How to Read a French Menu

Reading the menu in a French restaurant can be a little tricky, and not just because of language difficulties. There may be important differences between restaurants in France and in your own country, including what foods are offered and how they are prepared.

Types of menus

Le menu and la formule refer to the fixed-price menu, which includes two or more courses (with limited choices for each) and is usually the least expensive way to eat out in France.

The choices may be written on the ardoise, which literally means "slate." Ardoise can also refer to the specials board the restaurant might display outside or on a wall at the entrance. The sheet of paper or booklet that the waiter hands you (what English speakers call the "menu") is la carte, and anything you order from it is à la carte, which means "fixed-price menu."

A couple of other important menus to know are:

• La carte des vins, which is the wine menu
• Une dégustation, which refers to a tasting menu, with small servings of multiple dishes (déguster means "to taste")

Courses

A French meal may include numerous courses, in this order:

1. Un apéritif > cocktail, pre-dinner drink
2. Un amuse-bouche or amuse-gueule > snack (just one or two bites)
3. Une entrée > appetizer/starter (false cognate alert: entree can mean "main course" in English)
4. Le plat principal > main course
5. Le fromage > cheese
6. Le dessert > dessert
7. Le café > coffee
8. Un digestif > after-dinner drink

Special Terms

In addition to knowing how French restaurants list their food items and prices, as well as the names of courses, you should also familiarize yourself with special food terms.

• Le plat du jour is the daily special (literally, "dish of the day"), which is usually part of le menu.
• Gratuit and offert both mean "free."
• The waiter will often add the word petit ("little") to his offer: Un petit dessert? Un petit café?
• When you're full, say: "Je n'en peux plus" or "J'ai bien/trop mangé."

Other Terms

To really feel comfortable ordering from the menu in a French restaurant, you'll need to learn a number of common terms. The list below includes almost all common terms you would need to know to impress your friends while ordering in French. The list is broken down by categories, such as food preparation, portions and ingredients, and even regional dishes.

Food Preparation 

affiné	aged
artisanal	homemade, traditionally made
à la broche	cooked on a skewer
à la vapeur	steamed
à l'etouffée	stewed
au four	baked
biologique, bio	organic
bouilli	boiled
brûlé	burnt
coupé en dés	diced
coupé en tranches / rondelles	sliced
en croûte	in a crust
en daube	in stew, casserole
en gelée	in aspic/gelatin
farci	stuffed
fondu	melted
frit	fried
fumé	smoked
glacé	frozen, icy, glazed
grillé	grilled
haché	minced, ground (meat)
maison	homemade
poêlé	panfried
relevé	highly seasoned, spicy
séché	dried
truffé	with truffles
truffé de ___	dotted/speckled with ___

Tastes 

aigre	sour
amer	bitter
piquant	spicy
salé	salty, savory
sucré	sweet(ened)

Portions, Ingredients, and Appearance 

aiguillettes	long, thin slices (of meat)
aile	wing, white meat
aromates	seasoning
___ à volonté (e.g., frites à volonté)	all you can eat
la choucroute	sauerkraut
crudités	raw vegetables
cuisse	thigh, dark meat
émincé	thin slice (of meat)
fines herbes	sweet herbs
un méli-mélo	assortment
un morceau	piece
au pistou	with basil pesto
une poêlée de ___	assorted fried ___
la purée	mashed potatoes
une rondelle	slice (of fruit, vegetable, sausage)
une tranche	slice (of bread, cake, meat)
une truffe	truffle (very expensive and rare fungus)

Typical French and Regional Dishes

aïoli	fish/vegetables with garlic mayonnaise
aligot	mashed potatoes with fresh cheese (Auvergne)
le bœuf bourguignon	beef stew (Burgundy)
le brandade	dish made with cod (Nîmes)
la bouillabaisse	fish stew (Provence)
le cassoulet	meat and bean casserole (Languedoc)
la choucroute (garnie)	sauerkraut with meat (Alsace)
le clafoutis	fruit and thick custard tart
le coq au vin	chicken in red wine sauce
la crême brûlée	custard with a burnt sugar top
la crème du Barry	cream of cauliflower soup
une crêpe	very thin pancake
un croque madame	ham and cheese sandwich topped with fried egg
un croque monsieur	ham and cheese sandwich
une daube	meat stew
le foie gras	goose liver
___ frites (moules frites, steak frites)	___ with fries/chips (mussels with fries/chips, steak with fries/chips)
une gougère	puff pastry filled with cheese
la pipérade	tomato and bell pepper omelet (Basque)
la pissaladière	onion and anchovy pizza (Provence)
la quiche lorraine	bacon and cheese quiche
la (salade de) chèvre (chaud)	green salad with goat cheese on toast
la salade niçoise	mixed salad with anchovies, tuna, and hard boiled eggs
la socca	baked chickpea crêpe (Nice)
la soupe à l'oignon	French onion soup
la tarte flambée	pizza with very light crust (Alsace)
la tarte normande	apple and custard pie (Normandy)
la tarte tatin	upside down apple pie