Fish and seafood in French restaurants

The last time I ordered seafood in France (20 years ago!) I was served shrimp that had not been peeled and a companion who ordered trout got a fish with the head and skin still attached. Is this still the norm? I love fish and seafood but I just don%26#39;t want to work that hard to eat! Also, what are the words I should be looking for on a menu to determine if an entree will be served %26quot;naked%26quot; (so to speak) or not?

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Probably the easiest is to ask the waiter if there is doubt.

Note that in France (as everywhere outside North America), %26quot;entree%26quot; means %26quot;starter%26quot;. The main course is the %26quot;plat%26quot;.

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%26lt;%26lt;Is this still the norm?%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;

It depends upon the fish but if it is smaller (pan sized) such as loup, dorade, or truite it will be served most likely whole. Rouget and rascasse though smaller are usually served filleted.

Mérou, espadon, morue and other larger fish awill probably not be served whole.

It spite of the perceived difficulties, deboning fish is not particularly difficult. I have seen young French children (6-7 years old) quickly yet quite skillfully devour whole trout in minutes.

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Look for %26quot;darne%26quot; on the menu - a slice of (big) fish such as tuna, salmon etc... Also %26quot;lotte%26quot; or %26quot;baudroie%26quot; (same fish) has just one big central bone and is very easy to eat.

You can also ask the waiter to debone the fish for you.

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There are foodies who would decry your dislike of the whole fish but I understand what you mean by having to work hard, and I dont like the white eyes, yuk!

As already explained, plate sized fish are usually served whole and this proves that you got what you asked for. Good restaurants will bone these for you on request.

A darne is a slice through the fish, a filet is a deboned piece of the side. Many dishes have chunks of whole fish, bone and all such as bouillabaisse. Shellfish are often served on the shell, particularly mussels, oysters, clams. It is unusual for prawns/shrimp to be served in the shell except perhaps if they are very tiny and you would eat them shell and all. Even that would be unusual. Ecrivisses are often split down the middle and served on the half shell like a tiny lobster.

It is fashionable now to keep a piece of skin on a filet and to crisp it up as a garnish. You are supposed to eat it.

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Serving the fish whole keeps the flesh moist, so it%26#39;s the way most chefs prefer to have it hit the table. There%26#39;s nothing wrong with asking the server to filet the fish before he brings it to the table.

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