A la carte (also à la carte), is a French expression meaning "from the menu", and it is used in restaurant terminology in one of two ways:

• It may refer to a menu of items priced and ordered separately rather than selected from a list of preset multi-course meals at set prices.

• Or it may designate the option to order a main course item alone that is otherwise served with a side or starter dish, such as soup or salad.

More generally, this expression can be used to descibe a way to choose items in a list, for instance "Video à la carte" can be translated in "video on demand".

French phrases

À la carte | À la carte