We have now eaten our approach throughout France, from the bustling bistros of Paris to tiny, family-run auberges within the countryside, and we’ve realized one easy fact: French delicacies is extra than simply meals. It’s a language of its personal, a lifestyle woven into the material of each village, metropolis, and residential. It’s the ritual of a morning croissant, the ceremony of a multi-course dinner, and the straightforward pleasure of an ideal baguette.
This isn’t only a checklist of conventional French meals. That is our information to the dishes we dream about, those we order the second we land, and the flavours that outline this unimaginable nation.
We’ll share our private tales, tips about the place to seek out the very best variations, and the know-how that can assist you navigate the menus with confidence. Put together to style the easiest of French cooking.
Finest French Meals To Attempt: A Fast Information
For first-time guests on the lookout for the very best meals in France, listed below are the important dishes so as to add to your checklist, damaged down by class:
High 5 Should-Attempt Dishes: In the event you solely have time for just a few, prioritize these: Boeuf Bourguignon, a traditional Croissant from a neighborhood boulangerie, Steak Frites in a Parisian bistro, Duck Confit (Confit de Canard), and a easy, good Baguette.
Basic Most important Programs:
Boeuf Bourguignon: Wealthy, slow-cooked beef stew in crimson wine.
Coq au Vin: Hen braised in crimson wine with mushrooms and bacon.
Duck Confit: Crispy, succulent duck leg cooked in its personal fats.
Cassoulet: Hearty white bean and meat casserole from the south.
From the Sea:
Bouillabaisse: The long-lasting saffron fish stew from Marseille.
Moules Frites: A steaming pot of mussels with a aspect of fries.
Huîtres (Oysters): Freshly shucked, particularly from the Brittany coast.
Starters & Bistro Favorites:
Soupe à l’Oignon (French Onion Soup): Topped with crusty, tacky bread.
Escargots de Bourgogne: Snails baked in garlic-parsley butter.
Quiche Lorraine: Savory tart with bacon, egg, and cream.
Foie Gras: A wealthy delicacy of duck or goose liver.
From the Boulangerie & Pâtisserie (Bakery & Pastry Store):
Baguette & Croissant: The important day by day breads and pastries.
Macarons: Delicate almond meringue cookies with varied fillings.
Crème Brûlée: Creamy custard with a crackly burnt sugar high.
Tarte Tatin: An upside-down caramelized apple tart.
Cheese & Alpine Specialties:
A Cheese Plate (Fromage): That includes cheeses like Comté, Roquefort, or Brie.
Raclette & Tartiflette: Molten cheese dishes good for winter.
Earlier than You Eat: Understanding French Eating Tradition
Navigating a French restaurant for the primary time can really feel intimidating, however just a few key pointers will make you are feeling like a neighborhood.
Easy methods to Learn the Menu:
Entrée: This implies starter or appetizer, not the principle course.
Plat: That is the principle course.
Dessert: Dessert.
Formule or Prix-Fixe: This can be a set menu, usually for lunch, providing wonderful worth. It often consists of two or three programs (e.g., entrée + plat or entrée + plat + dessert) for a hard and fast value.
Plat du Jour: The dish of the day, often recent, seasonal, and a specialty of the chef.
Important Eating Phrases:
“Bonjour/Bonsoir“: All the time greet the employees whenever you enter.
“Je voudrais…” (zhuh voo-dray): “I would really like…”
“L’addition, s’il vous plaît” (lah-dee-syon, seel voo play): “The invoice, please.”
“C’était délicieux!” (say-tay day-lee-syuh): “It was scrumptious!”
Bread, Water, and Tipping:
Bread: The bread basket just isn’t an appetizer to be eaten with butter earlier than your meal. It’s a utensil—use it to sop up the unimaginable sauces left in your plate.
Water: In the event you ask for water (“une carafe d’eau, s’il vous plaît“), you’ll get free faucet water. If you need bottled, it’s essential to specify eau plate (nonetheless) or eau gazeuse (glowing).
Tipping: Service is included by regulation within the ultimate value (service compris). Tipping just isn’t anticipated, but it surely’s frequent to spherical up the invoice or go away just a few additional euros in money for distinctive service.
Half 1: The Soul of Paris – The Bistro & Brasserie Expertise
There’s no higher introduction to conventional French meals than a traditional Parisian bistro. These bustling, intimate eateries are the center of French eating, serving timeless dishes perfected over generations.
French Onion Soup (Soupe à l’Oignon)
We as soon as ducked right into a tiny bistro in Le Marais on a miserably chilly, wet Parisian afternoon. The second a steaming bowl of soupe à l’oignon was positioned in entrance of us, the day was saved. The aroma of wealthy beef broth and caramelized onions is pure consolation.
What It Is: A wealthy, savory soup constructed from beef inventory and onions slowly caramelized till deeply candy. It’s served in a ceramic bowl, topped with a thick crouton and a effervescent, golden crust of Gruyère cheese.
Professional Tip: An ideal onion soup has a deep, darkish broth, which implies the onions had been cooked low and sluggish for hours. If the broth is pale, it’s a shortcut model.
The place to Attempt: Basic bistros and brasseries all through Paris, particularly within the colder months.
Steak Frites
That is the unofficial nationwide dish of each French brasserie. It’s easy, satisfying, and when executed proper, totally chic. Our favourite reminiscence is of a late-night dinner in Montmartre, sitting at a sidewalk desk, watching the world go by with a wonderfully cooked steak and a mountain of crispy fries.
What It Is: A high-quality steak (usually an entrecôte or bavette) pan-fried or grilled to your liking, served with a pile of frites (fries). It’s usually accompanied by a sauce, like a creamy peppercorn (au poivre) or a wealthy béarnaise.
Know Your Cuisson (Doneness):
Bleu: Barely seared, uncooked inside.
Saignant: Uncommon.
À level: Medium-rare (the usual French approach).
Bien cuit: Nicely-done.
The place to Attempt: Nearly any brasserie or bistro in France. For a traditional expertise, strive Le Relais de l’Entrecôte in Paris, which serves solely steak frites.
Duck Confit (Confit de Canard)
The primary time you expertise a correct duck confit is a culinary revelation. We had been within the Dordogne area, the heartland of duck nation, and had been served a leg of confit the place the pores and skin was so crisp it shattered like glass, revealing essentially the most succulent, fall-off-the-bone meat beneath.
What It Is: A duck leg slow-cooked in its personal fats for hours till extremely tender. It’s then pan-fried or broiled till the pores and skin is golden and crispy.
Professional Tip: It’s historically served with pommes de terre sarladaises, potatoes sautéed in garlic and, you guessed it, extra duck fats. Don’t miss this pairing.
The place to Attempt: The Southwest areas of France like Dordogne and Gascony are the epicenter, but it surely’s a staple on bistro menus nationwide.
Escargots de Bourgogne
Don’t be shy! For a lot of, consuming snails is a ceremony of passage in France. In spite of everything, whenever you consider traditional French meals, this involves the highest of your thoughts.
We had been hesitant on our first journey, however one chunk of that garlicky, parsley-infused butter and we had been transformed. Use the little tongs and fork, and have your bread able to mop up each final drop of the butter.
What It Is: Plump Burgundy snails baked of their shells with a beneficiant quantity of garlic, parsley, and butter.
Easy methods to Pronounce It: es-kar-goh duh boor-GOHN-yuh
Excellent Pairing: A crisp white wine like a Chablis or a glowing Crémant de Bourgogne to chop by way of the richness of the butter.
Steak Tartare
Ordering steak tartare seems like becoming a member of a secret membership. It’s a dish for purists, and we love watching the tableside preparation at old-school brasseries. In the event you belief the restaurant, you’re in for a deal with.
What It Is: Excessive-quality uncooked beef, hand-chopped (by no means minced), and seasoned with capers, onions, mustard, and a uncooked egg yolk.
Professional Tip: This dish is all in regards to the high quality of the meat. Solely order it at a good, busy bistro the place you might be assured of its freshness. In the event you’re not sure, ask if it’s ready au couteau (minimize by knife).
Croque-Monsieur & Croque-Madame
That is the final word French grilled cheese sandwich. It was our go-to lunch on busy sightseeing days in Paris; fast, reasonably priced, and extremely scrumptious.
What It Is: A sizzling sandwich made with baked ham and Gruyère cheese on ache de mie (delicate white bread), topped with creamy béchamel sauce and extra cheese, then broiled till bubbly. A Croque-Madame is identical however with a fried egg on high.
The place to Attempt: Any nook café or brasserie at lunchtime. It’s the right companion for a easy inexperienced salad with a pointy French dressing.
Half 2: Hearty Feasts: Flavours of the French Countryside
Enterprise past the cities, and also you’ll discover the country, slow-cooked dishes that type the true soul of French delicacies. These are the recipes handed down by way of generations.
Boeuf Bourguignon
I’ll always remember the primary time we had an actual Boeuf Bourguignon. We had been driving by way of Burgundy in late autumn, the vineyards blazing gold and crimson, and stumbled right into a tiny auberge close to Beaune. The air inside was thick with the scent of crimson wine and slow-cooked meat. It’s not only a beef stew; it’s a hug from the within out.
What It Is: A testomony to sluggish cooking and a kind of well-known French dishes you’ve got heard about. More durable cuts of Charolais beef are braised for hours in a full-bodied native Burgundy crimson wine, together with pearl onions, carrots, button mushrooms, and a bouquet garni of herbs. The result’s impossibly tender beef in a wealthy, shiny sauce.
The place to Attempt: Its native Burgundy. Search for eating places that checklist it as a plat du jour. A key signal of an awesome model is a sauce that’s deep, darkish, and coats the again of a spoon.
Coq au Vin
Like its beef-based cousin, Coq au Vin is one other iconic French stew. We had an unforgettable model in a conventional bouchon in Lyon, the place the sauce was so darkish it was virtually purple, an indication of a really genuine, long-simmered recipe.
What It Is: Hen (historically an older rooster, or coq) braised slowly in crimson wine with lardons (bacon), mushrooms, and pearl onions. The lengthy cooking time makes the hen extremely tender.
Easy methods to Pronounce It: kok-oh-VAN
The place to Attempt: Lyon is known for this dish, however you’ll discover it in conventional eating places throughout France.
Cassoulet
Be warned: cassoulet just isn’t a light-weight meal. It’s a wealthy, rib-sticking masterpiece. We shared one within the medieval metropolis of Carcassonne and promptly needed to take a protracted, sluggish stroll alongside the town partitions to get well. It was price each single chunk.
What It Is: A hearty, slow-baked casserole from the Languedoc area containing white beans, duck confit, pork sausage, and infrequently different meats like pork shoulder. It’s historically cooked in a clay pot and has a scrumptious crispy crust.
The place to Attempt: The cities of Toulouse, Carcassonne, and Castelnaudary every declare to have the one true recipe. Making an attempt it wherever on this area is a should.
Poulet Basquaise
This dish is a vibrant style of the French Basque Nation, with its sunny, daring flavours. It’s a gorgeous one-pot meal that captures the area’s love for peppers and tomatoes.
What It Is: Hen items braised in a flavorful sauce of piperade, a mixture of onions, inexperienced peppers, and tomatoes sautéed with a touch of Espelette pepper for a delicate heat.
The place to Attempt: The French Basque Nation within the southwest, close to the Spanish border.
Aligot
Watching aligot being served is half the enjoyable. This tacky, stretchy potato dish is pure theatre. A server will carry a spoonful excessive into the air, making a seemingly countless ribbon of molten cheese and potato.
What It Is: Silky easy mashed potatoes blended with garlic and Tomme de Laguiole or Cantal cheese, whipped till it develops an unimaginable, elastic texture.
Easy methods to Pronounce It: ah-lee-GOH
The place to Attempt: A specialty of the Aveyron and Auvergne areas in central France. It’s usually served with native sausages.
Half 3: A Style of the Coast – The Finest French Seafood
From the rugged coast of Brittany to the sun-drenched Mediterranean, France’s shoreline affords a number of the greatest seafood on the planet.
Bouillabaisse
Consuming bouillabaisse within the Vieux-Port (Outdated Port) of Marseille, with the fishing boats bobbing within the harbour, is a quintessential French meals expertise. It’s not only a soup; it’s a two-course occasion.
What It Is: An iconic fish stew from Marseille. An genuine model should include no less than 4 varieties of native rockfish. The aromatic, saffron-infused broth is served first with croutons and rouille (a spicy garlic mayonnaise), adopted by the fish fillets themselves.
Professional Tip: Actual bouillabaisse is pricey as a result of high quality and number of fish required. Be cautious of low cost variations marketed to vacationers.
Easy methods to Pronounce It: boo-yah-BESS
Moules Frites
This Belgian traditional has been wholeheartedly adopted by Northern France. There’s nothing higher than sitting at a seaside restaurant in Normandy or Brittany with an enormous steaming pot of mussels, a cone of salty fries, and a view of the ocean.
What It Is: A beneficiant portion of mussels, usually steamed in a broth of white wine, shallots, parsley, and garlic (marinières fashion). It’s at all times served with a aspect of fries.
Easy methods to Eat It: Use an empty mussel shell as a pair of pincers to pluck the meat from the others.
Oysters (Huîtres)
The French coast, significantly Brittany and Normandy, produces a number of the world’s best oysters. We love visiting the oyster market in Cancale, Brittany, the place you should purchase a dozen fresh-shucked oysters straight from the producers and eat them standing by the ocean with a squeeze of lemon.
What It Is: Contemporary, uncooked oysters, usually served on a mattress of ice with lemon wedges and a mignonette sauce (chopped shallots in crimson wine vinegar).
The place to Attempt: Coastal cities in Brittany and Normandy are greatest. In Paris, you’ll discover them at devoted seafood brasseries (écaillers), particularly throughout months with an ‘R’ in them.
Coquilles Saint-Jacques
This can be a wealthy, elegant dish usually served as a starter for a special day. The creamy sauce and golden-brown high make it pure indulgence.
What It Is: Plump sea scallops, usually poached in a wine-infused cream sauce with mushrooms, then positioned again right into a shell, topped with cheese or breadcrumbs, and browned underneath a grill.
The place to Attempt: A traditional on menus in Normandy, the center of France’s scallop fishing trade.
Sole Meunière
Easy, elegant, and timeless. This dish, famously beloved by Julia Baby, proves that with good elements and method, you don’t want difficult recipes to create one thing magical.
What It Is: An entire Dover sole, calmly dusted in flour, pan-fried in butter till golden, and served with a sauce of browned butter (beurre noisette), lemon juice, and recent parsley.
Excellent Pairing: A crisp, unoaked Chardonnay like Chablis.
Half 4: The Artwork of the Apéro – Cheese Course, Charcuterie & Wine
The hours earlier than dinner, generally known as l’apéro, are a cherished French ritual and actually a part of the French tradition.. It’s a time to unwind with a drink and a few savoury bites.
A Newbie’s Information to French Cheese
With over 1,000 varieties of cheese, figuring out the place to start out is daunting. A cheese course is usually served after the principle course and earlier than dessert. These are our favorite French cheeses:
Comté: A tough, nutty cheese from the Jura mountains.
Roquefort: A strong, salty blue cheese constructed from sheep’s milk.
Chèvre (Goat Cheese): Is available in many varieties, from delicate and recent to onerous and aged. Search for Crottin de Chavignol from the Loire Valley.
Camembert: A delicate, creamy, and earthy cheese from Normandy. Let it come to room temperature earlier than consuming.
Brie de Meaux: The well-known “King of Cheeses,” soft-ripened with a gentle, buttery flavour.
Cheese Plate (Fromages AOP). Begin with Comté (Jura), Camembert de Normandie (Normandy), Sainte-Maure de Touraine (Loire goat’s cheese), and Saint-Nectaire (Auvergne). Ask for cheeses “à level” (ripe). Be aware: the baguette, now on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage checklist, actually is half the enjoyment.
Charcuterie (Pâté, Terrine, Rillettes)
A charcuterie board is a celebration of preserved meats.
What It Is: A platter that includes quite a lot of cured meats and preparations.
Pâté & Terrine: A combination of floor meat (like pork, veal, or duck), fats, and seasonings, cooked in a mildew. A terrine is called for the dish it’s cooked in, whereas a pâté en croûte is baked in a pastry crust.
Rillettes: Meat (often pork) slow-cooked in its personal fats till it’s shreddable, then cooled to type a wealthy, savory unfold.
Easy methods to Eat It: Unfold it on a chunk of recent baguette and serve with cornichons (tiny pickles) and Dijon mustard.
Foie Gras
A controversial however undeniably iconic French delicacy. We first tried it seared sizzling (poêlé) at a Christmas market in Strasbourg, served merely on gingerbread. It was unbelievably wealthy and melted in our mouths.
What It Is: The specifically fattened liver of a duck or goose. It may be served as a chilly terrine (mi-cuit) with toast and fig jam, or seared sizzling.
Excellent Pairing: A candy dessert wine like a Sauternes from Bordeaux or a Jurançon from the Southwest.
Half 5: The Morning Ritual – The Boulangerie & Pâtisserie
No journey to France is full with out day by day visits to the native bakery (boulangerie) and pastry store (pâtisserie).
Baguette Custom
The French baguette is a cultural icon. Our day by day ritual in France is to seek out the very best native boulangerie and seize a heat baguette de custom for the day.
What It Is: A protracted, skinny loaf of bread with a crisp crust and a delicate, ethereal crumb. A “Custom” is made with solely flour, water, yeast, and salt, protected by French regulation.
Professional Tip: Search for bakeries with the “Artisan Boulanger” signal. A very good baguette ought to have an irregular, open crumb and a deeply golden, crackly crust.
Croissant & Ache au Chocolat
The scent of baking butter is the fragrance of a French morning. A correct croissant ought to be flaky, gentle as air, and go away a pleasant mess of crumbs throughout your plate.
What It Is: A laminated pastry, which means it’s made with numerous paper-thin layers of dough and butter. A ache au chocolat is identical dough wrapped round two sticks of darkish chocolate.
Professional Tip: Keep away from pale, doughy-looking croissants. An ideal one is deep golden-brown and has clearly outlined layers.
Macarons
These delicate, jewel-like almond meringue cookies are a world away from the coconut macaroons you is likely to be used to. We love sampling the ingenious seasonal flavours on the well-known Parisian patisseries.
What It Is: Two light-as-air almond meringue shells sandwiching a flavorful filling like ganache, buttercream, or jam.
The place to Attempt: Pierre Hermé and Ladurée are essentially the most well-known in Paris, however many native patisseries have wonderful variations.
Tarte Tatin
A cheerful accident. This upside-down caramelized apple tart was created by the Tatin sisters within the nineteenth century once they supposedly overcooked the apples and tried to salvage the dish by placing the pastry on high.
What It Is: Apples caramelized in butter and sugar till darkish and sticky, then baked underneath a layer of pastry. It’s inverted earlier than serving.
Easy methods to Eat It: Served heat, usually with a dollop of crème fraîche or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Crème Brûlée
The satisfying crack of the caramelized sugar topping is among the nice joys of French desserts. It’s a traditional for a purpose.
What It Is: A wealthy, creamy vanilla custard base with a contrasting layer of hardened, brittle caramelized sugar on high.
Professional Tip: The highest ought to be skinny and shatter simply with a spoon. The custard beneath ought to be cool and silky easy.
Half 6: Informal Bites & Market Fare
Not each French meal is a proper affair. These dishes are good for a fast lunch, a picnic, or an off-the-cuff market go to.
Quiche Lorraine
The quintessential French savory tart. It’s good for a light-weight lunch or a picnic.
What It Is: A wealthy, open-faced tart with a pastry crust full of a savory custard of eggs, cream, and smoky lardons (bacon).
The place to Attempt: Initially from the Lorraine area, however present in each boulangerie and traiteur (deli) throughout France.
Crêpes & Galettes
We spent every week in Brittany, the birthplace of the crêpe, and ate them virtually every single day. They’re extremely versatile and scrumptious.
What It Is: Crêpes are skinny pancakes constructed from wheat flour and are usually served with candy fillings (sugar, Nutella, fruit). Galettes are from the identical household however are made with savory buckwheat flour and full of issues like cheese, ham, and eggs (une complète).
Professional Tip: In Brittany, they’re historically served with a bowl of native dry cider.
Salade Niçoise
This isn’t only a salad; it’s an entire meal in a bowl, filled with the recent flavours of the French Riviera.
What It Is: A composed salad from Good that includes tomatoes, inexperienced beans, hard-boiled eggs, olives, and anchovies or tuna.
Good to Know: An genuine Niçoise salad doesn’t include cooked potatoes or lettuce, however many fashionable variations embody them.
Ratatouille
A gorgeous summer time vegetable stew that tastes of the Provence solar. It’s way over the straightforward dish from the film.
What It Is: A vibrant stew of eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, onions, and tomatoes, slow-cooked with garlic and herbs. Every vegetable is commonly cooked individually to take care of its texture and flavour earlier than being mixed.
The place to Attempt: Provence, in the summertime, when the greens are at their peak.
Raclette & Tartiflette (The Alpine Expertise)
These are the final word winter consolation meals, greatest loved in a comfortable chalet after a day of snowboarding within the French Alps.
What They Are:
Raclette: A big wheel of Raclette cheese is melted and scraped onto diners’ plates over boiled potatoes, charcuterie, and pickles.
Tartiflette: A ridiculously good casserole of sliced potatoes, lardons, onions, and an entire wheel of creamy Reblochon cheese baked on high till molten and golden.
Ideas for Gluten-Free Travellers in France
Whereas France is bread-and-pastry heaven, consuming gluten-free may be very manageable.
Give attention to naturally gluten-free dishes like grilled meats and fish (grillé), seafood platters, ratatouille, and most salads.
Buckwheat galettes (galettes de sarrasin) are your greatest buddy—they’re naturally gluten-free and scrumptious.
Carry a French Celiac eating card (carte de régime coeliaque) to obviously talk your wants. Merely stating “sans gluten” (with out gluten) can be very efficient.
To actually know France, it’s essential to eat your approach by way of it. Be adventurous. Attempt the dish you may’t pronounce. Belief the waiter’s suggestion. Each meal is a chance for discovery, an opportunity to attach with the tradition, the land, and the individuals. Bon appétit!
Steadily Requested Questions on French Meals
Whereas it’s onerous to slim down, 5 of essentially the most iconic and important French meals are Boeuf Bourguignon for its rustic historical past, the Croissant for its baking artistry, Steak Frites as the final word bistro meal, Bouillabaisse representing the Mediterranean coast, and Crème Brûlée for its common attraction as a traditional dessert.
A standard multi-course meal follows a particular construction. It usually begins with an apéritif (a pre-dinner drink with small bites), adopted by an entrée (starter), a plat (important course), then a cheese course (fromage), and at last a dessert. Espresso is often served after dessert, not with it. This construction is extra frequent for particular events or weekend meals.
It’s changing into extra so, but it surely requires some navigation. Basic French delicacies is closely meat- and fish-based. Nonetheless, yow will discover wonderful vegetarian choices like Ratatouille, vegetable tarts (tartes aux légumes), Aligot, cheese plates, and salads (you should definitely order a Salade Niçoise sans thon). Many fashionable eating places, particularly in bigger cities, now have devoted vegetarian menus. All the time be clear when ordering: “Je suis végétarien/végétarienne.”
Paris is a melting pot of French delicacies, but it surely’s significantly well-known for its bistro and brasserie tradition. The quintessential Parisian meals are Steak Frites, French Onion Soup, Croque-Monsieur, Duck Confit, and street-side crêpes. It’s additionally the worldwide capital of pâtisserie, so classics like Macarons, Croissants, and Paris-Brest are at their greatest right here.