Like a smell can draw you into a shop?

French term (edited): s'inviter dans votre assiette

Maybe?

I would not have expected to find a "reference" for this, but:

"Country Cousins Grits, Polenta Vie for a Place on Your Plate"
By Pankey, Deborah
Newspaper article from Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)
http://www.questia.com/library/1G1-123519525/country-cousins...

From web reference: Gourmets will enjoy this cuisine, so typical for Parisian bistros. Know how and tradition, great classics will find their way to your plate, for everybody’s greatest pleasure.

why not the direct approach?

This is such a very French phrase that I think I'd abandon it and try to restate it completely - something like "Regale your palate with the chef's specials - a treat for all gourmets!"

Imho

This is a standard English phrase and quite suitable in view of the context and register

This is fine for meaning but can o doubt be improved upon.
What have you used for the sentence before and afterwards?

"LA BRASSERIE : LE MARIE-GALANTE
Comme posé sur l’Océan, Le Marie-Galante est un espace lumineux bordé d’une large terrasse. Dans cette
Brasserie ouverte sur la mer, les plats du chef s’invitent dans votre assiette pour le bonheur des gourmets :
Différentes Formules le Midi vous sont proposées à partir de 19€50. Le soir le Menu est à partir de 33€.
Le Marie-Galante vous accueille tous les jours, midi et soir."

"... les plats du chef s’invitent dans votre assiette pour le bonheur des gourmets..."

"... the chef presents his very best for the gourmet palate..."


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Note added at 1 hr (2013-01-07 16:31:33 GMT)
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In this rendering, you will see that I have chosen to ignore any attempt to translate "les plats" specifically, including it in the general idea of the chef's best.

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Note added at 1 hr (2013-01-07 16:34:35 GMT)
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Certainly avoid using "does his very best" as that suggests that the person is trying and not succeeding!

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Note added at 4 hrs (2013-01-07 20:15:40 GMT)
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I think this is one of those easy/difficult ones. There are a few around on ProZ at the moment. Ones we all understand, but have a real job finding the right tune to sing!

The Asker can probably be best assisted by having a number of suggestions of varying styles. Once the Asker has got consensus on the meaning, then depending on the style adopted for the rest of the translation, a choice will be made.

My personal choice here would be to err on the under rather than over translation here. The French turn of phrase here sounds slightly more poetic than would normally be the case in English here. Finding the right pitch is not easy. If you tune it up too much, you are out of tune; if you are under, and flat, you are still off key.

I know the place, I know the restaurant. I'd err on the side of caution and accept a potential trade-off, and go with a what would we say in this situation rather than look for a faithful translation. Better under than over here, lest the result be ridiculous.

Sobriety is chic, overshooting can be fatal!

I think the French just manages to get the idea across without the use of a verb. i.e. some sort of indulging/eating well verb is needed in the English, whereas it is implicit in the French .

Hello,

I would stay away from "plates", or anything too literal here (i.e., "invite" , etc). Also, don't fall for anything too fancy-sounding in English; afer all, this is just typical French. Opt for something neutrally simple, or pretty sterile. I think "served up" does the trick. The "up" add a little spice, but I don't deem it necessary.

Literally, we have "the chef's dishes are invited onto your plate".

In the example of how "s'invite" is used below, I might translate "s'invite" differently; that is, simply by "meal/dish is on the table"

Le service est rapide et en quelques minutes, le plat s'invite à notre table, les effluves de coriandre fraîche, je précise, les carottes finement .

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&safe=off&tbo=d&output=search&sc...
As Halloween approaches, this caldron of thrills and chills is served up for those brave enough to sample these little literary shockers. Keep the


http://tucsoncitizen.com/shelflife/tag/thrills-and-chills/



I hope this helps.