Reading a restaurant menu
What you'll be able to do
Entrée=starter, plat=main, dessert=dessert. Formule=2 courses, menu=3.
- Entrée = starter (not main course). Plat = main. Dessert = dessert.
- Formule = abbreviated set menu (2 courses); menu = full set menu (3 courses).
- Steak doneness: bleu / saignant / à point / bien cuit.
Most French restaurant menus follow the same structure:
• Entrées — starters (NOT main courses; "entrée" in North America misleadingly means main, but in France it's literally the entry course).
• Plats / Plats principaux — main courses.
• Desserts — desserts.
• Boissons — drinks.
• Carte des vins — wine list.
Many restaurants offer a formule (set menu): formule à 18 € might mean entrée + plat OR plat + dessert; le menu à 25 € often means entrée + plat + dessert. Read the small print or ask: la formule, qu'est-ce qu'elle comprend? ("what does the set menu include?").
Useful menu vocabulary: viande (meat), poisson (fish), poulet (chicken), bœuf (beef), porc (pork), agneau (lamb), saumon (salmon), thon (tuna), légumes (vegetables), salade (salad). Cooking levels for steak: bleu (extremely rare), saignant (rare), à point (medium), bien cuit (well done).
Dietary needs: je suis végétarien(ne) (I'm vegetarian), je suis allergique aux noix (I'm allergic to nuts), sans gluten (gluten-free). In Quebec, déjeuner = breakfast and dîner = lunch and souper = dinner. In France, déjeuner = lunch and dîner = dinner. Easy trap to fall into.
Key points
- Entrée = starter (not main course). Plat = main. Dessert = dessert.
- Formule = abbreviated set menu (2 courses); menu = full set menu (3 courses).
- Steak doneness: bleu / saignant / à point / bien cuit.
- Quebec meal-names shift one slot: déjeuner = breakfast, dîner = lunch, souper = dinner.
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