How to read a French menu

How a French menu is laid out

A French meal runs entrée (starter), plat (main course), then fromage (cheese) and/or dessert, with coffee after. The first thing to learn about how to read a French menu is that the entrée is the starter, not the main course, whatever American menus say. The main is the plat, or plat principal.

Most restaurants offer two ways to order:

• Le menu: a fixed-price set meal, usually three courses with a short choice in each, such as "menu à 32 €". Look for "suppl." beside a dish; it means that option costs extra on top of the set price.
• La carte: the full list, ordered and priced dish by dish (à la carte).
• La formule: a cheaper two-course combination, mostly at weekday lunch, typically entrée + plat or plat + dessert.
• Plat du jour: the dish of the day, often chalked on a board (l'ardoise). It's usually good value and freshly made.

Outside, the restaurant must post the menus and prices it is serving. Inside, each set menu should say whether a drink is included (boisson comprise or non comprise). Prices are net: tax and service are already in them, which is what "prix service compris" on the menu means.

Two other notes are worth knowing. "Fait maison" (with a small logo of a pan under a roof) marks dishes made on site from raw ingredients. "Selon arrivage" or "prix selon le marché" means the dish or price depends on the day's catch or market.

Words you'll see on every menu

French spelling hides a lot of silent letters. Final consonants are often silent (plat is "plah"), and an accent on é makes it "ay".

Cooking methods

Steak comes with its own vocabulary: bleu (almost raw), saignant (rare), à point (closer to medium-rare than medium) and bien cuit (well done).

Meat, seafood and key ingredients

Allergy and diet watch-outs

French cooking builds flavour into sauces and stocks, so the allergen is often in something you never see on the plate.

Milk. Butter and cream finish most sauces (beurre blanc, sauce au poivre, anything "à la crème"), mashed potato and many vegetables. Gratins are made with cream and cheese. See milk.

Mustard. Dijon mustard goes into vinaigrette, mayonnaise, steak tartare, rabbit à la moutarde, sauces for pork and many salad dressings. It's one of the 14 EU-declared allergens and far more common in French food than visitors expect. See mustard.

Celery. Celery and celeriac go into stocks and braises, and céleri rémoulade is a classic starter of grated celeriac in mustard mayonnaise. See celery.

Eggs. Mayonnaise, aïoli, béarnaise, hollandaise, quiche, crème brûlée, mousse au chocolat (often raw egg) and the glaze on pastry. See eggs.

Gluten. Flour thickens béchamel and many brown sauces, and croque-monsieur is bread under béchamel. Croûtons float on soups. See gluten.

Lupin. Lupin flour has been used in French bread and pastries (viennoiserie). France's food safety agency noted that it can't be tasted and that people allergic to peanuts carry a higher risk of reacting to lupin. Ask at bakeries if you react to either. See lupin.

Nuts. Almond is everywhere in pastry: frangipane, financiers, macarons, galette des rois. Hazelnut praline fills Paris-Brest and many chocolates. Walnut oil (huile de noix) dresses salads in the south-west. See tree nuts.

Anchovy and shellfish. Anchovies go into tapenade (often), anchoïade, pissaladière and salade niçoise. Escargots, moules and oysters are molluscs; bisque and sauce américaine are made from crustaceans.

Wine, pork and stock. Coq au vin, bœuf bourguignon and many sauces are cooked in wine, which brings sulphites and matters for halal or alcohol-free diets. Lardons are scattered over salads, quiche lorraine and vegetable dishes. Soups described as vegetable are often made with meat or chicken stock, so vegetarians should ask.

All EU restaurants must give you information on the 14 regulated allergens. In France it has to be available in writing, often as an allergen chart or binder, so asking to see it ("la liste des allergènes, s'il vous plaît") is a normal request.

Useful phrases

"Allergique" and "cœliaque" are the same for everyone, but "végétarien" becomes "végétarienne" for a woman. Always open with "Bonjour" before asking anything; skipping it reads as rude.

Ordering and paying

French menu prices already include service, so there's no separate service charge to watch for. Tipping is optional: leaving a few euros or rounding up for good service is common, and nobody expects a percentage.

A carafe of tap water normally comes free with a meal if you ask for it. Bread is usually brought to the table without charge too.

You won't be rushed. The bill arrives only when you ask for it, and lingering over coffee is normal. Catch the server's eye and say "l'addition, s'il vous plaît", or make a signing gesture. Card payments usually happen at the table with a handheld terminal. Paying separately (payer séparément) is possible but smoother with fewer cards.

Kitchens often keep fixed hours: lunch from about 12:00 to 14:00 and dinner from about 19:00 or 19:30. Outside those times you may only get drinks, unless the sign says "service continu" (food all day).

Dishes to know

• Steak tartare: raw chopped beef with raw egg yolk, mustard, capers and shallot.
• Croque-monsieur: toasted ham and cheese sandwich, often topped with béchamel.
• Quiche lorraine: pastry tart filled with egg, cream and lardons.
• Coq au vin: chicken braised in red wine with mushrooms and lardons.
• Moules marinières: mussels steamed in white wine with shallots and parsley.
• Bouillabaisse: Marseille fish stew served with rouille, a garlicky sauce often thickened with bread or egg.
• Bœuf bourguignon: beef stewed in red wine with onions, mushrooms and lardons.
• Confit de canard: duck leg slow-cooked in its own fat, then crisped.
• Crème brûlée: baked custard of cream and egg yolk under a burnt sugar crust.

Questions

Is the entrée the main course in France?

No. In France the entrée is the starter, the dish that enters the meal. The main course is the plat or plat principal. The American use of entrée for a main course confuses many visitors.

What is a formule on a French menu?

A formule is a fixed-price combination of two courses, usually entrée and plat or plat and dessert, mostly offered at lunch. A menu is a fuller set meal at a fixed price, often three courses with a choice in each.

Do you tip in French restaurants?

Service is already included in French menu prices, which is what service compris means. Tipping is optional. Leaving a few euros or rounding up for good service is common, but nobody expects a percentage.

Is tap water free in French restaurants?

Ask for une carafe d'eau and you'll normally get a jug of tap water at no charge with your meal. Bottled water (eau minérale or eau gazeuse) is charged.

What does à point mean for steak in France?

À point is usually closer to medium-rare than a true medium. Bleu is seared and almost raw, saignant is rare, and bien cuit is well done. French kitchens tend to cook steak less than English-speaking ones.

Sources

1. European Commission: Food information to consumers legislation
2. CCI Paris Île-de-France: Obligations d'affichage dans les restaurants
3. Afssa (now ANSES): Avis 2007-SA-0029 on lupin and molluscs as allergens

Last checked 1 November 2026. Spotted something wrong? Email support@inventum.com.au.