In Turkey, Egypt and other countries where we recently go on vacation, resort hotels are invited to visit one or more a la carte restaurants. What kind of catering establishment is this? How does it differ, say, from the "main restaurant" of the hotel? How to dress for his visit? What to order, how to behave? Is it a pleasure to pay? Do I need to leave a tip? Read about all this in this article.
The meaning of the term
And what does the expression a la carte mean? The translation is literally as follows: a catalog of dishes and drinks available at a catering establishment . That is the menu. This list also contains prices for each item. In fact, “a la carte” is a restaurant familiar to all of us, where you sit down at a table, a waiter approaches you, gives you a menu, you choose what you will eat and drink, and you know in advance how much you will have to pay for all this pleasure. However, this French expression has a different meaning besides the “menu”: a la carte - it is also “optional”, “optional”. At first glance, it seems that this is one and the same. However, this is not quite true. The brochure offered to guests at some restaurants and cafes may include menu numbers. Each of them involves a certain set of dishes with a fixed price. As a rule, this is a salad, a hot dish, dessert, drink. The guest is allowed to select only the menu number, but he cannot make a complete list of the desired products. In "a la carte" provide such an opportunity. At the request of the guest, you can serve the dish with one or another side dish or salad.
What is the difference between an a la carte restaurant and a usual in a resort hotel
When you buy a ticket to Turkey or Egypt, the tour operator usually praises the merits of a particular hotel. Some of these hotels have a bonus for customers with an all-inclusive meals system: a single visit to the à la carte restaurant. And where to eat every day? - you are perplexed. In the main restaurant of the hotel, the service is held in buffet style . All dishes are displayed in large vessels, and guests themselves choose what they eat and how much. It seems that better than you can imagine. You can try a little bit of everything, and then eat plenty of food you like. However, the assortment of dishes in such restaurants does not change and quickly bothers. The food is ordinary, European, exotic served only for dinner. In addition, queues are not uncommon in such establishments. But the a la carte restaurant is a completely different type of service.
Exquisite charm
Any five-star hotel and a good four-star hotel in Turkey and Egypt must have such a chip for their guests. Sometimes there are several such restaurants, and guests have the right once for free in each of them to have lunch or dinner. And in very expensive hotels, such as Kremlin Palace and Rixos, you can visit the a la carte restaurant at least daily. As a rule, these are themed restaurants . In addition to cuisines of different nations of the world (Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, etc.), they can still represent the main direction of dishes. So, there are fish restaurants that also serve well-cooked seafood. “Grill a la carte” establishments are interesting: the guest selects meat, fish or vegetables from the menu, the waiter brings the raw order with the mini roasting pan. The client fries the dish himself. He wants it - with blood or baked to charcoal. It also happens that it is proposed to choose one item each from appetizers, soups, hot dishes, desserts and drinks.
Etiquette in such restaurants
A la carte establishment of a higher class than the usual food point in the hotel. And even if a visit to such a restaurant is included in the price of the ticket, you need to prepare for a trip to it. Usually, hotel rules require you to book a table in advance. The dishes are served in a festive atmosphere, often by candlelight, the waiter brings the dishes, live music sounds. People come here not so much to eat as to enjoy refined dishes and communication. And the food in a la carte is much higher quality. The wines are mainly imported, and the dishes, as they say, are “from the chef”. Therefore, visiting the restaurant should not be in beachwear, but in holiday dresses and costumes. As for tips, they are only welcome here. Leaving a small amount to the waiter, you thereby praise the art of the cooks and show that you were satisfied with the service.