Paris in July query re: rest, reservations

My husband and I will be in Paris the week of 13-21 of July. Years ago, we recall walking into restaurants without reservations but it seems like even bistros need them now. My questions are: do I phone now for reservations for places such as Pre Catalan? If so, my French is limited, so how will my English request be received? Any suggestions?

[teezeetoo]

you will find many Parisian restaurants have web sites. I also have successfully emailed my hotel and asked them to reserve which they graciously did and confirmed back to me by email.

Le Pre Catalon has a website.
You can make a rez off of it, then they will call you to confirm in English.

When you should reserve depends on the type of restaurant and how important is that particular restaurant to you. For Pre Catalan, probably now. For a bistro, probably a few days before. Most Parisans speak some English so that will not a problem. To be polite, just say "Bonjour, parlez-vous Anglais?" before speaking English. There was a good earlier post on this subject. See link below.

Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...