In Europe, two different methods of serving and tablesetting were known at the beginning of the 19th century: service à la française, and service à la russe. At French service, the meal was organised as a sequence of courses, for each of which the dishes were brought to the table on large platters and placed before the guests, who then had to serve themselves. At Russian service, the same sequence of courses was observed, but individual portions were plated in the kitchen to be served to guests.

Handwritten menus or bills of fare, which indicate the dishes and their serving order, came into use in the early 19th century, when the Russian service became more common. The oldest menus in the Hotel and Restaurant Museum are from the 1860s.

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