venture out, but still, we encourage you to consider your safety when venturing out.

Always research the safety of your intended destination using all the sources available to you, from online sources to what the locals have to say about the location. It is even better if you could find a trusted local guide to accompany you to assist on the language barrier.

When going to a given French restaurant, always make sure to inform someone on your intended location and look out for landmarks that you can use, in case you get lost.

6. Trust that gut feeling

Woman posing with her hands on her stomach – Unsplash

Sometimes you hear about a place over and over again, people rave about it, but for some reason you’re not that drawn to it. That is absolutely fine! No need to explore your reasons or push yourself to dine in the restaurant.

Trust in your gut feeling and just move on because there are plenty of better French restaurants to choose from.

This is because to truly have a delightful French cuisine and truly enjoy it, there must be chemistry between you and the restaurant. You should feel safe and comfortable within the walls of the restaurant so that you are able to lose yourself in the food.

It is next to impossible to enjoy even the best of meals prepared by a world top-rated chef if your entire body is screaming to get out of a given restaurant. No number of deep breaths will relax you, just walk out and find some else to dine.  

7. When the offer is too good, think twice

Discount on Speech Bubble – Unsplash

Some of the world’s most expensive foods come from France. Their rareness, and the techniques used to make them, are sometimes very time-consuming and costly.

With this in mind, when a French restaurant offers are extremely low, please think twice before consuming the food they serve. This is because high-quality food made of fresh products can’t be cheap.

The question that should be in your mind is where is the restaurant getting its raw products, what cooking techniques are they using, and is it genuine French food that they are serving to afford such crazy low prices.

True, you don’t have to go broke to dine in a good French restaurant, but reasonable pricing is a sign of a good French restaurant.

8. Judging a book by its cover

Restaurant Le Train Bleu, in Paris – Wikipedia

We all know the old saying of not judging the book by its cover, but when it comes to finding a good French restaurant, we genuinely encourage judging the book by its cover.

French dining is meant to be an elegant fine dining experience and this should be reflected by its exterior and interior decoration. Imagine dressing up in that designer dresses that cost the same as four of your paychecks, wearing your only pair of Louboutin’s red-soled heals and the beautiful pearl necklace handed to your family from one generation to the next only enter an establishment similar to MacDonald’s!

A good French restaurant must have its highlight. The furnishings should be thought out in detail and attract attention.

Food critics might argue that what is important is good food, but still to truly enjoy the meal you will need a harmonious atmosphere.

10 Best Restaurants with outdoor seating in Paris.

9. Good Hygiene

Lady mopping the floor – Unsplash

A restaurant’s most important responsibility is always to provide the public and their employees a clean and hygienic environment. Before sitting down for a meal in any restaurant, always make sure it is clean. Some people suggest looking inside the restaurant’s toilets, if the toilets are clean chances are the restaurant itself is actually clean.

It is important for the restaurant and its staff members to be clean because food that is contamination can lead to serious health problems to the consumer’s. We do not want your visit in France ending up being admitted in the hospital.

A tip to remember while in France; Traditionally, restaurants open once for lunch, close for clean up during the afternoon before they open again for dinner service. Choose somewhere that has a few hours break in between to ensure you will eat at a place that cares more about its food than providing a convenience.

10. The menu tells a lot about the restaurant

French restaurant menu board in Aix-en-Provence, France – Unsplash

The menu and cuisine that a restaurant offers is one of the main factors to consider. For a restaurant to qualify as a good French restaurant, its menu should exclusively serve French food. Most chefs have specialties, and should only be offering clients the best of their best cuisines.

Be very cautious of when the menu offers a multi-cuisine because this show that the chef is spreading himself too wide. This will negatively affect the quality of the food he/she produces.

Instead, look out for a menu that only has about three of their best dishes in the entrée. Not only does it mean the chef will put in their best effort, you are more likely to be eating in season, and that is a good thing.

11. Always make a reservation

Calling for a reservation – Unsplash

This is an important tip that will save you once you find a good French restaurant that you want to dine in. Always make sure you make a reservation, if it is a good restaurant, it is a popular restaurant that will be packed and there is nothing more frustrating like waiting for hours for a table to open up.

Making a reservation either over the phone, in person, or online will guarantee that you will have a table once you arrive.

For the restaurants that do not take reservations at all, make sure you show up early.

A Parisian’s Guide to French restaurant Etiquette. 

Can we really exhaust all there is to know about French cuisine, restaurants and the do’s and don’ts involved? Maybe not. Why not check out our available food tours in Paris to explore more of the food culture in the city, savor authentic French dishes, toast to exquisite French wines, and get to know some of the best French restaurants to pick from.

Once done, have a look at the rest of the Parisian delights including bike tours of the city’s highlights, amazing day trips, private tours and more here. Happy travel!