Prix Fix menue for newbies
 

Me again with newbie question:
I keep reading "prix fix" menue and want to ask if prix fix menu means that you sit down and ask "menu" and ...
does "prix fix" means you can choose from couple of those or just one ?
how do you ask to see what is for dinner in "prix fix" menue ?

Many restaurants and bistros in France offer this fixed price option, also sometimes called a "formule".

It'll be included somewhere in the menu that you are handed when seated at your table. You won't need to ask for it specially. It may also be displayed outside the restaurant, and perhaps also on a blackboard inside. Some places offer a variety of "prix fixe" menus, ranging from cheaper 2 or 3 course options to more expensive gourmet options with more courses.

Sometimes the prix fixe menus won't be available in the evenings or at weekends, but this will be stated somewhere on the menu.

The number of dishes to choose from on a prix fixe menu will vary. Usually there'll be around three starters, three main courses (with at least one fish or poultry option) and several desserts.

Hope that helps!

They are a better bargain than ala carte. I only order ala carte if something I want isn't listd on a prix fix.
Bon appetit

Thanks to both of you.

When several prix fixe menus are offered, you ask for the one you want by giving its price: "I would like the menu for 30 Euros," for example.

In most French restaurants, nearly everyone orders a menu as they're much better value than à la carte. There is almost always a choice of several dishes for each course. More expensive menus have more elaborate dishes and more courses.

You can get a great value for lunch on a prix fixe menu and have a lighter dinner. this is a good way to save some money on meals out.

Tat,

Beware also of added items. I orderd a mineral water and a coffee which added on a whopping 10 euros - so my 16 prix fix came out to 26!

OUCH, thanks for the warning.
I like tap water :)))

go luck getting tap water, in my experience most restruants wont give it to you, even if you ask, they will say they wont have it, i found this to be true in paris, venice and rome. but i had no problem getting it in amsterdam

I have never had a problem getting tap water anywhere in Paris or elsewhere in France. Just ask for "un carafe d'eau, s'il vous plaît."

StCirg,
"one pitcher of the water, please ?"
is that correct ?
you have to be proud of me !

Tat, that is correct. I used "une carafe d'eau, s'il vous plait" many times and was never refused tap water.

The subj of "no tap water in Europe" isn't new here.
Now we settled that it is not a problem.
I am wondering what those guys who didn't get it were asking for ???
:))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Scumpy is correct - it's UNE carafe - my typo, but you get the idea.

Good for you, Tat! By the way, if you're studying your French, it does help to be familiar with numbers, and those are often the hardest things to learn.

Learn to count to ten, and then learn how to say fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, etc., because if you are planning to order prix fixe meals, as someone mentioned, there will usually be two or more menus with different prices. When you want, say, the 25 euro menu, you'd ask for "Le menu à vingt-cinq euros, s'il vous plaît."

And practice counting to ten on your fingers the way they do, too. They begin with their thumb.

my friend did ask for a creaft in french (she studied french in southern france for 1 year) but we were still refused. I do like that you dont have to tip, becasue it is included, althought we always left about .20 euro

StCirg, don't push it ... I have Dutch to learn yet :)

Why would I learn to count like they are ? To be accidentally mistaken for the local ? Ain't gonna happen !
To be looked at like "what is this foreigner doing counting like french ?>"

illusion, that is highly unusual, I'm shocked. When they ask if we'd like L'eau minerale I always respond with non merci and ask for maison l'eau.
(Though I usually order my favorite Badoit.)

Tat: I was just trying to suggest you learn numbers so you can order those prix fixe menus you were asking about, not suggesting you sound like a local. I think ordering food ranks pretty high on the list of things tourists need to do on vacation, and since you indicated you were trying to learn a bit of French, I thought I might help you prioritize what you need to focus on.

BTW, asking for "maison l'eau" will probably just get you weird stares.

And you don't need to even think about learning Dutch - the Dutch are, in my experience, amazing linguists. Many of them speak better English than a lot of Americans.

StCig,
palease !
I WAS joking ...
and all stuff about "being local" it was the comment to wsoxrebel advice.

Friends :)

well

Tat, because if you want "one" pastry, and you hold up your index finger, you will be given TWO pastries and charged accordingly. You hold up your thumb for "one" and then you will get ONE.

I have NEVER gotton weird stares!!!
When they rattle off the brands of minral water, I smile and say no just maison Léau. I knew you'd respond that way.

Waiters always try to sell you bottled water, for instance asking you what brand you would like when you ask for water. I wouldn't be surprised at all if some restaurants try to prey on ignorant tourists by plainly refusing to give them tap water, something that actually they can't refuse to serve.

One should remember that a significant part of the restaurants' benefits come from the beverages, since their margin is much more important on them than on dishes.


Also, last year, some cafes on the cote d'azur began to charge for tap water.

I don't understand this big deal about getting tap water in France -- particularly Paris. I haven't had a single problem getting it since I learned the simple phrase "carafe d'eau". I've never detected a snide look or reaction, and the vast majority of locals seem to be drinking it too. In many restaurants it will even come in a bottle that has already been chilled, rather than a pitcher or standard type carafe.

Now in Italy -- that's a whole different story!!

I agree, Patrick, that getting a carafe d'eau in any French café or restaurant is a no brainer, but asking for a
*maison l'eau* is bound to elicit a totally weird response, since you're basically asking for the "house the water." You'd have to be singularly prescient to figure out what THAT customer wanted.

In Italy, I agree that you have to work harder to avoid the automatic dispensal of a bottle of mineral water and make sure that your request for tap water is fulfilled.