What does it mean when soup is french served?

Answer 1

Traditionally, French service is a very formal version of an "all you can eat." The waiter typically brings a large presentation dish of the food (whether soup, salad or entree) to the guest and the guest serves themselves, as much and as often as they want. The waiter will continue to refill the large dish until the guest indicates they are done. Traditionally this was communicated to the serving staff by the guest placing their silverware at the top of his or her individual plate or bowl.

This is not nearly as common or formal as "English service," also called "silver service," but is much more formal than a buffet. French style service is very similar to the English "Butler service."

However, recently I have seen a quite few restaurants use "French served" to tag any and all menu items that are not plated in the kitchen, but rather served at the tableside by the serving staff. Sometimes this includes tableside preparation of the food as well.

For trivia's sake, it should be known that the most common method of service in use today in the U.S. is "Russian service." This means that each dish is prepared and plated in the kitchen by the chef and served to each guest individually.

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