English Translation of French Menu
In general food in Paris is very good and you do not have to spend a fortune to eat well. A stumbling point to finding good food at a good price can often be the language. The tourist spots have English language menus but the quality is often poor and the dishes expensive. Here is a little guide to some of the standard French dishes that will allow you to break away from the tourist spots and eat some good French food.
French to English translations of common menu items
Fish
- Daurade - sea bream
- Lieu - pollock
- Thon - tuna
- Truite - trout
- Bar (or loup) - sea bass
- Gambas - king prawns
- Crevettes - prawns
- Rouget - mullet
- Merlu/Colin - hake
- Morue - cod
- Coquilles Saint Jaques - scallops (often served in a clam shell with a creamy sauce)
- Saumon - salmon
- Tartare de saumon - raw salmon (often mixed with herbs to create a type of paté)
- Moules - mussels (normally served with chips (frites))
Poultry
- Volaille - poultry
- Poulet - chicken
- Poulet fermier - farm raised chicken
- Dinde - turkey
- Canard - duck
- Confit de canard - roasted marinated duck leg
- Magret de canard - sliced duck breast
Pork
- Porc - pork
- Filet mignon - pork fillet
Lamb
- Lamb - agneau
- Mutton - mouton
Beef
- Steak tartare - minced raw beef mixed with herbs and served with a raw egg
- Veau - veal
- Cooked Steaks
…poor cut…
Bavette
Entrecôte
Pavé (de rumsteak)
Filet
…good cut…Steaks are cooked:
Saignant - rare
A point - medium
Bien cuit - well doneNote: “Medium” in France is more like rare in England and “Well Done” is likely to be medium/rare.
Game
- Lapin - rabbit
- Faisan - pheasant
- Biche - venison
Sides
- Légumes - vegetables
- Haricots verts - green beans
- Frites - chips/fries
- Gratin Dauphinois - layered potatoe slices with cream
- Pates - pasta
- Asperges - asparagus
- Purée - mashed potatoe unless otherwise specified (eg. Purée de carottes - mashed carrots)
Other
- Tartine - open, toasted sandwich
- Andouillette - a large sausage containing tripe
- Potage/ Soupe/ Velouté - soup
- Cassoulet - meat and bean casserole
- Plat du jour - dish of the day (normally listed on a black board or on a separate piece of paper in the menu).
- Foie gras - duck or goose liver paté
- Terrine de… - normally a type of paté
- Foie - liver
- Rognons - kidneys
- Tripes - tripe
- Menu (or “formule”) à €xx - The fixed menu. Either a starter (entrée) and main course (plat); main and dessert; or starter, main and dessert. These are normally chosen from a special menu with a limited choice.
Desserts
- Mi-cuit au chocolat - warm chocolate cake with a soft centre (under-cooked)
- Crème Brulée - a mixture of crème fraiche, eggs and sugar with a caramalised sugar topping.
- Crème Caramel - a type of set custard with a runny caramel sauce underneath.
- Tarte Tartin - upside down apple tart
- Mousse au chocolat - very rich chocolate (normally dark) mousse
