Not always, but usually I split a meal with my sister when we go out for dinner and I want to make sure that doing this in Europe will be acceptable, I don't want to insult the culture.. I will be enjoying meals in England, France, Italy, Denmark, Austria, Spain, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
Posted by
OP
Edmonds, WA, US
31 posts
Thanks Kent!
Posted by
Seattle
89 posts
What about leaving food on the plate? When I was in Paris a couple years ago I found the "generally smaller portions" to be much too large for me. A few waiters gave me an odd look when I didn't finished the food. Is this just because they're use to Americans pigging out and eating everything in front of them, or is it something that is considered impolite? Or did I just have an occasional strange waiter?
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
Well it is true there is a " clean your plate" mentality there to some degree. There are two parts to this, first they always wonder if some thing was "wrong" with the food, but will rarely ask , since they assume the food was good and you are crazy,( just kidding) ,and also since they never snack, the meals are generally not hard to finish, plus remember they expect you to sit there for HOURS so figure you will eventually finish, they do think it odd the way we eat quickly and are just " done now" .
You also had an odd waiter or two,LOL
Anyways, I personally split desserts and appetizers, but rarely would I do that for an main, especially at dinner and especially at a restaurant as opposed to a cafe or bistro.
Portions are not huge so if you only order on main dish and no appys or dessert you must have a tiny appetite( lucky you!) I think you could play this one by ear, as I said, if you actually take a table for the evening and only order one meal between the 2 of you, well..