Breakfast in France and the French Breakfast Menu. Le Petit Déjeuner.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
bryangnewman@gmail.com

Breakfast in a French Cafe
Photograph courtesy of Mike Fleming
www.flickr.com/photos/flem007_uk/2483521372
 
Le Petit Déjeuner -Breakfast.
Déjeuner – Lunch
Dinner -Diner.
 
What do the French have for breakfast?
      
Weekday breakfasts in a French home and breakfast in a small hotel will usually be fairly similar. with the singular difference being the addition of croissants in hotels. In most French homes, croissants are kept for the weekend.)

Café – Coffee .  The coffee for breakfast in a private home will usually be a café au lait, a very milky coffee. In a home, and in some traditional cafés, the café au lait may be served in a wide bowl (un bol) rather than a mug, specifically to make it easier to dip a buttered baguette or croissant.

Thé – Tea (pronounced tay), is regular black tea, usually without lemon or milk. Fruit or herb tea, called an infusion or a tisane, will be among the breakfast choices in a French home.

Chocolat à boire - Hot or cold drinking chocolate, and hot or cold milk, may be served for children. The hot chocolate served for breakfast in France is often richer than the powdered versions found elsewhere.

Pain – Bread (pronounced pan), will not always be a baguette. In the large cities, the bread of choice for visitors may be a baguette; however, that is not true for all of France. The baguette was always considered a Parisian bread, and to many it still is, and so another local bread may be on the table.   Large round loaves are called a pain boule, or boule de pain. Until about 100 years ago, the boule de pain was the only bread on most breakfast tables, and it remains popular today. Thin breads, like baguettes, go stale very quickly, while a boule will stay fresh for a day or two.

 Pain boule

A round loaf

Pain Beurré, also called Tartine Beurré - Bread and butter (buttered). Pain beurre (pronounced pan ber-ray), will be on every French breakfast table. For pain beurré any fresh bread is acceptable.

Breakfast in a French home

Photograph courtesy of patrick janicek.

www.flickr.com/photos/marsupilami92/37900177721/

 

Confiture, Jam, Jelly and or Miel, honey – One or two will be on the breakfast table.  

Pain au Chocolat and or Pain au Nutella – Bread and chocolate spread and or bread and Nutella are often on the table for children.

Toast – Toast, also called pain grillé, may be on the table. In a private home, the toast for breakfast will come from bread that is no longer fresh.

Croissants – Croissants - In most homes, croissants are kept for the weekend.

French Toast - Pain perdu (pronounced pan perdu). French toast will be seen more often on as part of an evening meal, but it does make some breakfast menus. Pain perdu translates as lost bread; that is bread that is considered too dry for normal use. 

French toast with honey or maple syrup - Pain perdu au miel ou au sirop d’érable.

   

Croissants  

A French family’s weekend breakfast.

Weekend breakfasts, in a French family, will include croissants, eggs, juice, and much more.   Families may also go out for a Buffet Dimanche, a Sunday buffet.  A French Sunday buffet is the French version of a Sunday brunch, featuring French favorites on the menu. It is an enjoyable and a relatively inexpensive way of dining with the whole family

Breakfast in Small French Hotels and Cafes.

 

Weekday breakfasts, also called a European Breakfast, in France’s small hotels, B&Bs, and small cafés are similar to those of French families. Cafés will, of course, offer croissants every day.

 

French hotels rated three stars and up customarily offer a breakfast buffet with eggs, cereal, sliced sausages, meats, cheeses, and yogurt, along with baguettes and other white and whole-wheat breads. As the hotel rating increases, the selection grows. Offerings can range from limited to overwhelming; as may be expected, much depends on the price of the stay.

 

Breakfast in Larger Hotels and Cafés

 

Breakfast in the best hotels provides everything needed for "power breakfasts" for guests, who may include industrialists, famous actors, and visiting politicians. Five-star hotels also offer international specialties for guests from non-French-speaking countries.

In towns and cities, breakfast in a café is usually far less expensive than a hotel breakfast. However, in France, you should check first to see which credit cards are accepted in a café, as American Express is rarely accepted. (Tipping in cafes and restaurants in France is not expected as the service charges are, by law, included in the bill; for very good service, round the bill up; at most 3-5%.)

  

A French Breakfast Lexicon for Visitors to France

The French breakfast menu, with all the French you need to know.

 

When William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066, his cooks and kitchen staff, along with those of his Barons brought many French words into the English kitchen. (For more about that French connection click here).

 

Ordering coffee for breakfast in France 

 

A Short Black Espresso – Un Espresso or Un Café. Ordering either an espresso or un café will bring you a single, short, black espresso. The drinks listed below are the coffees most often seen on French breakfast menus. (For other coffees, see OrderingCoffee in France. The A - Z of Ordering Coffee in France).

 

Café au Lait - Coffee with milk (pronounced: café-o-lay). This is coffee with a generous amount of milk and is the traditional French breakfast coffee. A café au lait is somewhat like a café latte but often contains even more milk. The size varies greatly; in France, most cafés offer one size only. 

 

Cappuccino - A French cappuccino is typically thirty percent espresso, fifty percent milk, and twenty percent froth. Crucially, it contains no whipped cream.

 

Café Complet - This is not a coffee; it is French shorthand for a "set breakfast." A café complet typically includes a coffee and a croissant, bread rolls, or a baguette with butter and jam.

 

Decaffeinated Coffee – Café décaféiné.  In larger cafés, this should be available as grains de café décaféiné (decaffeinated coffee beans). In smaller cafés, you may be offered instant decaffeinated coffee. When ordering, use the common French colloquial term: café déca (pronounced: day-ka).

 

American Coffee – Café Américain  or Café Allongé is the French and Italian interpretation of what Americans drink. Drip-brewed or filtered coffee has long been out of fashion in France; therefore, a café Américain is usually a single shot of espresso served in a normal-sized cup with added hot water. Milk is added only upon request.

 

Instant Coffee - Café déshydraté or café soluble.

       

A single café espresso

Photograph courtesy of Jeremy Keith

www.flickr.com/photos/adactio/6844109379/

  

 

Ordering Tea for Breakfast in France

 

 

Black Tea - Thé (pronounced tay), is the standard black tea, often referred to as "English tea."  However, despite the name, the tea available in most French cafés is similar to that found in the US, meaning it is often not very strong. For diehard Brits and others who prefer a robust brew designed for tea with milk it is wise to bring your favorite tea bags with you.

 

Tea with Milk – Thé au Lait (pronounced: tay-o-lay). If you request milk on the side, you may be served warm milk. If you prefer cold milk, you should request: "Thé avec du lait froid, s’il vous plaît" (pronounced: tay a-vek doo lay fwah, seel voo play). Froid (pronounced fwah) means cold, and s’il vous plaît means please.

 

Lemon Tea – Thé au Citron (Pronounced: tay-o-see-tron).

 

Tea Without Milk or Lemon – Thé Nature (pronounced: tay na-toor).

 
A herbal tea prepared with fresh herbs
Photograph courtesy of Khairil Zhafri.
www.flickr.com/photos/poppacket/5699535517

 

Fruit and Herbal Teas – These are called infusions or tisanes. Fruit and or herbal teas are not only a popular beverage but also an important part of France’s trusted homeopathic medicines. There will be a variety of fruit and herbal teas available in all cafés and restaurants

Sugar and sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners – Édulcorant.  NB. Not every small French café will have artificial sweeteners, so take some with you.  Sweet and Low, NutraSweet and similar local sweeteners are available in all supermarkets.

Sugar – Sucre. 

Ordering milk and drinking chocolate for breakfast in France.

 

Drinking chocolate - Chocolat à boire (pronounced chocolat-o-boir).

Hot chocolate -  Chocolat Chaud (pronounced chocolat show).

Cold chocolate - Chocolat Froid (pronounced chocolat frawh).

Milk- Lait (pronounced lay).

Hot milk -  Lait chaux. 

Cold milk – Lait froid.

  

    

Water - Eau (pronounced oh.)

 

Bottled table water - Eau de table; that is water that has been filtered and treated.

Cold water – Eau froid. 

Hot water - Eau chaude. 

   

French mineral water

France has over 600 different mineral water brands,

more brands of water than wines or cheese.

Photograph courtesy of Jonathan Petersson

www.flickr.com/photos/grizzlybear-se/32884326114/

 

Mineral water – Eau minérale.

Tap water – Eau du robinet. Tap water in all the towns and cities of France is drinkable, chlorinated and mostly fluoridated. Tap water is free.

For more on water and mineral water in France see the post: Water in French restaurants. Free or to be paid for?

    

Ordering bread for breakfast in France.

 

Bread - Pain, pronounced pan.

     

Baguette - Baguette or Pain Baguette; the most well-known of French breads. Baguettes were originally a Parisian bread, but are now generally available wherever there are tourists. A standard baguette is almost 70 cm (27”) long and weighs approximately 250 grams (9 oz).

 

Baguette de Tradition -   A baguette de tradition  will be available in select bakeries; it will be made with pure wheat flour, water and salt, and no additives at all. A bague`tte de tradition must be baked on the day it is sold, and the dough cannot have been frozen.  The dd water used in the bakery to be crucial. 

  

Bread and butter (buttered) - Pain beurrée or tartine beurré.

         

A fresh baguette, butter, and jam.

Can a French breakfast get any better?

Photograph courtesy of Jessica Spengler.

www.flickr.com/photos/wordridden/4550155219/

     

Bread and butter and jam, that’s jelly in the USA - Pain beurrée et confiture, or tartine beurrée et confiture.

          

Ordering toast for Breakfast in France

Toast - Pain Grille or Toast.

   

Toster was a French word that came to England with William the Conqueror, and its meaning then was to grill. The word came back to France as toast with its English meaning, including toasted bread.

  

Toast with butter - Pain grillé au beurre or toast au beurre.

Toast with apricot jam - Toast avec confiture d'abricot.

Toasted baguette - Baguette grille. N.B. The words toast and grille may be used interchangeably,

   

Butter, jam, (jam in the USA is jelly), and honey on the French breakfast menu.

    

France has a number of very special butters, and in the top-rated hotels, cafes, and restaurants, an AOP butter may be served.

  

Butter or sweet butter - Beurre or beurre doux; that is unsalted butter.

 

Salted butter - Beurre Demi-sel and Beurre Salé – Lightly salted butter and salted butter.  The lightly salted variety, Beurre Demi-sel, usually has 0.5% to 1.5% salt but may reach 3%, with the exact amount shown on the label.  Beurre Salé may have up to 5% salt. These salted butters have 80% fat compared with sweet butters, which have at least 82% fat.

 

Jam, Jelly, on the French Breakfast Menu

Jam - Confiture.

      

Cherry jam - Confiture de cerises

Strawberry jam – Confiture de fraises.

Apricot jam – Confiture d’abricot.

Orange marmalade - Marmelade d'orange.

Citrus marmalade - Marmelade d'agrumes.

Honey – Miel.

Acacia blossom honey - Miel d'Acacia.

Lavender honey - Miel de lavande, honey from lavender flowers.

   

Honey, on sale, in a French market

Photograph courtesy of Little Sadie
  www.flickr.com/photos/little_sadie/2666597753/

 

Ordering cereals for breakfast in France.

 

Cereals – Céréales.

Cornflakes and other cereals are popular in France. Outside of the smallest cafés and small hotel breakfasts, cereals are usually offered; they may include Rice Crispies, Coco Pops, All Bran, Oatmeal, Muesli, etc.

  

Breakfast cereals in France.

Photograph courtesy of observatoire-des-aliments.fr

  

Ordering cheese and yogurts for breakfast in France

  

Hotel breakfast menus may include cheese plates, and most cafés serving breakfast will offer a variety of cheeses and yogurts. Remember, this is the country with over 700 different types of cheese, and so cheese may be offered with every meal.

 

Cheese – Fromage.

 

A selection of soft and matured cheeses - Fromages frais et affinés.

Soft white cheese - Fromage blanc.

Cottage cheese – Cottage cheese. Danone is, I believe, the leader. In supermarkets, cottage cheese is sold alongside the yogurts, not the cheeses.

      

Choose your cheese.

N.B. Most prepared cheese plates offer three, sometimes four small  portions of cheese.

Photograph courtesy of Peter Burka

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pburka/14031315989/

  

Croissants et pâtisseries.

Ordering croissants, and other pastries for breakfast in France.

 

Croissants will be on café and hotel breakfast menus every day. On your walks around town, tens, if not hundreds, of different croissants will be available.   Despite that, at breakfast time, outside of hotels and cafés that make their own croissants, you will usually just see the three traditional, and most popular croissants: croissant au beurre, the plain butter croissant, the pain aux chocolat, the  chocolate croissant, and the croissant aux amandes, the almond croissant. Later in the day, the choice will be much larger.

 

Breakfast
Photograph courtesy of Kathryn
www.flickr.com/photos/kathryn-wright/14278562863/

 

Viennoiseries

       

Viennoiseries look somewhat similar to small American Danishes, though they are made with a pastry similar to that used for croissants.    Two hundred years ago, the French had recognized Viennese pastry chefs as the best in the world, and so these small pastries still carry the name of Vienna.  Many patisseries, cake shops, and boulangeries, bakeries, still make these popular pastries, and a few have the word Viennoiserie on the shop’s sign.

     

Viennoiseries

Photograph courtesy of Du Blé au Pain.

        

American doughnuts – Beignets Américain (pronounced: pan bay-nets Amerikain), are available in the cities, though you may have to search for them.      

Ordering eggs for breakfast in France

Boiled eggs, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, omelets and more.

Eggs are – Œuf or Œufs (pronounced eef or erfs). 

One egg – Une œuf

Two eggs – Deux œufs.

Egg white - Blanc d'oeuf.

An egg yolk - Jaune d'oeuf.

Œuf Biologiques – Eggs from free-range chickens raised in an organic environment.    

One fried egg – Un œuf au plat or un œuf sauté à la poêle.

Two fried eggs, sunny side up - Œufs au (sur le) plat. 

Two fried eggs, over easy - Œufs sur le plat tourné. NB The French do not usually make fried eggs over easy, but they will understand the request, though the eggs may be served well done.  I suggested a solution for a friend, and in one particular café, it worked.  Try: œufs sur le plat tournés pour une minute, fried eggs over easy for just one minute (pronounced eoufs oh plat tournei por une minoot).

Two fried eggs with a slice of ham, and buttered bread on the side - Œufs au plat avec jambon avec pain beurré.

Eggs baked in a casserole - Œuf or Œufs Cocotte – The word cocotte will be part of the title of a dish on the menu when the egg or eggs are cooked in the oven and served in a casserole. For breakfast, you may be offered bacon and eggs, and for a light lunch, the eggs may be baked on top of a vegetable like asparagus. Despite being baked, œufs cocotte should arrive with a semi-liquid yolk.

If you have the time and want to see how my own order for eggs for breakfast went wrong, see the post: Ordering Eggs for Breakfast in France. My Personal Trials and Tribulations.

Ordering Bacon with Your Eggs:
Bacon – Bacon or lard

The words bacon and lard in French have created more than a few problems when encountered by English speakers in France. They are two of the many French words that arrived in England with William the Conqueror in 1066. In modern French words bacon and lard have nearly the same meaning. Unless clearly noted, expect European-style bacon, not the crispy American version. (The English word lard in French is saindoux).

Lard is the traditional French term for cured or smoked pork belly, while bacon is cut from the pork loin and leaner. (French bacon is not Canadian Bacon, and pig fat in modern French is saindoux).

Grilled Bacon - Bacon grillé or lard grillé .

Canadian bacon - Bacon de dos (longe de porc) fumé, Bacon Canadien - A lean, brined bacon that comes from a loin cut further back on the pig. Americans gave this type of bacon the name Canadian bacon because they believed, incorrectly, that this was the most popular bacon style in Canada. 

Two fried eggs, toast, grilled bacon - Oeufs au plat, toasts, lard grillé. 

Two fried eggs, grilled bacon, toast, coffee and orange juice - Oeufs au plat, bacon, pain grillé, café et jus d'orange. 

    Ordering ham for breakfast in France.

Ham - Jambon. On French breakfast menus, the ham served will be boiled ham, the same type of ham called city ham in the USA and boiled or traditional ham in the UK; in France, it is called Jambon de Paris or Jambon Blanc. 

Cured ham - Jambon Cru, or Jambon Sec, a ham that has been smoked and or salted and then air-dried for many months, will only rarely be seen on a breakfast menu.

Two fried eggs and two slices of grilled ham - Œufs au plat au deux tranches de jambon grille.

Braised ham  - Jambon braisé.

Scrambled eggs - Œufs brouillés. 

The French prefer their scrambled eggs, very slightly runny If you want your scrambled eggs well done, then request them bein cuit (pronounced bien kui).

Plain scrambled eggs - Œufs brouillés nature.

Scrambled eggs with tomatoes - Œufs brouillés à la tomate.

Two scrambled eggs and two rashers of grilled bacon – Deux œufs brouillés et deux tranches de bacon grillé.

         

Lightly Scrambled Eggs
Photograph courtesy of Katherine Lim
www.flickr.com/photos/ultrakml/8032489031/      

Brouillade -  Brouillade is a light version of scrambled eggs that originated in Provence, France. The egg whites are beaten separately and only then mixed with the yolks; that provides a light and delicate form of scrambled eggs.

Eggs Brouillard served with morel and black trumpet mushrooms - La brouillade d’œufs aux morilles et trompettes de la mort. 

Ordering Boiled Eggs for Breakfast in France. 

A lightly boiled egg -  Œuf à la coque, pronounced (eouf a la cok), with coque meaning a shell.  In France, as elsewhere, there is no binding definition of a lightly boiled egg.

A medium boiled egg -  Un œuf mollet; a boiled egg where the white is firm and the yolk still liquid.  Œuf mollet began as a medium-boiled egg taken from the shell and served as part of a salad or another dish; now, in most cafes, at breakfast only, it will be served in its shell.

 A hard-boiled egg - Un œuf dur.    

      

Œuf Mollet à la Coque
A Medium Boiled Egg.
Photograph courtesy of Rob Galloway
www.flickr.com/photos/139641712@N02/26139689771/
 

Ordering Poached Eggs for breakfast in France 

A poached egg - Un œuf poché.
Two poached eggs - Deux œufs pochés.
Two poached eggs and bacon - Œufs pochés au bacon. 

   

Ordering omelets for breakfast in France.

The French prefer their omelets slightly runny on the inside, baveux, and I have learned to prefer them cooked that way. However, if you want your omelet well-done, ask for your omelet: non-baveuse or bien cuit (pronounced bien kui).

An omelet - Un omelette.

An omelet with fried bacon pieces - Omelette aux lardons; lardons are small bacon pieces.

A plain omelet – Une omelette nature.

An omelet with France’s favorite herb group, les fines  herbes  - Omelette aux fines herbes.  An omelet with les fines herbes offers a delicious introduction to French dishes that include a variety of herbs. The fine herb group includes: cerfeuil, chervil; ciboulette, chives; estragon, tarragon; persil, parsley and thym, thyme. 

Omelette aux fine herbes       

Mushroom omelet - Omelette aux champignons.
Cheese omelet - Omelette au fromage.
An egg white omelet - Une omelette de blancs d'œufs.

Other egg dishes on French breakfast menus. 

Œufs à la Bénédictine or Œufs Benedict – Eggs Benedict. Eggs Benedict are poached eggs served over an English muffin and Canadian bacon, all covered with Sauce Hollandaise. Most credit the creation of Eggs Benedict to the legendary New York French restaurant Delmonico’s. There is no connection between Eggs Benedict and the Bénédictine D.O.M. liquor. Sauce Hollandaise is the only real French connection. 

Œufs Mornay – Hard-boiled eggs prepared with a Mornay cheese sauce served on top and then baked in the oven. A Mornay sauce is a Sauce Béchamel with added egg yolks and Comté cheese.  A Sauce Béchamel is a white sauce flavored with nutmeg and one of France's "mother" sauces.  A mother sauce is a sauce that will have ingredients added to it or changed, and so has many children and grandchildren, like Sauce Hollandaise. 

Ordering mushrooms for breakfast in France.

Button Mushrooms - Champignons de Paris.   
Chanterelle Mushroom – Chanterelle Girolle.
Field or Meadow mushroom - Rosé des Prés
The Horn of Plenty, the Black Chanterelle and the Black Trumpet Mushroom - Corne d'Abondance, Craterelles or Trompette des Morts, 
Oyster Mushroom - Pleurote.
King Oyster Mushroom - Eringy or Pleurote du Panicaut
Porcini or  Penny Bun Mushrooms -  Cèpes.
Morel Mushroom – Morille.
St. George's Mushroom  - Mousseron.
Shiitake Mushroom - Shiitake or Lentin du Chêne
The Weeping Bolette Mushrooms - Bolet, Cèpe Jaune des Pins or Nonnette
The Field or Meadow Mushroom - Rosé des Prés or Agaric Champêtre.
Wild Mushrooms - Champignons des bois, champignons sauvages.  

The Girolle Chanterelle
Photograph courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library
www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/8510517024/   

Tomatoes  on the French Breakfast Menu 

Tomatoes - Tomates.

Grilled tomatoes – Tomates grillée.      

Ordering sausages for breakfast in France. 

Sausages – Boudins, saucisses and saucissons secs.   

The word saucisse arrived in England in 1066 with the cooks of William the Conqueror and those of his Norman-French barons. Sausages would go on to play a leading part in the traditional British and Irish breakfast, and the Norman cooks brought hundreds of other French words and terms into the English kitchen. Sausages would go on to play a leading part in the traditional British and Irish breakfast. 

A few hundred years later, the French began using, on their side of the channel, the word boudin to mean an uncooked, smooth, velvety, emulsified sausage, with the word saucisse indicating a regular sausage made with ground meat. A saucisson or saucisson sec indicates a salami-type or pre-cooked sausage. 

Grilled or fried sausages will often make a French light lunch menu; however, they do make some breakfast menus.  A boudin blanc is a pork sausage, and a boudin de bœuf is a beef sausage. When the word boudin or a saucisse is on the menu without any qualification, then it is a pork sausage. Ask questions as French café menus are rarely clear about the exact differences between boudins, saucisses, and saucissons

 

Boudin Blanc - A boudin blanc is nearly always pork; when it is veal, beef, rabbit, or another meat, that will be clearly labeled.  Some of the most highly rated boudins blancs are made with pork and cabbage, and their provenance will be on the menu. These are velvety, emulsified sausages, and if they have been pre-cooked, they still need frying or grilling before serving.

 

Boudin Noir - The boudin noir is a blood sausage made with a wide range of recipes that depend on local tradition.  Most are made with pig’s blood, though beef blood sausages are available.  The filler is usually oatmeal and onion, and the herbs and spices may differ widely.   A French boudin noir is usually smaller than the black pudding sausages seen in the UK, with the most popular just large enough for an individual serving.  The UK and Irish black puddings are mostly made in large sizes, with fried or grilled slices served with a full traditional British or Irish breakfast, not a whole sausage.  

 

Saucisse - A saucisse is a fresh sausage; it will need to be cooked before serving.

Saucisson Sec - A salami-type sausage.

Grilled sausages served with two poached eggs - Saucisses grillées avec deux œufs pochés.

Sauces and condiments on the French breakfast table.

Black pepper – Poivre.
Mustard – Moutard.
Maple syrup – Syrup d’arable.
Salt – Sel.

 
French Heinz Ketchup bottle.
Photograph courtesy of Carrefour, France.

Ordering Fruit Juice for Breakfast in France. 
Juice – Jus.

     

Fresh orange juice  - Jus d'orange pressé.

Orange juice - Jus d'orange. If your menu just reads jus d'orange without the word pressé (squeezed), that indicates that the juice is bottled, canned or frozen.

Freshly squeezed fruit juices - Jus de fruits presses.

Lemon juice - Jus de citron.

     

Ordering Fruit for Breakfast in France. 
Fruit – Fruit (pronounced fru-it).

 

Apple – Pomme.
Apricot – Abricot.
Banana – Banana.
Citrus fruit salad - Salade d’Agrumes.
Fresh fruit - Fruits frais.
Orange – Orange.
Pear – Poire.
Pineapple – Ananas.
Plum – Prune.
Prunes – Pruneaux.

 

Crepes, Galettes, Gaufres, Mille Crepes, Pannequets, Sanciaux and more.

Crepes, Galettes, Gaufres.

The French did not invent the crepe, but they certainly have created hundreds, possibly thousands, of recipes for crepes, galettes, gaufres, and other close family members. 

Crêperies

Outside of a few top-rated establishments, crêperies often function more like neighborhood restaurants than specialized dessert shops. Many local spots serve a full range of breakfast menus and plats du jour (daily lunch specials), including fresh salads and grilled meats.

Paying the bill

The bill, the check – L’Addition. Just say l'addition, s'il vous plait, that means the bill please (pronounced: le add-icion sil vous play).

 

Credit cards - Cartes de Crédit.
What to check before sitting down to order breakfast in France!

If you intend to use a credit card in a café or restaurant, check beforehand that credit cards are accepted.  While most cafés and restaurants accept Visa cards locally called Carte Bleu, and Master Card called the Eurocard. However, there are always a few small cafés and restaurants that do not accept any cards, and there are many that do not accept American Express or Diners Club Cards, so always check.

Thank you – Merci

Thank you very much – Merci beaucoup (Pronounced: merci bow-coo).

Tipping

Tips - Pourboire.

Tips, service charges, are included (by law) in French cafés and restaurants. However, if you are paying the bill in cash, and the service was acceptable, then just round the sum up to the nearest Euro. For more about tipping and service charges in French restaurants the post: Tipping in French Restaurants.

Omissions 

Omitted from this post are those breakfast dishes that have crossed the Channel or the Pond, and are on French café and restaurant menus with their English names.  Those dishes include American pancakes and more.

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Just add the word, words, or phrase you are searching for to the phrase "Behind the French Menu" enclosed in inverted commas (quotation marks) and search using Google, Bing, or another search engine.  Behind the French Menu's links include hundreds of words, names, and phrases commonly seen on French menus. There are over 450 posts featuring more than 4,000 French dishes, all accompanied by English translations and explanations.

 

Connected Posts:

 

A short introduction to France’s world of sausages.

Asperges en La Cuisine Française – Asparagus in French cuisine. The Artists who Painted Asparagus or Lived Near Argenteuil.

Bacon in France. Bacon and Salted Pork on French Menus. Lard in French Means Bacon in English.

Boudins and Black Puddings on French Menus. The Sausages of France II.

Champignons on French Menus. The Champignon de Paris, the Button Mushroom in French Cuisine. The Mushrooms of France I.

Chanterelle Mushrooms, the Most Famous Four. Chanterelle Mushrooms on French Menus.

Corne d'Abondance, Craterelles or Trompette des Morts, - The Horn of Plenty, the Black Chanterelle and the Black Trumpet Mushroom. French Mushrooms VII

Cherries in France; Cherries on French Menus.

Comté AOP, the premiere cheese of France.

  Crepes, Galettes, Gaufres, Mille Crepes, Pannequets, Sanciaux and more.

French Bread - Crust & Culture: Exploring the Many Types of French Bread.  

Honey. The Many, Varied and Wonderful Honeys of France.

Jus – Fruit or Vegetable Juice and/or a cooked dish’s natural juices on French Menus.

No Tipping in French Restaurants. The Hidden Joys of Dining in France.

Macis and Fleur de Muscade, Mace and Nutmeg. Important Spices in French Cuisine.

Miel - Honey. The Many Wonderful Honeys of France. Honey on French Menus

Morille, the Morel Mushroom. Morel mushrooms on French Menus. The Mushrooms of France V.

Organic Food in France; Organic Produce, Meats, Milk, Cheeses, Wines and More.

Rosé des Prés or Agaric Champêtre – The Field or Meadow Mushroom in French Cuisine. French Musrooms X.

Sauce Béchamel, Sauce Bechamel. One of the Five Mother sauces in French Cuisine.

Sauce Hollandaise; The Mother of All Sauces. Sauce Hollandaise on French Menus and Where to Find the Recipes.

Sausages in France. A Short Introduction to France’s World of Sausages. The Sausages of France III.

Tomate – Tomato. France’s Greatest Tomato, the Tomate de Marmande AOC. The Tomato in French Cuisine.

Thé – Tea in France. Tea and Tisanes and a Short History of Tea.

The A - Z of ordering coffee in France.

The Apricot or Abricot. The Wonderful Fruits of France I.

The Cèpe, The Porcini Mushroom Grows Wild in France. Enjoy the Tasty Wild Mushrooms Of France III. 

The Croissant and its History. The Croissant is France's Most Famous Pastry, but its Origins Come From Outside France.

The Fine Herbs; Les Fine Herbes; the Most Important Herb Group in French Cuisine.

The French Connection and The English Kitchen

The Many Wonderful, and Different, Butters of France.

The Mousseron or St. George's Mushroom, The Wonderful wild mushrooms of France II.

The Seville or Bigarade Orange and Sauce Bigarade.

Water in French restaurants. Free or to be paid for?

What happened when  I ordered eggs for breakfast in France.

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Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
Copyright 2010, 2014, 2016, 2019, 2026.
bryangnewman@gmail.com