À la carte (pronounced /ælæˈkɑrt/)^[1] is a French language loan phrase meaning "according to the menu", and used in restaurant terminology as:

• A reference to a menu of items priced and ordered separately, rather than selected from a list of preset multi-course meals at fixed prices, in contrast to a table d'hôte, at which a menu with limited or no choice is served at a fixed price.
• To designate an option to choose, at no extra charge, a side dish to accompany a main course item.

The phrase was adopted into English in 1826, predating by a decade the common use of the French language loanword menu.^[2][3]

[edit] See also

• A la carte cable television

[edit] References

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