A la Carte

In restaurants, à la carte /ɑːləˈkɑːrt/ is the practice of ordering individual dishes from a menu in a
restaurant, as opposed to table d'hôte, where a set menu is offered. It is an early 19th century loan from
French meaning "according to the menu".

The individual dishes to be ordered may include side dishes, or the side dishes may be offered
separately, in which case, they are also considered à la carte.
An entrée (/ˈɒ̃treɪ/, US also /onˈtreɪ/; in modern French table service and that of much of the English-
speaking world (apart from the United States and parts of Canada) is a dish served before the main
course of a meal; it may be the first dish served, or it may follow a soup or other small dish or dishes.
In the United States and parts of Canada, an entrée is the main dish or the only dish of a meal.[
Historically, the entrée was one of the stages of the “Classical Order” of formal French table service
of the 18th and 19th centuries, i.e., potage, hors d’œuvre, entrée, roast (rôti), salad, entremets, and
dessert.