Law Regarding Menu Display

[April Rivers]

Does anyone know the exact law as to where a menu should be displayed?

I know one has to be outside but, should there be a copy of the menu inside (placed on a wall for instance) as well as the ones you give to customers when they sit down?

Thanks in advance.

April

[Miki]

April,

As no one else has answered, I can only speak for our time in the

biz.  Yes the menu and tarif has to be placed outside but inside,

we never had anything more than the menus given out individually. It

is also not totally necessary to put everything on the menu outside.

Most of it to be honest, is there to bring clients in, although of

course it is outside so potential clients can see the prices they can

expect to pay.

[Cassis]

I can't recall seeing the restaurant menu anywhere other than outside plus on the table or delivered to the table, unless the restaurant was one of those that likes to post 'today's specials' on a blackboard.

I think if you have a separate bar then the drinks prices have to be displayed there.

If it's a real concern, best check with the douaniers, purt etrah?

[Jc]

Drink prices certainly must be displayed outside.

[Miki]

Grey point with drinks.

A bar even a bar /resto has to name a certain amount of drinks, like

café, pression, jus d'orange and a few others.I am sure everyone has

seen the tatty bit of plastic hanging forlornly in the window, showing

a few obligatory and selected prices ! !! There is no obligation for a

whole long list.

[April Rivers]

Thank you for all your replies.  You have all said what I thought, that the menu (or at least some sort of list) should be outside but not neccessarily inside too.

The reason for the post was that we had a visit from the Gendarmes the other day who said that it was an infringement of the law NOT to have a menu on display inside the café on the wall as well as outside.  And, that we must put a copy up before they came back.

I told them that when a customer comes in we immediately handed them a printed menu but that didn't seem to make any diiference to them.

We are not McDonald's (who do have a great big menu inside, but do not hand any out to customers) and I am at a bit of a loss as to what to do, perhaps contact the Chambre des Commerces, or Metiers for clarification.

Any further suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

April

P.S. I believe these are the same Gendarmes who someone posted about on the 'Driving in France' thread.  They were stopped and issued a fine for have a EU (British) driving licence whilst driving a French registered car.  My point being that maybe they don't know what they are talking about!

[Ronan]

Not that I know anything about this subject but from experience: bar/cafe will always have a "menu"fo drinks served inside. This is usually a pre-printed menu where the café has just added prices in-front of each items. It's never very precise and, in my youth, was the source of my puzzlement as to what "adjuvants" were :-)

No idea if it's a legal requirement but it's certainly usually/always there...

--------------------

ah ah... after some googling:

from http://www.finances.gouv.fr/DGCCRF/04_dossiers/concurrence/fichespro/24hotel.htm?ru=04

towards the bottom, reglementation for cafés:

Affichage des prix

Arrêté du 27 mars 1987 modifié par l'arrêté du 29 juin 1990.

À l'extérieur

Liste des boissons et denrées à afficher :

- tasse de café noir

- un demi de bière à la pression

- un flacon de bière (contenance servie)

- un jus de fruit (contenance servie)

- un soda (contenance servie)

- une eau minérale (contenance servie)

- un apéritif anisé (contenance servie)

- un plat du jour

- un sandwich

Il s'agit des boissons et denrées couramment servies, nommément désignées.

L'affichage doit être visible et lisible de l'extérieur, et sur les emplacements extérieurs réservés à la clientèle .

Hauteur des lettres : 1,5 cm

Indiquer : "prix service compris (taux entre parenthèses)".

À l'intérieur

Document exposé à la vue du public et directement lisible par la clientèle.

Ce document comporte la liste, par rubrique, de toutes les boissons et denrées offertes à la vente avec le prix de chaque prestation

while for Restaurants:

Arrêté du 27 mars 1987 modifié par l'arrêté du 29 juin 1990.

À l'extérieur

Affichage visible et lisible de l'extérieur, pendant la durée du service, et au minimum à partir de 11h.30 pour le déjeuner, 18h. pour le dîner.

Indiquer : "prix service compris (taux entre parenthèses)".

Liste des prestations à afficher :

menus et cartes du jour (si certains menus ne sont servis qu'à certaines heures de la journée, cela doit être clairement indiqué sur le document affiché)

Mention "boisson comprise" ou "boisson non comprise" pour les menus.

Carte des vins comportant au moins :

- les prix de 5 vins ou des vins s'il en est servi - de 5

- à défaut de vins, liste et prix de 5 boissons couramment servies.

La nature et la contenance des boissons doit être indiquée dans tous les cas.

À l'intérieur

Menus et cartes : mise à la disposition de la clientèle de documents identiques à ceux affichés à l'extérieur.

Boissons : l'affichage des boissons servies à l'occasion des repas peut être remplacée par une carte mise à la disposition de la clientèle et comportant les prix de l'ensemble des prestations offertes.

Cette carte peut être un document distinct du menu ; elle peut aussi être inscrite de façon lisible au dos du menu.

[Chancer]

The brasserie next door to me seems to comply by having the minimum and he is very conscious of the Gendarmes.

Once I helped him open specially on a Saturday morning to help feed and water the thousands of expected British tourists queing for the shuttle buses for the 90th anniversary of the battle of the Somme. I made up some signs in English but he was frightened to put them on the pavement, I also gave him some bacon and again he wanted to charge the same as what was on his menu for a ham baguette.

This is what he has:

Outside:

Small sign "Menu de jour 11 euros boisson comprise" (4 courses with wine and coffee)

Inside:

A board showing the menu de jour for that day.

Menus are available but only given if the customer wants to choose a la carte or home made pizzas but 95% take the menu de jour

There is also a faded bit of plastic with some old, out of date and indecipherable drinks prices handwritten on.

Amongst some paper signs he recently put up when he started selling sandwiches and americains is one showing the price of draught beer, jus d'orange and one bottled beer.