Eating at 3 pm or 4 pm
Why Paris kitchens shut between services, and where that leaves you if your day does not run to a French timetable.
Read itVisitor guide · Paris
Eating out in Paris, explained
Paris runs on a few rules nobody writes down: the kitchen closes in the afternoon, service is already in the price, and a formule is not a dish. Here is what to expect, and what to do about the specific constraint you turned up with.
Eating out in Paris runs on a few unwritten rules that catch visitors out: kitchens close between lunch and dinner, service is already included in the price, and a “formule” is a set menu rather than a dish. This guide covers what to expect, and links to answers for the specific constraints people arrive with.
The unwritten rules
What nobody tells you
None of this is written on a door. Knowing it is most of the difference between eating well in Paris and eating badly.
The kitchen closes in the afternoon
Most Paris restaurants run two services, roughly midday to 2.30 pm and from 7 pm, with the kitchen shut in between. Turning up at 4 pm and expecting a meal is the single most common visitor mistake. Places that serve without a break advertise it as “service continu”.
Service is already included
Prices on a French menu include taxes and service. You are not expected to add a percentage, and no one will chase you for it. Rounding up or leaving a few euros for good service is welcome, never obligatory.
A formule is not a dish
On a French menu, “la carte” means ordering dishes individually, while “formule” or “menu” means a set deal at a fixed price, usually two or three courses. At lunch the formule is almost always the better value.
Tap water is normal to ask for
Asking for “une carafe d’eau” gets you a jug of tap water, and it is customary and free. You do not have to buy bottled water, and nobody minds you asking.
Bread arrives, and it is not a starter
Bread is customarily brought with the meal at no extra charge. It is there to accompany the food, not as an appetiser course, and it is refilled if you ask.
Booking matters more in the evening
Lunch and the middle of the afternoon are usually walk-in friendly. Evenings, weekends and groups are where a reservation makes the difference, especially in small rooms, which most good Paris restaurants are.
Closing days are a real thing
Many independent restaurants close two days a week, often Sunday and Monday, because the team needs a weekend. Check before you build an evening around a specific address.
Answers by situation
Whatever you arrived with
An awkward hour, a dietary constraint, a train. Each of these is a page rather than a paragraph.
Eating gluten-free
Breton cooking is built on buckwheat, which contains no gluten. Ten of our dishes are marked gluten-free, and here are the limits we cannot get around.
Read itEating near Gare de Lyon
One metro stop from the station, with continuous service and the option to order ahead if your train is not going to wait.
Read itWhat Breton food actually is
Twelve specialities explained, with pronunciation: kig ha farz, kouign-amann, galette-saucisse and the rest, beyond the crêpe.
Read itPlanning a visit to Ty Louis
Hours, the metro stations and walking times, payment including American Express, accessibility, and the Sundays we do open.
Read itWho is writing this
Why take our word for it
Ty Louis is a Breton restaurant in the 12th arrondissement, run since 2017 by Alicia and Julien, and a member of the Collège Culinaire de France since 2023. We serve without a break from midday to 11 pm, Tuesday to Saturday, we name our producers on the plate, and we have no crêpes or galettes on the menu, which in a Breton restaurant is either a statement or a mistake depending on your point of view.
That is also why we wrote these guides. Most of what trips up a visitor in Paris is not the food, it is the timetable, the vocabulary and the unspoken conventions. If you want to know what we actually serve, the menu is in English, dish by dish, with prices.
Good to know
Eating out in Paris: your questions
What time do Paris restaurants serve lunch and dinner?
Lunch generally runs from about midday to 2.30 pm, and dinner from about 7 pm to 10 or 11 pm. Most kitchens close in between. Restaurants that serve without a break call it “service continu”, and there are not many of them. Ty Louis serves from 12 pm to 11 pm, Tuesday to Saturday.
Do you tip in Paris restaurants?
Not as an obligation. Service is included in the prices on the menu, so there is no expected percentage. Leaving a couple of euros or rounding up is a normal way of saying the meal was good, and it is always welcome.
What does “formule” mean on a French menu?
A set menu at a fixed price, usually two or three courses, as opposed to “la carte” where you order dishes individually. At lunch it is usually the better value: at Ty Louis the formule runs from 17,80 € for the dish of the day to 25 € for three courses.
Is tap water free in Paris restaurants?
Yes, and asking for it is completely normal. Request “une carafe d’eau” and you will be brought a jug of tap water at no charge. Bottled water is an option, not an expectation.
Do I need to book a restaurant in Paris?
For dinner, weekends and groups, yes, it makes a real difference, because most good rooms are small. For lunch and mid-afternoon you can usually walk in. If you have a dietary constraint or a train to catch, mentioning it when you book helps more than you would think.
Why are so many Paris restaurants closed on Sunday and Monday?
Because independent restaurants give their teams two consecutive days off, and Sunday plus Monday is the usual pair. It is worth checking before planning an evening around one address. Ty Louis is closed on Sundays and Mondays, apart from about ten Sundays a year at lunch.
How do I avoid a tourist trap in Paris?
Two reliable signals: leave the immediate surroundings of a monument or a major station, where restaurants serve people who had no real choice, and look for a short menu that changes with the season rather than a long one photographed in six languages. A named supplier on the menu is a good sign too.
Reservations
A Breton table in Paris 12
Tuesday to Saturday, lunch and dinner, non-stop service.
240 rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, between Bastille and Nation.