Service à la russe appeared in France and England in the middle of the 19th century and, by the late 1890s, was regularly followed. It is the service which modern diners generally expect. Each dish is prepared and divided in the kitchen then one helping at at time is placed before the diner. The meal is composed of a series of dishes served in succession. Prior to the adoption of service à la russe, service à la française was used. In this method of service, which dates from the Middle Ages, each course was composed of a large number of dishes spread on the banquet from which the diners served themselves, like a modern buffet.

For more information on the history of eating in England and France, see All Manners of Food: Eating and Taste in England and France from the Middle Ages to the Present, by Stephen Mennell. New York: Basil Blackwell, 1985. See especially P. 150.