Practice
À la carte: meaning and use in English
Sign in to saveA restaurant menu offers a three-course dinner for one price, then another page with separate dishes and prices. The second page is the à la carte menu. You choose each item instead of taking the fixed meal.
Use à la carte to describe ordering separate menu items instead of choosing a fixed meal.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
à la carte /ˌɑː lə ˈkɑːt/
The short answer
À la carte means that you choose and pay for dishes separately. It contrasts with a set menu, where the restaurant offers a fixed combination of courses for one price.
We ordered à la carte because we wanted to share two starters and skip dessert.
Why it works: The diners choose individual dishes instead of following a pre-planned meal.
5 more examples
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The soup is available à la carte for six pounds.
The soup has its own price and can be ordered separately.
Not this:The soup comes with the
lunch set menu. What changes: Here the soup is part of a fixed meal rather than a separately priced choice. -
Nora chose an à la carte starter before her main course.
Nora selects one individual dish from the menu.
Not this:Nora chose the chef's
three-course menu. What changes: The meal follows a planned group of courses for one listed price. -
Could we see the à la carte menu, please?
The customer asks to see the list of separately priced dishes.
Not this:Could we see today's
set menu, please? What changes: The customer asks for a menu with a fixed selection or price. -
The restaurant serves lunch à la carte after two o'clock.
Customers can choose separate lunch dishes after that time.
Not this:The restaurant serves a
fixed lunchbefore two o'clock. What changes: The earlier meal follows the restaurant's planned combination. -
We shared one salad and ordered our mains à la carte.
The group chooses each main course individually.
Not this:We all selected the same
banquet menu. What changes: The group follows a shared fixed menu instead of choosing separate mains.
Read the full guide
When you see à la carte, look for separate prices beside individual dishes. If you want freedom to choose only the food you want, ask for the à la carte menu. If you prefer a planned group of courses at one price, look at the set menu instead.
Find the separate prices
An à la carte menu lists dishes one by one. A starter, main course, side dish, and dessert may each have a separate price. You decide which items to order.
The grilled vegetables are on the à la carte menu for five pounds.
The vegetables can be ordered by themselves, so the phrase à la carte fits.
A menu lists a pasta dish with its own price. Is it likely to be à la carte or part of a fixed meal?
It is likely to be à la carte because the dish has a separate price.
Compare it with a set menu
A set menu gives customers a planned meal. It may include two or three courses for one price, sometimes with a small choice in each course. The restaurant decides the structure of the meal.
For eighteen pounds, the set menu includes a starter, a main course, and coffee.
The price covers the stated combination. It is not an à la carte offer.
For eighteen pounds, I chose only a main course and a drink à la carte.
The customer builds the order from individual items, so the wording is à la carte.
Use it in a restaurant conversation
You can use the phrase when you ask about availability, prices, or choices. It often comes after the verb in a short question or statement.
Is the roast chicken available à la carte at dinner?
The speaker asks whether the chicken can be ordered on its own.
We would like to order à la carte tonight.
The group tells the server that it does not want the fixed meal.
Which phrase asks for individual choices: order à la carte or take the three-course set?
Order à la carte asks for individual choices.
Place the phrase naturally
Use an à la carte menu before a noun, or place à la carte after the verb when it describes how someone orders. Do not add an extra article before the phrase when it follows order.
The hotel has an à la carte breakfast menu on weekends.
Here à la carte describes the noun menu.
They ordered à la carte because one guest did not want a starter.
Here the phrase describes the way they ordered.
Complete the sentence: The guests ordered ___ because they wanted different main courses.
Use à la carte. It describes ordering individual items.
Choose the option that suits the meal
Choose by the kind of meal you want. An à la carte order gives you more control over each dish. A set menu can make the choice faster when you want the courses offered by the restaurant.
Sam only wants a main course, so he will order à la carte.
Sam can avoid paying for courses he does not want.
Mia wants the special three-course dinner, so she will take the set menu.
Mia chooses the restaurant's planned combination.
You want one side dish and no dessert. Which choice gives you that flexibility?
An à la carte order gives you the flexibility to choose only the items you want.
Before you go
Remember this
Use à la carte for separately ordered and separately priced menu items. Ask for an à la carte menu when you want to choose individual dishes. Use set menu or fixed-price menu when the restaurant offers a planned meal for one stated price.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
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Try the written questionsQuestions about "À la carte: meaning and use in English"
What does à la carte mean on a menu?
On a menu, à la carte means that each dish is ordered and priced separately. You can select only the starter, main course, side dish, or dessert that you want, instead of buying a fixed combination of courses.
The soup is available à la carte for six pounds.
What is the difference between à la carte and a set menu?
An à la carte menu lets you choose individual dishes with separate prices. A set menu offers a planned number of courses for one stated price, sometimes with a limited choice within each course. Compare the listed items and prices before ordering.
The soup comes with the lunch set menu.
Can I say order à la carte in English?
Yes. Order à la carte is natural when you mean choosing separate dishes from a restaurant menu. You can say, We ordered à la carte, or ask, Is this dish available à la carte? The phrase usually relates to food and menu choices.
Nora chose an à la carte starter before her main course.
Does à la carte always cost more than a set menu?
No. À la carte is about how the dishes are ordered, not a promise about price. It may suit you when you want fewer courses or different choices. A set menu may be cheaper when you want all of the courses it includes.
Nora chose the chef's three-course menu.
How do you pronounce à la carte?
In common English pronunciation, à la carte sounds like ah luh KART. The strongest stress falls on carte. Learn the phrase as a single menu expression, then use it when you are talking about separate restaurant items.
Could we see the à la carte menu, please?