We’ll Always Have Paris

On my fourth visit to Paris, after a day spent walking through museums and exploring Père Lachaise Cemetery, I slipped into a seat under the awning of a café and took the weight off my dog-tired feet. 

It was then that I realized Parisian cafés really are as wonderful as the café stereotypes would have us believe.  But their greatest assets are things best experienced over a slightly longer stay than just a one or two day “passing through ticking items off the bucket list” blitz. The quality of food and the consistency of service available throughout the city are, for me, the best thing about the cafés.

After a long hot day of sightseeing or work, you can sit  down at any one of the thousands of cafés throughout Paris and be assured of a reasonably consistent and quality meal, drink, or snack. 

Every Parisian neighborhood has at least one, and they are invariably frequented by locals. If they want to stay in business, there’s a certain level below which cafés must not fall.  It’s not that they will be shut down by the authorities.  Parisians simply insist on decent bread, drinkable wine, good, fresh ingredients, and respectful service, or they’ll take their business to the next café — which is often just across the street.  And it’s not that the food has to be high-end, though it can be.  The local cafe is a ubiquitous, reliable feature of the Parisian gastro-landscape, like the “chipper” in cultures with lower culinary expectations.

The Parisian Café Fantasy

Whatever your poison, be it good coffee, a daily glass or two of wine, the elegantly sensual French cigarettes, or something to snack on, there is a certain magic to sitting down at a sidewalk table in Paris.  If you’re there for more than a day or two, it’s hard not to become possessive and think of your favorite as “your Paris café.” It is a bit like having your own “local” pub in Dublin.

Coffee in Paris cafés is a thing, although, most cafés seem to have wisely chosen not to chase the Starbucks-inspired coffee craze.  They do coffee in all the standard ways (latte, cappuccino, espresso, press, etc.), but you won’t get your frothy mocha-whatever here.  It will be well made, but missing the barista glitz, and not the stuff of obsession like Turkish or Italian coffee.  I think Parisians view coffee as a lubricant for other things, like good food and conversation, relaxing and the like, not as a destination in and of itself.  For them it’s the right way to start a day, or an accompaniment to a good meal.  That said, your Parisian café coffee and cigarettes fantasy will be tough to realize these days.

While you can still smoke at cafés, Paris, like most cities, has limited where people can smoke.  So, even with an e-cigarette, be prepared to light up only outside.  Whether it’s sunny or raining you still have the awning, and can indulge the sidewalk café fantasy.  In the winter that may be a lot less sexy.

Completing the Parisian café fantasy trifecta, reliably good wine is assumed in Paris cafés. They may not have the deepest cellars in town, but the house red, white, and rosé will all be more than drinkable.  If they’re not, say something.  This is Paris.  Wine is taken seriously.  And if you’re not a wine aficionado, don’t be embarrassed to ask your server what they recommend.  After all, it is all about the food.

Café Menus

Café chefs take pride in their work and , as such, each one will have its own distinctive menu, that, given the demand for fresh ingredients, will probably change seasonally.  That menu will reflect not just the chef, but also the needs and expectations of the local patrons (working class, upscale, families, tourists, artists, hipsters, etc.) in that arrondisement of Paris.

While breakfast is generally not a big service for Parisian cafés, many do offer it, or something like it.  It’s a pretty good bet that you can get a croissant, pain au chocolat, or some other pastry and a coffee for “breakfast” at just about every cafe.  If, like me, you think of breakfast as something more than that, you’ll want to find a cafe (and there are many) that offers a variety of egg dishes, juice, potatoes, and the usual breakfast fare.

You might also find yogurt and fruit.  But in general, Paris cafés don’t do the massive tourist breakfast spreads meant to cater to a global array of  breakfast tastes, as you might find in a hotel or on a cruise, etc.  It’s just not profitable, and they simply don’t have the space. Beyond that, it’s simply not how the French approach food.

For lunch or afternoon meals, most café menus will include a variety of salads (Caesar, Cobb, house, etc.) and light sandwiches, like ham and cheese, or roasted vegetables and cheese on good bread.  These days, you will often find burgers, paninis,  and pizza on their menus.  Like everything offered, they will be good, but is that really why we go to Paris?

For dinner, café menus truly shine.  Steak, lamb, fish and other top cuts are usually on offer with a variety of seasonal sides, and house favorite flourishes, like a unique regional gratin or sauce.  Desserts may range from éclairs and other pastries to lavish cakes, or an unassuming, but divine, apple tart with fresh cream or ice cream on top. And, of course, an appropriate selection of wines will be on offer for lunch, dinner, and dessert, and a basket of good baguette will appear on your table throughout the day.

One aspect of café menus that is sure to disappoint some is the lack of off-season availability.  There are dishes that simply aren’t widely available, if at all, at certain times of the year.   In July, you may find it hard to check “eat cassoulet in a café” off your list, as it’s simply too hot for a thick, heavy stew.  That said, if you really want it, you’ll find it somewhere.  It is a year-round staple on some café menus.  The waiter and cooks may secretly cringe, but they’re professionals and will suggest an appropriate wine pairing and bring extra bread.

At Your Service

As with the quality of food in Parisian cafés, and for similar reasons, there is a reasonably high level of service below which most cafés can’t fall.  When you sit down, waiters will be quick to approach (menus in hand) and ask what type of water you’d like (still or sparkling).  Very quickly, they’ll return with bread (if it didn’t come with the menus), the requested water, and will take your order then, or when you’re ready.  From that point on, service will  attentive but neither fawning nor intrusive. You may occasionally need to grab their attention, but unless they’re particularly busy, service is usually not a problem.  Rare service issues seem most common at lunch, when many cafes have reduced staffing, and an unexpected rush can push things to the limit.

Classic Cafés

Though this may be hotly contested, the café epicenter for travelers is in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, at an intersection with three cafes revered for having been patronized by literary notables like Hemingway, Joyce, Simone de Beauvoir, Sartre, Picasso, and other intellectuals and artists of the day.  That said, Les Deux Margot, Café de Flore, and Brasserie Lipp (with limited seating it’s more of a restaurant than a sidewalk cafe, but still a classic of the cafe elites of days gone by) each have their champions who claim their “local” is the best.

Each of these three does a brisk business (you may have to wait), and offers good service, good food, dessert, wine, and coffee at Paris tourist prices.  But, I must confess, this experience is one of my favorites. I think the experience is well done and worth the wait and the prices to bask in the reflected glory of the original cafe elites.  Bucket List. Check.

I love the cafés of Paris. Generally speaking they are clean, dependable bastions of good food and drink.  They’re not likely to deliver the height of French haute cuisine, but for a good, reliable meal with fresh bread, drinkable wine, thoughtful presentation of fresh seasonal ingredients, and good service, they’re hard to beat.

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