The cutlery shone, the chablis was on the table and the diners were preparing to tuck in to starters such as sautéed squid and scallops in mussel-infused sauce.
In short, the scene at the Brasserie Lazare was typically Parisian in all respects — except one. For it was 6pm, an hour when French traditionalists are barely even contemplating an apéritif, let alone an evening meal.
The reputed brasserie is among a small but growing number of restaurants in Paris that have taken to serving dinner in late afternoon or early evening, a time of day familiar to Anglo-Saxons but wholly out of step with the customs of a nation that will often begin a festive meal at 8pm and finish it at midnight or later.
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The early service is causing debate. Some observers view it as an adaptation to social change in an increasingly health-conscious country that wants to digest its food before going to bed. Others see the move as an affront to a cherished gastronomic culture in which the meal is traditionally the centrepiece of the evening.
Arnaud Meunier, 41, the director of Brasserie Lazare, which has the renowned Éric Fréchon as chef, said it had started serving meals from 5.30pm to meet demand from diners. “We noticed the change after the Covid epidemic. People started eating earlier,” he said.
The brasserie, located in the shopping centre at Saint-Lazare railway station, gets tourists, notably Americans, accustomed to eating at 6pm, but also locals who want to dine before catching a train or going to a show.
“Parisians used to eat after going to the theatre,” he said. “Now, a lot of them want to eat before.”
Arnaud Meunier
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As daylight faded in late afternoon on Thursday, the cooks were already busy preparing dishes such as spelt risotto with herb purée, mushrooms and parmesan and desserts including choux pastry with praline cream, vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.
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Claire Delignou, 38, was eating with her friend, Maria Amorim, 50, before getting a train back to her home in Normandy. “I like eating at 6pm or 6.30pm when I can,” she said. “I think it’s healthier. It gives me time to digest the meal before going to bed.”
Maria Amorim, left, and Claire Delignou
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Delignou said there was social stigma attached to eating early dinners “because it’s seen as something that old people do. But it suits me better.”
At the table opposite, Benjamin Collet, 46, said he had had a traditional French two-hour lunch, but was nevertheless dining with Cécile, 38, his wife, shortly after 6pm before going to a stand-up comedy show. “It would be too late to eat afterwards,” his wife said.
Benjamin and Cécile Collet
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Among the other early diners were Caroline Cloteau, 38, and Olivier, 44, her husband, who are themselves in the restaurant trade: she in charge of the service and he the kitchens at the critically acclaimed La Borie d’Hélipse in the rural Cantal département in the south. They were having a break in Paris and eating before going to a comedy in a nearby theatre.
Their own restaurant does not go in for an early dinner service, which is mainly a Parisian trend, according to Le Figaro.
Olivier Cloteau said most diners arrived at 7.30pm, adding that he avoided bookings after 8.30pm “so that staff do not end up having to stay until midnight”.
Olivier and Caroline Cloteau
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Le Figaro said early dining had been brought to Paris by Asian, often Japanese, chefs, and American ones. They had started serving meals at 6pm for visitors from their own countries, only to discover that some French people wanted to eat at that time, too, the newspaper said.
The daily said it was unclear whether this was a “Parisian epiphenomenon … or [a sign] that our compatriots are ready to bring forward by two hours their sacrosanct dinner time like the English, the Americans, the Belgians, the Scandinavians and the Asians”.
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A poll by the Ifop institute last year found 7.20pm to be the average mealtime at home for French people. Britons eat earlier, according to a 2020 YouGov poll, which said that 25 per cent ate between 5pm and 5.59pm and 34 per cent between 6pm and 6.59pm. Only about a third ate after 7pm.
Alexandra Murcier, a nutritionist, told the television channel TF1 that it was better to eat earlier. “You are going to feel less heavy when you go to bed. You are going to improve the quality of your sleep.”
The question is inflammatory, however. When RMC radio invited listeners to phone in with their opinions on the topic this week, one restaurant owner from Rheims in the east said he now opened all day and had noticed “more and more people ordering dishes between 5pm and 6pm, notably to take away”.
But another from the Gers département in the south was aghast at the idea of an early dinner service. “I’m not running a care home or a hospital,” he said. “It’s not in French culture to eat at 6pm.”
Dining and Cooking