How to Read a French Menu — Bistro Terms Decoded
French menus are short, dense and full of words that have been borrowed into English with the meaning changed. The most expensive mistake is ordering an entrée and receiving a small plate of leeks instead of the main course you expected. The second is ignoring the chalkboard by the door, which is usually where the good value and the day's cooking actually live.
How a French menu is organized
There are three ways to order in almost any French restaurant, and the price difference between them is large. Reading the board correctly is worth more than knowing any single dish name.
| French | Pronunciation | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Formule | for-MUL | Fixed price for two courses, usually weekday lunch |
| Menu | muh-NU | Fixed price for three courses, starter to dessert |
| À la carte | a la KART | Ordering each dish individually, the priciest route |
| Entrée | on-TRAY | Starter, not a main course |
| Plat | PLA | Main course |
| Plat du jour | pla du ZHOOR | Dish of the day, cooked fresh, best value |
| Garniture | gar-nee-TUR | What comes on the plate with the main |
| Fromage | fro-MAZH | Cheese course, before dessert |
| Dessert | day-SAIR | Dessert |
| Boissons | bwa-SON | Drinks |
| Carte des vins | kart day VAN | Wine list |
| Ardoise | ar-DWAZ | The chalkboard of daily specials |
The formule is the traveler's best friend. At lunch on a weekday, most bistros offer two courses at a fixed price, written as entrée + plat or plat + dessert, frequently for less than the main course alone would cost à la carte. The menu adds the third course. À la carte gives you the run of the kitchen and costs the most.
Entrée means starter. In French, the word marks the entry to the meal, not the centre of it. If you want the main course, you are looking for plat or plat principal. This single word causes more misordering by English speakers in France than everything else combined.
The name over the door signals the format. A bistro is small, casual and serves classic dishes at set mealtimes. A brasserie is larger, serves continuously through the day, and is where to eat if you are hungry at four in the afternoon. A restaurant keeps strict lunch and dinner services and closes in between. A bouchon is specific to Lyon and specializes in offal-heavy local cooking. A café may serve only drinks and simple plates. A crêperie is Breton and often the easiest place to eat well with children.
Common dishes you'll see on the menu
| French | Pronunciation | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| soupe à l'oignon | soop a lon-YON | Onion soup with cheese crust | Classic bistro starter |
| velouté | vuh-loo-TAY | Smooth creamy soup | Named for its vegetable |
| rillettes | ree-YET | Shredded potted meat | Spread on bread, usually pork |
| terrine | teh-REEN | Coarse country pâté | Served cold with cornichons |
| œufs mayonnaise | uf ma-yo-NEZ | Egg with mayonnaise | Cheap, traditional, everywhere |
| salade de chèvre chaud | shevr SHOH | Warm goat cheese salad | Reliable meat-free starter |
| escargots | es-kar-GOH | Snails in garlic butter | Served in the shell, with tongs |
| foie gras | fwa GRA | Fattened duck or goose liver | Served cold as a starter |
| tartare de bœuf | tar-TAR | Raw chopped beef | Seasoned, with an egg yolk and fries |
| steak frites | stek FREET | Steak with fries | The default bistro main |
| entrecôte | on-truh-KOHT | Rib steak | Often with shallot or pepper sauce |
| magret de canard | ma-GRAY duh ka-NAR | Duck breast | Served pink unless you object |
| confit de canard | kon-FEE | Duck leg cooked in its own fat | Crisp skin, from the southwest |
| coq au vin | kok oh VAN | Chicken braised in red wine | Slow-cooked, winter dish |
| bœuf bourguignon | burr-gee-NYON | Beef stewed in red wine | Burgundy classic |
| blanquette de veau | blon-KET duh VOH | Veal in white sauce | Mild, creamy, comforting |
| cassoulet | ka-soo-LAY | Bean, sausage and duck casserole | Toulouse; a very large plate |
| choucroute garnie | shoo-KROOT | Sauerkraut with cured pork | Alsace, served on a platter |
| pot-au-feu | pot-oh-FUH | Boiled beef and vegetables | Broth served first |
| moules marinières | mool ma-ree-NYAIR | Mussels in white wine | Comes with fries |
| sole meunière | sol muh-NYAIR | Sole in brown butter | Filleted at the table in some places |
| bouillabaisse | boo-ya-BES | Marseille fish stew | Ordered ahead, often for two |
| quiche lorraine | keesh lo-REN | Bacon and egg tart | Lunch dish, served warm |
| croque-monsieur | krok muh-SYUH | Grilled ham and cheese | With a fried egg it is a madame |
| gratin dauphinois | gra-TAN doh-fee-NWA | Baked sliced potatoes with cream | A garniture, not a main |
| ratatouille | ra-ta-TOO-ee | Stewed summer vegetables | Provençal, hot or cold |
| en croûte | on KROOT | Baked in pastry | Applies to meat or fish |
| à la plancha | a la PLAN-cha | Griddled on a hot plate | Common on the south coast |
| tarte tatin | tart ta-TAN | Upside-down caramelized apple tart | Served warm with cream |
| crème brûlée | krem broo-LAY | Custard with a burnt sugar top | Cracked with a spoon |
| île flottante | eel flo-TONT | Meringue floating on custard | Old-fashioned and excellent |
| fondant au chocolat | fon-DON | Chocolate cake with molten centre | Takes time to bake, order early |
If you order steak, you will be asked how you want it, and French doneness runs roughly one level rarer than the English words suggest. Bleu is barely seared, saignant is rare and bloody, à point is pink through the middle rather than the medium an American kitchen would serve, and bien cuit is cooked through, which many chefs will do reluctantly. If you want what you would call medium, ask for à point and expect pink.
Other words worth recognizing: maison (house-made), fait maison (a regulated label for genuinely cooked on site), du marché (from the market, changes daily), mijoté (slow-simmered), poêlé (pan-fried), rôti (roast), fumé (smoked), cru (raw), sans gluten (gluten free), supplément (extra charge).
Useful phrases for ordering
| French | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Bonjour, une table pour deux | bon-ZHOOR | Hello, a table for two |
| La carte, s'il vous plaît | la KART | The menu, please |
| Quelle est la formule du midi? | for-MUL du mee-DEE | What is the lunch deal? |
| Quel est le plat du jour? | pla du ZHOOR | What is today's dish? |
| Je prends ça | zhuh pron SA | I'll have this (while pointing) |
| Une carafe d'eau | ka-RAF DOH | A jug of tap water |
| À point, s'il vous plaît | a PWAN | Medium, please |
| Je suis végétarien | vay-zhay-ta-RYAN | I am vegetarian |
| Sans porc, s'il vous plaît | son POR | Without pork, please |
| C'est quoi, exactement? | say KWA | What is this, exactly? |
| L'addition, s'il vous plaît | la-dee-SYON | The bill, please |
| C'était très bon, merci | say-TAY tray BON | That was very good, thank you |
Saying bonjour on entering is not optional politeness in France; it is the opening move of every transaction, and skipping it is the most common reason visitors find service cold.
Prices, paying and tipping
French menu prices include tax and service. Service compris printed on the menu or the bill means the service charge is already in the price, and no tip is required. Leaving a couple of coins after a good meal, or rounding a café bill up, is a normal gesture; a percentage on top of the total is not expected and is not the local habit.
Tap water is free and good, but you have to ask for it by name. Request une carafe d'eau and you get a jug at no charge; say nothing and you will usually be brought bottled water, which is a real line on the bill. Bread is free and refilled without charge.
Coffee is cheapest standing at the counter, more expensive at an indoor table, and most expensive on the terrace, with all three prices usually posted. Un café means a small black espresso. Ordering a large milky coffee after dinner is possible but unusual.
The bill arrives only when you ask for it, and lingering over a finished plate is expected rather than resented. Cards are accepted almost everywhere, though small village places sometimes set a card minimum.
Etiquette worth knowing
- Greet the room. Bonjour on arrival and au revoir on leaving are expected of everyone, including customers.
- Kitchens keep hours. Lunch runs roughly noon to two and dinner from half past seven, and outside those windows a bistro will politely turn you away. A brasserie is the fix.
- Bread goes on the tablecloth beside your plate, not on a side plate, and it is for eating with the meal and wiping the sauce at the end.
- Asking for substitutions or for a sauce on the side is uncommon and sometimes declined. Allergies, stated clearly, are taken seriously.
- Keep both hands visible on the table rather than one in your lap, and wait for bon appétit before starting.
When the menu has no English at all
The chalkboard is where French restaurants put the dishes they cooked that morning, and it is written in fast handwritten French with no translation anywhere. So is the formule, which is often chalked on the window in shorthand. Those two boards carry the best value in the building, and they are precisely the parts a visitor cannot read. Photographing them and reading the translation before the waiter arrives turns a guess into a choice, which in France usually means eating better for less.
FAQ
Does entrée mean the main course? No. In France, entrée is the starter and plat is the main course. The American usage is the exception, and it is the single most common ordering mistake English speakers make in French restaurants.
Do I need to tip in France? No. Service is included by law and shown as service compris. Rounding up or leaving small change after a good meal is a friendly gesture, but there is no expected percentage and staff are not paid on tips.
What is the cheapest way to eat well? The weekday lunch formule, ordered with a carafe of tap water. The same kitchen, the same dining room and often the same dishes cost noticeably less at midday than they do in the evening à la carte.