A la carte (also à la carte), is a French phrase meaning "from the menu", and it is used in restaurant terminology in one of two ways: Toms Diner, a restaurant in New York familiarized by Suzanne Vega and the television sitcom Seinfeld A restaurant is an establishment that serves prepared food and beverages to be consumed on the premises. ... Terminology is the set of all the terms related to a given subject field or discipline. ...

First, it may refer to a menu of items priced and ordered separately rather than selected from a list of preset multi-course meals at set prices.

Second, it may designate the option to order a main course item alone that is otherwise served with a side or starter dish, such as soup or salad.