My husband and I will be in southern France for two weeks in about a month. I was wondering whether it's possible to share restaurant meals. Neither of us are big eaters, and at home we frequently order one or two appetizers, one entree and one dessert, and share.

Could we order a one fixed price menu to share, plus one additional entree or plat? Is it considered rude to do so? And, if it's NOT rude, how does one ask to share a meal in French?

Thanks for your help,
Alice

yes you can share - but don't count on doing it.

The meals will not be the huge portions you get in most Stateside restaurants. They serve enough for one person - and I don't mean a sumo wrestler . . . . .

I don't know if its rude but its probably rare they are asked and might be a bit miffed you are taking 2 places and ordering 1 meal. Prix Fixe is for an individual. I can see splitting a starter or main but NOT a set menu. They have to make a living too In Ireland they sometimes do half portions and its usually for elderly people who do not want a full meal.

You might do a search on this board to see if you can come up with the thread from a few months ago on this very topic. It was pretty extensive and people had a variety of opinions on the matter...

It'll be fine provided you don't block up a busy place. Don't worry about saying it in French. Most servers speak some English, and provided you observe the tradition of politesse, they will understand and co-operate.

But I think janisj is probably right: the least you will want will probably be one set meal and an extra main course.

It's not done in France. Why can't you just order "a la carte" for one person and the other person orders the regular menu? Then, you can ask for an extra plate if you like but I would not order ONLY one meal and share it.

I agree with the rest of the posters. You will find, happily, that menu portions are generally smaller than in the U.S. (if that's where you're coming from).

I wouldn't share an entree (main course; remember that in France, the entree is the appetizer course); to me, that would be rude (though this opinion is not based on personal experience). But I'm sure my husband and I have shared an appetizer, on occasion, with no objections. Also, while I don't have any personal experience one way or the other, I would feel uncomfortable sharing the prix fixe menu. To me, it would be similar to one person ordering an "all you can eat" dinner and then sharing it.

If you think you'll be too full, you can each order a main course and split an appetizer, and skip the dessert. But I don't think you will be!

If you do want to split or share an item, my French is not very good, but the phrase I would use is "nous voudrions partager" ... then name the item. Even if it's not proper French, it will get the point across.

Enjoy!

The best thing for you is to order a la carte. You can order just an appetizer and a dessert. What I often do is ordering two appetizers and a dessert. This is perfectly fine.

But do NOT start changing a set menu. This will cause difficulties for the kitchen and for the waiter. Set menu means that it is set. Period.

This question is very deja vu, it seems virtually identical wording to one before.

I would say, no, you can't order one prix fixe dinner and split it. It isn't just being "rude", this is a business. By definition, that meal is for one person. I think if you want to split an appetizer or dessert, that's okay. Understand what an "entree" is.

Goodness knows we do this all the time in the States. My mom and I had dinner at Travolta in Paris once and we split the (unbelievably huge) salad, then each had separate veal and pasta meals. The meals were not small, but they weren't overwhelming either.

Doing it all the time in the States doesn't necessarily equate, because prix fixe meals aren't the norm in the States.

I've always found that sharing an appetizer or a dessert in France is acceptable. Sharing a prix fixe meals to me would be rude, as the whole idea behind it is that it's a discounted meal for one person.

I've seen meals shared with dogs in some restaurants and no one seemed bothered so why not humans with canine teeth?

Portions wil be much smaller than in most places in the US - so don;t count on one meal being enough for 2 people.

And - it makes a difference if you're ordering a la cate or prix fixe. If you do the latter it's really not fair to share -since you're already getting a bargain from them. And if you ask, don;t be surprised if they charge you an extra "plate" charge.

If you order a la carte it's different - many people share appetizers - or esp desserts - no one will think anything of that - as long as each of you orders a main dish.

Yes, sharing hors d'oeuvres and desserts is common (except it is done discreetly for the all-you-can-eat chocolate mousse at the Bistro Romain chain).

Main courses, no, except in ethnic restaurants (Chinese, Indian, etc.). But in ethnic restaurants, people are supposed to share all dishes anyway.

Hi A,

>Could we order a one fixed price menu to share, plus one additional entree or plat?

Of course.

My Lady Wife and I often do that.

Don't expect to share one FP meal.

Just a note re portion sizes and comparisons between France and the U.S. I generally don't find much of a discrepancy between the countries between portion size so long as you're comparing restaurants of the same type: downmarket to downmarket, upmarket to upmarket.

That said, I find French servings often on the large size, and heavy use of butter and cream make them altogether unmanageable.

One prix fixe and one plat perfectly acceptable. And it's also perfectly acceptable to ask for two entrees, one served with your partner's entree and one with his plat.

Desserts do tend to be a bit smaller, so if unless you really only want a bite of his (or he of yours) order your own.

If you want to do that order off a regular menu.

It is not cool to share a fixed price meal, the price is meant for just one meal for one person.