French Dining Establishments
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French Cafés
In France, a café is called un café. It serves espresso shots in small cups. Café noir means "black coffee". They also serve café américain, filtered coffee in a large cup. Parisian cafés are centers of social and culinary life. Famous Paris cafés include Café de la Paix and Les Deux Magots.
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French Bistros
A traditional French bistro is a small, intimate restaurant serving traditional French dishes like cassoulet. Bistros focus more on food than drinks. The word comes from Russian "bistro" meaning "quickly".
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French Brasseries
Brasseries are larger and noisier than bistros. They always serve seafood, sauerkraut, and beer.
Additional Information
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The oldest café in continuous operation in Paris is Café Procope, opened in 1686. The Café de Flore was a famous intellectual hangout.
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There are around 30,000 cafés and bars in France. Locals use "café" and "bar" interchangeably.
Miscellaneous Facts
- French school days are long. South Korea has the longest average school day in the world.