Located right outside of the Pére Lachaise Cemeterie in Paris, we found ourselves weary and tired from the lengthy visit of the tombs of the likes of Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison, Marcel Proust, and by sheer happenstance, finding the resting place of Michel Legrand, great music composer who passed away this past January--and relishing our relatively inexpensive late lunch meals. The three of us ordered, as follows:
1) a Salade Nichoise
2) a rum steak
3) a chicken in mushroom sauce
We just asked for "un carafe d'eau", or a jug of water. This is FREE water, versus the bottled mineral water that one might find at a number of tourists' tables (because nobody told them they could simply ask for the jug of water).
As long as you said "Bonjour, "s'il vous plait", "monsieur", "madame", and of course, "merci",the server would appreciate your attempts at communicating in his/her own language. We also used our "indoor voices". We didn't click our fingers and called for the "garçon" (I haven't heard anyone use that word actually). In other words--we sat down and quietly waited for someone to come and take our orders. I was saying all these things because I took the advice from a few people on YouTube and through various blogs on French culture and etiquette--and they did make for a pleasant dining experience. :-)
Another thing to remember: the server will NOT deliver the check to you until you requested it. To the French, bringing it before you have ever asked for it would be considered rude. Just try and catch their eye, and make a gesture that looks as if you are writing a check on your hand. Or, you can simply ask for "l'addition, s'il vous plait"(pronounce as "la-dish-yun"), translates as "the check, please".
I know I digress. Back to the food...
Everything that we ate was good! I know another reviewer commented on the soup. I didn't order any soup so I wouldn't be able to comment on that. But suffice to say--the few desserts that I saw were being brought to the customers who ordered them, they looked delicious, indeed. I didn't order any dessert, but at least I can attest to how visually appealing they were.
Total lunch cost=€41.50 (included 15% service charge), so no tipping was required. It is my understanding that it is not required anywhere.
Now, this place kinda reminds me of an American diner, the ambiance and all. Plus the fact that the locals
go here; nowhere insight were the tourists (save from us three). read more