We have a family trip planned to Paris this summer, and my husband and I have always wondered (and laughed) about an encounter at Versailles on our first trip there as a young couple in May 1989.
We did a morning trip to Versailles, walked through on our own, and strolled the gardens, then wanted a bite to eat and rest, and found a cafeteria there. We each got a sandwich (ham on baguette) and bottled drink and sat down at an empty table to eat. An employee came rushing over to us, saying excitedly, %26quot;Non, non!%26quot; I knew enough French to know he did not want us to eat there. I inquired why as best I could, but he repeated %26quot;Non, non,%26quot; etc. Not wanting to be embarrassed further, we took our food and headed to the exit and sat down on the sidewalk outside to eat!
To this day, we wonder %26quot;what was up%26quot; with that? The only thing I can think of is that we were not supposed to eat there unless we ordered perhaps a full meal, requiring service...? Should we have waited to be seated, tip someone? (We were dressed fine.) I was just a cafeteria. Although I%26#39;m sure it has much changed since then, when we return this summer with our kids, we want to make sure not to offend again at %26quot;Louis%26#39; Food Court%26quot;!
Just for fun, any thoughts?
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No clue, but you will find that things have changed incredibly at Versailles since 1989 especially when it comes to restaurants and food service. There are a number of areas in the gardens (indoor and outdoor cafes/restaurants) as well as a %26quot;Paul%26quot; vendor who sells wonderful sandwiches/quiches/etc. from the Paul franchise in Paris.
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One possible explanation to your experience could be the price level at which you purchased your lunch. Sometimes, prices for drinks and possibly food are more expensive when seated than they are if consumed at a counter or elsewhere. Some owners might consider it %26quot;cheating%26quot; if you paid a counter price and then seated yourselves at a table avoiding the %26quot;comfortable seat surcharge%26quot;.
There is of course no way to be sure 19 years later but if a someone wishes to be seated for lunch, it%26#39;s best to let an employee seat you, then order.
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I think maybe I can shed some light on that incident.
In France, there are different sales tax rates for foodstuffs eaten in the restaurant, or for take-away. Take-away food has a 5.5% rate, but food eaten in the restaurant has a 19.6% rate. This could lead to confusing situations, like the one you describe.
A vendor usually would ask customers whether the food was for %26quot;emporter%26quot; (take away) or direct consumption (%26quot;sur place%26quot;), and the prices would be different.
I assume that the French tax service also checked this occasionally and could hold the restaurant owner responsible.
This problem was difficult to communicate to foreign tourists, of course...
In recent years, this seems to be less of an issue - although the different tax rates haven%26#39;t changed, as far as I know. I think a lot of fast food restaurants now charge the same prices indifferent of the tax rate (which means that they make more profit on take away food) - and automatically assume that you will eat the food in the restaurant, unless you tell them otherwise.
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I%26#39;m not sure about France, but over here the price difference between buying food to eat in and the same food to takeaway is generally due to different rates of VAT - so if you sit down to eat your (zero-rated) takeaway on his premises, the seller could presumably be prosecuted for tax evasion / fraud for not adding the tax. On the other hand, he might just have been having a bad day ....
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Diz, I believe that VAT on take-away and eat-in food was made the same in the UK about twenty years ago. It would therefore not be an issue if you bought a take-away and decided to eat it on the premises.
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%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;Take-away food has a 5.5% rate, but food eaten in the restaurant has a 19.6% rate%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;
I tend to disagree with the TVA explanations for this example. McDonalds for example pays the 5.5% rate and offers both tables and take out. I speculate that the rate varies not so much on what or where individual items in a restaurant are purchased, but rather that all food items are taxed at 19.6% if a restaurant offers table service (not just tables).
In this poster%26#39;s example (a cafeteria), I do not believe tax rate was a factor, simply food served on the %26quot;terrace%26quot; comes with a price premium which he was avoiding paying.
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Wansteader, I checked HMRC website for UK regs before I posted! %26quot;Hot take-away food and drink is always standard-rated. Cold take-away food and drink is zero-rated, provided it is not of a type that is always standard-rated (such as crisps, sweets, beverages and bottled water). Further information can be found in Notice 701/14 Food.%26quot; (4.1 What is the liability of take-away food and drink?) The previous section explains how mixed hot and cold orders can be apportioned for tax purposes %26lt;yawn%26gt;
You really wanted to know that, didn%26#39;t you?!
Does anyone know what the actual position is in France? It sounds like exactly the sort of thing which an officious taxman could have been checking ...
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K,, Was the sandwich wrapped up or on a plate. Take away or eat in.
Ps. I think the food at Versailles if very expen I%26#39;s sorry we paid 8 euros for a poor baguette( and yes I know a good one) with one single very thin slice of ham and barely any butter and that was almost 3 years ago. Last year we brought our own picnic and it was MUCH better.
Side note, Years ago I saw the most civilized picnic on the grounds. It was two mature couples, and they had a table cloth, glasses, silver ware, and china. They had set up on a bench and were enjoying some white wine and what appeared to be a full meal, it was so fasinating I wanted to take a picture but of course didn%26#39;t! LOL
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Hi, everyone, thanks for your replies, one learns so much from this forum! It was just something I always wondered about, and it does sound like it was because we just ordered %26quot;fast food%26quot; and then tried to sit down to eat it there. Joan, I do believe the baquette was wrapped %26quot;to go,%26quot; so that makes sense, getting %26quot;kicked out%26quot; of the cafeteria whent he tables were for those getting a full meal.
Looking forward to coming back in June!
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