French cuisine is unthinkable without wine
A reliable guide in finding a suitable restaurant is the stars used to designate restaurants for tourists: four stars mean a luxury restaurant (very rare and quite expensive), three – excellent, two – very good, one – good. Each of these restaurants offers a relatively inexpensive lunch for tourists, consisting of an appetizer, a meat dish with a side, and dessert. These restaurants must have at least three signature dishes on the menu.
Grill snack bars, as well as pubs, offer good food – breakfast, lunch, dinner. Those on the road are advised to go to restaurants with many trucks parked in front. Long-haul truck drivers prefer good, tasty dishes that are served quickly and are inexpensive. Most of these restaurants can be recognized by a round sign above the entrance with the inscription 'Truck Drivers'.
Self-service restaurants in cities, as well as restaurants in shopping centers, are not as comfortable, but offer a decent choice for the hurried guest. Station cafeterias have simple but good dishes, and they are served relatively quickly.
Meals in France differ in many ways from other countries. Breakfast is quite simple, and it is most often eaten in cafés. It consists of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate and a croissant. Lunch is stretched over time, roughly from 12 to 2 p.m. Most restaurants have a set lunch: appetizer, main course, and dessert. But you can, of course, compose your own lunch from the menu. In this case, it is worth listening to the waiter's suggestions. If there is no menu on the table, you should ask about the price of the dish before ordering.
Dinner is between 7 and 9 p.m. Dinner is for the most part as varied as lunch, but instead of an appetizer, soup is often served, or, in the appropriate season, oysters. And also mention should be made of late dinner, which can take place after 10 p.m. (usually after the theater, a concert, or cinema).
Almost before every meal, an aperitif is drunk – for example, Pernod, Dubonnet, Saint-Raphaël, or something similar. In the south of France, pastis (anise-flavored aperitif) has always been traditionally preferred. But gradually, inhabitants of northern France have also taken a liking to this drink. 'It's time for pastis' – this is now a saying, a kind of invitation to a short break at work.