Dinner near Place des Vosges without booking three weeks ahead

The first rule fits in one number: seven o’clock. Between seven and seven-thirty, most dining rooms in the area keep two or three seats for walk-ins. By eight-thirty there is nothing left, even on weeknights.

The second: the counter. The wine bars on rue de Turenne and rue Charlot do not take bookings at the bar and serve serious food until eleven. You often eat better there than in the restaurant next door, and for less.

The third: on Monday and Sunday evenings the menus get shorter but tables free up. The fourth, and the most effective: ask us. We call, they pick up, and you do not have to negotiate in French.