The French brought coffee with them to the United States as they began to settle along the Mississippi. The French developed the chicory style of coffee during the civil war used at Café du Monde. Chicory adds an almost chocolate flavor to the Café au Lait. Along with this taste, the Acadians from Nova Scotia brought about other French customs, such as the beignet, to Louisiana in the 17th century. Unlike most doughnuts, beignets are squared pieces of dough with no hole in the middle, fried and most often covered with powdered sugar. Sometimes they can be seen served with fruit, jam, maple syrup or even savory items. At Café du Monde, they are served traditionally, with a thick covering of powdered sugar in orders of three.

The menu at Café du Monde is simple, as it only includes dark roasted coffee and chicory, beignets, white and chocolate milk, and fresh squeezed orange juice. The coffee is served black or au lait. According the Café du Monde’s VP, Burton E. Benrud, Jr., the beignets remain the only food item on the French Market menu and Café du Monde is committed to “keeping things the way they’ve always been: recipes have gone relatively unchanged.”

Café du Monde is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except for Christmas Day and days when "the occasional hurricane passes too close to New Orleans", and is patronized by both locals and visitors.