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Bon appétit: The words you need to decode a French restaurant menu

The Local France
The Local France - [email protected]
Bon appétit: The words you need to decode a French restaurant menu
Photo: AFP

There's nothing like savouring a delicious meal in a proper French restaurant... but unfortunately menus in France tend to come with their own set of linguistic challenges. Here's what you need to know to eat like a local.

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One of the great things about eating in a French restaurant is that there are so many different parts to the meal. 
 
This is how they'll be listed in your menu:
 
un apéritif - a pre-dinner drink which is usually a cocktail or glass of champagne 
un amuse-bouche or amuse-gueule - small snacks to go with your apéritif
une entrée - appetizers/ starters
le plat - the main meal
accompagnement - side dish
le fromage - cheese
le dessert - dessert
le café - coffee
un digestif - after-dinner drink which is usually a liqueur or strong spirit like brandy.
 
READ ALSO:
18 ways your eating and drinking habits change when you live in France
Photo: Jorge Royan/Flickr
 
Types of menu
 
Often in France you'll be presented with different kinds of menus within the main menu which is called 'la carte'. These are the ones you need to know:
 
menu/prix fixe/formule – fixed price/set menu
This can be the most fun way to get to know a restaurant. You'll be given a few options to choose from for each course and then a fixed price which often includes a coffee (and sometimes even a glass of wine). 
 
à la carte – from the menu
This is when you choose individual items from the full menu which will also be priced individually.
 
menu dégustation – a tasting menu made up of a variety of small portions of a variety of dishes. 
 
plat du jour - the day's special 
 
assiette/planche - assiette and planche are used interchangeably to mean a plate or board of foods to nibble on such as cheese or cured meats.
 
Steaks
 
For many, one of the great pleasures of a holiday to France is sitting down to a mouthwatering steak and glass of red. 
 
These are the words you need to know to make sure that your steak arrives just how you like it: 
 
saignant - rare (and they mean it -- "saignant" literally means "bleeding")
à point - medium rare 
bien cuit - well done
 
... and for the very brave among you, you can order a steak bleu -- literally meaning blue -- for an exceptionally rare piece of beef. 
 
Photo: AFP
 
Meat
 
It isn't only ordering a simple steak that can turn into a somewhat complicated affair when in France. 
 
Here's some other meat-related vocabulary you wouldn't want to be in a French restaurant without. 
 
viande – meat
boeuf – beef
entrecôte – tenderloin steak 
faux-filet – sirloin steak
tartare de boeuf – this is ground beef with seasoning, served raw
porc – pork
agneau – lamb
mouton – mutton
veau – veal
cheval – horse
taureau – bull
lapin – rabbit
poulet – chicken
dinde – turkey
canard – duck
confit de canard – cured duck leg cooked in duck fat
magret de canard – roasted duck breast, usually served sliced
caille – quail
volaille – fowl
 
Photo: Roger W/Flickr
 
Cooking / preparation methods
 
It's one thing to know what you're ordering but you'll probably also want to know how they're planning to cook it. 
 
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
cru - raw
en croûte - in a crust
en daube - in a stew, casserole
 
Photo: Cody and Maureen/Photo
 
fait maison - homemade
farci - stuffed
fondu - melted
frit - fried
fumé - smoked
glacé - frozen
grillé - grilled
haché - minced, ground (meat)
poêlé - panfried
poché - poached
relevé - spicy
séché - dried
truffé - with truffles
rôti - roast
 
Photo: AFP
 
Drinks
 
Of course ordering your drink the way you want it is often as important as getting the meal right.
 
Let's start with the only drink that's always acceptable to have while you're eating your meal in France: 
 
vin rouge - red wine
vin blanc - white wine
vin rosé - rosé wine
eau - water which comes 'plate' (flat) or 'gazeuse' (fizzy) and in case you've had problems with the 'de' and 'le' in the past, you can order water by saying, "Je voudrais un carafe d'eau".
 
For your cocktails:
 
avec des glaçons - on the rocks 
pur, sec, sèche - straight
 
And of course, don't forget to say, "Santé!" or "A la votre!" before taking a sip.
 
Getting the bill
 
addition - bill
pourboire - tip
espèces - money
carte bancaire/carte bleue - bank card
pourboire - tip

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Anonymous 2018/08/21 18:12
UNE carafe d'eau. If you can't remember whether carafe is masculine or feminine (which it is!, not le carafe ever)then just say "est-ce que je peux avoir de l'eau s'il vous plait - en carafe! Or Chateau la Pompe...

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