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Repas et cartes
France is famous for its cuisine, but navigating French menus can be a bit tricky due to both language and cultural differences. Here’s everything you need to know about the different types of French menus and the most important meal(s) of the day.
Repas – Meals
Like most people, the French generally eat three times a day.
1) Petit-dĂ©jeuner – Breakfast
In France, breakfast might be smaller than what you’re used to. The foundation is a hot beverage (coffee, tea, or hot chocolate) and some kind of bread (croissant, day-old baguette), probably with butter and jam for the baguette. There might also be some fruit or a glass of juice, and/or some yogurt. Restaurants catering to tourists might offer more, but generally speaking, breakfast is pretty simple.
2) DĂ©jeuner – Lunch
Traditionally, lunch was eaten at home en famille (as a family), which was easy enough for most people thanks to a 2-hour midday work break. Nowadays, it’s much more common for city dwellers to eat in restaurants.
3) DĂ®ner – Dinner
Dinner is typically eaten en famille.
GoĂ»ter – Snack
Children usually eat a small snack around 4pm, generally consisting of something sweet (cookies, cake, bread with chocolate) and a drink, such as water or milk.
Courses
French meals can be simple, or they may include a number of different courses, the order of which might be different than what you’re used to.
| 1. | un apéritif / apéro | cocktail, pre-dinner drink | ||
| 2. | un amuse-bouche / amuse-gueule | snack (one or two bites) | ||
| 3. | une entrée | appetizer / starter* | ||
| 4. | le plat principal | main course | ||
| 5. | la salade | simple green salad | ||
| 6. | le fromage | cheese | ||
| 7. | le dessert | dessert | ||
| 8. | le café | coffee | ||
| 9. | un digestif | after-dinner drink |
Note in particular that coffee is served after dessert, not with it.
* Be careful with entrĂ©e – it’s a faux ami. In France, une entrĂ©e is an appetizer, but "entree" generally refers to a main course in the US.
Le Menu
The most important thing to know is that the word menu is a semi-faux ami. Le menu, which may also be called la formule, refers to a fixed-price,** multi-course meal, usually for lunch, that may or may not include options within each course. It’s generally a very reasonable price, and for smaller restaurants may be the only meal available.
Par exemple…
So the key takeaway is that le menu (or la formule) is a fixed-price meal with limited options: You choose one item from each of the three courses and the price is always 25 euros. But there are variations within this system.
✔️ A drink, such as a glass of wine or cup of coffee, might be included.
✔️ There may be several menus with different options at different price points – un menu 25 €, un menu 30 €, etc.
✔️ Especially for lunch formules, you might have the option to have just two of the courses:
| entrée + plat + dessert | 25 € | |
| entrée + plat | 20 € | |
| entrée + dessert | 18 € | |
| plat + dessert | 20 € |
The waiter might hand you a sheet of paper with menu options, or they might be written on a board (l’ardoise). More options are found in la carte – when you order from this menu, you’re ordering Ă la carte. Sometimes the menu is included on the first page of la carte.
** In French restaurants outside of France, le menu is often called le menu fixe or le prix-fixe to avoid confusion.
Types de menu – Menu Types
Le menu dégustation is a tasting menu, which lets you try a bite or two of a variety of dishes. (Déguster means "to taste.")
Le menu enfant is a kids’ menu, with smaller servings and sometimes special dishes only for children.
Le menu gastronomique is a big, structured meal often enjoyed for festive occasions. It starts with an apĂ©ritif, then offers several dishes in the order listed under Courses, above, and ends with a digestif. It’s likely to be accompanied by a series of specially selected wines that pair perfectly with each course.
Le menu végétarien is a vegetarian menu.
La carte des boissons is the drinks menu.
La carte des vins is the wine menu.
Vraies cartes – Real Menus
Get a taste of different types of restaurants with real menus turned into listening practice.
Related lessons
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