Dining Guide / During the Meal
How to Eat Bread
Don’t bite into your bread. Tear off one bite at a time and enjoy it alongside the meal.
Try what you’ve read in questions based on real dining situations. · 5 min
View the At the Table course
Key Points
- Your bread plate is on your left. The one on your right belongs to your neighbor.
- At a formal meal, start on the bread once the first course arrives, and finish it before dessert.
- Tear off one bite-sized piece at a time with your fingers instead of biting the roll.
- Take a little butter from the butter dish onto your bread plate, and butter each piece as you go.
- Rest the butter knife on the edge of your bread plate, not on the tablecloth.
Do
- Tear off a bite before bringing it to your mouth
- Enjoy bread between bites of the meal
- Leave any crumbs where they fall
Avoid
- Biting into a whole roll
- Buttering the whole roll at once
- Emptying the bread basket before the food arrives
Handy Tip
At a casual restaurant, feel free to mop up leftover sauce with bread. At a formal meal, spear a small piece on your fork and wipe gently instead.
Customs That Vary
In France and some other countries, there’s often no bread plate, and bread goes straight on the tablecloth to the left of your plate. At a casual place, it’s fine to nibble while you wait for the food.
Practice in a Lesson
- Bread and Soup — 5 min · Sign in to unlock
Read next
Sources
- Emily Post Institute, “Guide to Food and Drink” — Course-specific guidance for bread, soup and other foods.
- Emily Post Institute, “Proper Table Setting 101: Everything You Need to Know” — Place settings, glassware, bread plates and dessert utensils.