A British menu runs in three courses: starters, mains, then puddings or desserts, with side dishes priced separately. The small marks beside the dishes are where visitors go wrong: "GF" has a legal meaning, "V" and "VG" are the restaurant's own claims, "may contain" is voluntary, and the calorie figures appear only at larger chains.
Most of the confusion is about structure rather than vocabulary. You order a main and find it arrives without potatoes. You see a dish marked vegan and assume it is free of milk. You order a burger and are asked how you want it cooked. Each of these has a simple explanation once you know how a British menu is put together and what the law says about the labels on it.
For the individual food words, from bap to bubble and squeak, see our guide to British food words, and for the dishes themselves our page on traditional British food. This page takes the menu as a document, from the top of the card to the small print at the bottom.
The marks on a British menu
- V
- Vegetarian, as the restaurant defines it
- VG or Ve
- Vegan, as the restaurant defines it; may still carry a "may contain" warning
- GF
- Gluten-free: by law no more than 20 mg of gluten per kilogram
- DF, N
- Dairy-free; contains nuts. Common but not standardised
- kcal
- Calories per portion, required at businesses with 250 or more employees
- MP
- Market price: ask before you order
How the courses are ordered, and the word entrée
A British menu usually opens with starters, small first courses, followed by mains and then puddings or desserts, which mean the same course. Some menus add small plates or sharing plates in place of starters, and many add a section of sides.
The word that trips up North Americans is entrée. In the United States it means the main course. In Britain it is rarely used at all, and on the few menus written in the French style it means the course before the main. If you see it, look at the prices and the position on the card: a section of cheaper dishes above the mains is a section of starters, whatever it is called.
Nobody expects you to order three courses. A main alone, or a starter and a main, is entirely normal, and staff will not hover. At lunch, two starters instead of a main is common too.
Sides, supplements and "served with"
In many London restaurants a main course is exactly what it says and nothing more: a piece of fish on a plate. Chips, potatoes, salad and vegetables are listed separately under sides, each with its own price, usually a few pounds. Read the main's description; if it lists no potato, there probably is none.
Two phrases need decoding. "Served with seasonal vegetables" means the kitchen's choice of the day, not a dish you choose. "Market price", often shortened to MP, means the price changes with what the kitchen paid that morning, usually for whole fish, lobster or crab. Ask the price before you order it.
On fixed-price menus, a dish with a figure such as "+£4" beside it carries a supplement on top of the menu price. A dish marked "for two" is priced for the whole dish, not per person, and is usually a large cut of meat or a whole fish.
Set menus, prix fixe and pre-theatre
A set menu, also called a fixed-price menu or prix fixe, offers two or three courses from a short list at one price. It is usually served only at certain times, typically lunch on weekdays and an early evening slot, and it is the cheapest way to eat in a good restaurant. A pre-theatre menu is the early-evening version, built to get you out in time for a 19:30 curtain; our guide to eating before a West End show covers the timing.
A tasting menu is the opposite: many small courses, chosen by the kitchen, at a high fixed price, and usually for the whole table. Read the small print on any set menu for the hours, the supplements and whether the whole table must order it.
V, VG and GF: which marks the law defines
British menus mark dietary dishes with letters, but there is no single official system, and the letters do not all carry the same weight.
GF is the one with a legal definition. Under the retained EU rules on gluten claims, food described as gluten-free must contain no more than 20 mg of gluten per kilogram. That says nothing about a shared fryer or a floured worktop, which is why coeliac diners still ask; our guide to gluten-free eating in London covers the questions.
V and VG (or Ve) are the restaurant's own description. Food law requires that information about food is not misleading, but there is no British certification behind the letters on a menu. In particular, "vegan" is a description of the recipe, not a guarantee against traces: the Food Standards Agency's guidance says a precautionary "may contain" warning can be used together with vegan or vegetarian labelling. Someone with a milk allergy should treat a vegan mark as a starting point, not as clearance. Our guide to vegan and vegetarian London lists the ingredients that hide in dishes which look meat-free.
"May contain" and the allergen line at the bottom
Near the foot of most menus you will find a sentence telling you to ask staff about allergens. That is a lawful way for a restaurant to meet its duty to tell you about the fourteen regulated allergens; it does not have to print them all. Ask, and ask how the dish is cooked as well as what goes into it.
A "may contain" warning is different. It is voluntary, and the Food Standards Agency's guidance says it should be used only when a risk assessment has found a risk of cross-contact that cannot be removed, and that blanket statements such as "may contain allergens" could mislead. So a menu with no "may contain" line has not necessarily been checked; it may simply not have been labelled.
The labelling rule known as Natasha's Law, in force since 1 October 2021, covers food wrapped by the business itself ahead of your order, such as a sandwich in the café chiller, which must carry its name and a full ingredients list with the allergens emphasised. It does not cover a dish cooked to order from the menu. Our guide to allergens and eating out in Britain is the full explanation of both rules.
The calorie figures are the reliable sign of a large operator. Calorie labelling is required only of businesses with 250 or more employees. A menu with "kcal" beside every dish belongs to a chain or a large group; a menu without them almost always belongs to a smaller business.
The calorie numbers, and the menu without them
Since 6 April 2022, the Calorie Labelling (Out of Home Sector) (England) Regulations 2021 have required larger food businesses in England to show the energy content of each dish in kilocalories, followed by "kcal", next to the description or the price. Every page of the menu must also carry the statement that "adults need around 2000 kcal a day", except on pages for children's food only.
Several things are exempt. Alcoholic drinks over 1.2% are not labelled, nor are condiments you add yourself, nor dishes on the menu for fewer than 30 consecutive days, which is why the specials board often has no numbers. A dish changed at your request is exempt too.
If you would rather not see the numbers, the regulations allow a restaurant to hand you a menu without calorie information, but only when you ask for one. It is a reasonable thing to request, and our page on eating out with children notes how the rule plays out at family chains.
Steak, burgers and the question about cooking
Order a steak in London and you will be asked how you want it cooked. The usual scale, from least to most cooked, is blue, rare, medium rare, medium, medium well and well done.
Burgers are different. Most are cooked through. A restaurant that offers a beef burger pink or medium is following Food Standards Agency guidance on what it calls less than thoroughly cooked burgers, which it says are considered "a greater risk of food poisoning" than burgers cooked through. The guidance expects the business to tell its council, buy from an approved supplier and use a validated cooking method, and treats a warning to customers at the point of sale as best practice, particularly for vulnerable groups. If the menu offers a choice, that warning is the line you are looking for. Our guide to burgers in London covers the places themselves.
Words in the descriptions that change the plate
A handful of words in the dish descriptions catch visitors most often. Each one has a fuller explanation elsewhere on the site; this is the quick version for reading a card at the table.
| On the menu | What arrives |
|---|---|
| Chips | Thick fried potatoes. Thin ones are fries; packet ones are crisps |
| Jacket potato | A whole baked potato with a filling, usually at lunch |
| Gravy | Hot sauce from meat juices; usually made with meat stock, even on a vegetarian plate unless stated |
| Liquor (in a pie and mash shop) | Parsley sauce, not alcohol. See our page on pie and mash |
| Pudding | The dessert course, or a named dish that may be savoury |
| Squash | Diluted fruit cordial, usually on the children's menu |
| Bap, roll, bun, barm | All bread rolls; the word depends on where the cook comes from |
| Yorkshire pudding | Baked batter served with a roast, explained on our Sunday roast page |
The bottom of the menu and the bill
Prices on a British menu include VAT, so the figure printed is the figure charged, before any service charge. The small print at the bottom usually says whether a service charge will be added, typically as a percentage and described as discretionary. Our guide to tipping in London explains what that means and when to skip the tip screen. Some restaurants also print a per-person cover charge, usually for bread or table service; it should be on the menu before you order, not a surprise on the bill.
Two last checks before you sit down. The food hygiene rating is not on the menu, but you can look it up in thirty seconds, as our guide to reading a hygiene rating shows. And if you want to bring wine to an unlicensed restaurant, our page on corkage covers when that is allowed.
Frequently asked questions
What does entrée mean on a British menu?
It is rarely used. When it does appear, usually on a French-style menu, it means the course before the main, not the main course as in the United States. Look at where the section sits and what it costs: the dishes above the mains are starters, whatever the heading says.
Does a main course come with sides in London?
Often not. Many London restaurants list chips, potatoes, vegetables and salad separately under sides, each with its own price. Read the dish description: if it mentions no potato or vegetables, assume there are none and order a side if you want one.
Is food marked vegan on a British menu safe for a milk allergy?
Not necessarily. Vegan describes the recipe, and Food Standards Agency guidance allows a "may contain" warning alongside vegan labelling where there is a risk of cross-contact. Tell your server about the allergy and ask how the dish is prepared before you order.
What does kcal mean on a London menu?
Kcal is short for kilocalories, the energy in a portion. Since April 2022 businesses in England with 250 or more employees must show it next to each dish, with the statement that adults need around 2,000 kcal a day. Smaller restaurants are not required to, and you can ask a large chain for a menu without the figures.
Sources
- legislation.gov.uk - The Calorie Labelling (Out of Home Sector) (England) Regulations 2021 (checked November 2026)
- Food Standards Agency - Precautionary allergen labelling (checked November 2026)
- Food Standards Agency - PPDS allergen labelling for restaurants, cafés and pubs (checked November 2026)
- Food Standards Agency - Less than thoroughly cooked beef burgers: guidance for food businesses (checked November 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk - Regulation (EU) No 828/2014 on gluten-free claims, annex (checked November 2026)