What Is a French Apéritif?
The little ritual before dinner that is really about slowing down and being together
There is one little question in France that can turn an ordinary evening into something rather lovely.
On prend l’apéro ?
Shall we have an apéro?
It does not necessarily mean a party. There is no need to set a beautiful table or plan an elaborate menu.
Sometimes a bottle, a few glasses, some olives or cheese and the suggestion that we sit for a little longer are quite enough.
Perhaps that is why I like apéro so much.
It is a moment that does not seem to need a particular purpose.
And perhaps that is precisely the point.
What is an apéritif?
A French apéritif, or simply apéro, traditionally takes place before a meal. The word itself comes from the idea of opening — originally, opening the appetite before eating.
But I think it opens something else too.
The evening.
A conversation.
That little space between one part of the day and the next.
It is no longer quite daytime, but dinner has not begun either.
Someone opens a bottle. Something small appears on the table. Chairs are pulled a little closer.
And suddenly, nobody seems to be in quite such a hurry.
What do you serve for apéro?
What I like most is its simplicity.
Apéro does not need to become a small dinner before the actual dinner.
There might be olives. A few nuts. Cheese. Something crisp. Whatever happens to be in the kitchen.
Sometimes there is more, sometimes almost nothing at all.
And the glass does not always have to contain the same thing: wine, a local apéritif or something alcohol-free.
What matters more than what is put on the table is what happens around it.
The conversation gets longer.
Someone reaches for another olive.
Dinner can wait a little.
The last of the light
I especially love apéro in Southwest France on evenings when the day does not seem quite ready to end.
In summer, the light stays for a long time. In autumn, the evenings become cooler, but there are still days when it feels too lovely outside to go indoors just yet.
You pull a knit around you. The sun sits lower. Glasses are on the table and somewhere there is the smell of dinner being prepared.
Often, these simple evenings are the ones that stay with us.
It does not have to be perfect
Perhaps this is my favourite part.
Someone drops by. A plate comes out of the cupboard, cheese from the fridge, and whatever happens to be there finds its way onto the table.
A beautiful glass. An old wooden table. A little bowl of olives. Flowers brought home from the market that morning. A candle when the evening begins to darken.
Nothing needs to feel too prepared.
Perhaps that is one of the loveliest parts of art de vivre: noticing that a beautiful moment has already begun without anyone having planned it too carefully.
And what do you wear?
Perhaps it seems a little funny to talk about clothes when talking about apéro, but I think the same idea applies.
Do not overthink it.
In summer, it might be the dress you have been wearing all day. In autumn, favourite jeans and a soft knit. As the air becomes cooler, you simply pull your cardigan a little closer.
I love clothes that move with real life.
From morning coffee into the day. From a walk to the market. From afternoon into apéro.
And sometimes from apéro into a dinner that begins a little later than planned.
On prend l’apéro ?
Oui.
Toujours le Soleil. ☀️