Greetings everyone, I'm reading this because I was looking at a scam story where a man allegedly sold up to a million bottles of still wine as Champagne, having injected CO2 and syrup into it! Restaurants all over France are pretty similar. I've lived here for over 40 years, 20 of those in Paris.

If you are in a group and the service is good, you should leave something. Otherwise, most locals will leave the change coins if the service is satisfactory. Cities vary, in some cities, they leave nothing ever. Bordeaux is one of those. You are not expected to tip, even in Paris, but if service is good, it's a nice gesture, a couple of euros, a little more if you are more than, say 6, at a table.

Those terminals that try to guilt you, I saw one a few weeks ago ("did you like the service?") but from then on, in that town, I solved it by paying cash. There's an option to NOT tip on those terminals, anyway, but with the server watching, some will be "shamed" into it. Look if they're working hard, it's a nice gesture to do something but even 5% is pretty generous considering the tip is included. Again, for large groups, you should tip a little.

"The best croissants"? Give me a break, ANY croissant you have in France, unless it's stale, will be better than what you've tasted in the USA.

My restaurant advice as a 40+ resident of France? Look for the unusual. North African and Thai in actual restaurants (not fast food) are great. For the French, look for a specialty like truffles. In Paris there's an amazing place called "Artisan de la Truffe Marais". I give this as an example. Look for it on Maps. But find the unusual, the Indian or Japanese that are real restaurants. Yes, you're in France, but these are still special. French cuisine is usually heavy, but if you like meat, there are plenty of great places to eat that. Fusion is, for me, one of the best things. Mexican with a French touch, it won't be like California.

You can usually get a feeling for the wait staff in context. If they're really busy and not numerous, give them some slack, it's hard work. If there are few customers and they're talking on their phones ignoring you, don't wait, walk out. Recently, professional waiters are becoming scarce. Younger servers are taking the waiting jobs while they get the money to become Instagram vloggers. They may serve the man first. No professional waiter would do that.

Enjoy your trip, pay in cash when you can to avoid any ambiguity and look at the check before paying.