A typical Parisian snack bar is old-fashioned, simple but very homely and friendly as they are designed for socializing. Parisians drop by two or three times a week to enjoy a drink, exchange a few words with the owner (a big fellow) and meet their friends, known as the ‘regulars’. According to one source, the word “bistro” appeared in the French dictionary after 1814 due to the Russian Kossacks who implored the slow French innkeepers to “Hurry up! Hurry up!” (“Bistro! Bistro!”). In the Tertre Square area (Place du Tertre) on Montmartre there is even a plaque at the place where allegedly the word “bistro” was first used.

Bistrot, Rue Saint-Antoine, Paris