How to order at a French café or restaurant
Bonjour first, "je voudrais" second. A practical guide to ordering food and drinks in French, from café counters to set menus and asking for the bill.
· 3 min read
Ordering in French is less about vocabulary than about a few habits. Get those right and a basic order goes smoothly even with very little French.
Start with "Bonjour"
The single most useful word in France is bonjour. Say it when you walk into a café, a shop or a bakery, and say it to the waiter before you order. Launching straight into a request without greeting someone can come across as rude, even if your French is perfect. In the evening, bonsoir replaces it.
When you leave, merci, au revoir closes things nicely.
Ordering
The phrase to learn is je voudrais ("I would like"). It's polite and works everywhere:
- Je voudrais un café, s'il vous plaît.
- Je voudrais la soupe du jour.
In casual places you'll also hear je vais prendre... ("I'll have...") or simply un café, s'il vous plaît.
To get the waiter's attention, a raised hand and s'il vous plaît or excusez-moi works. (The old garçon! is best avoided.)
Coffee, French-style
- Un café: a small, strong espresso. This is the default.
- Un café crème or un crème: espresso with hot milk, closer to what many visitors expect.
- Un café allongé: a longer, diluted espresso.
- Un décaféiné or un déca: decaf.
- Un chocolat chaud: hot chocolate.
In many cafés, prices at the counter (au comptoir) are lower than at a table (en salle) or on the terrace (en terrasse).
Reading the menu
The vocabulary on French menus is its own small language, and a couple of words cause confusion:
- Le menu is usually a fixed-price set meal, not the whole list of dishes.
- La carte is the full list. À la carte means ordering individual dishes from it.
- Une formule is a smaller set deal, often at lunch: a main course plus a starter or a dessert.
- L'entrée is the starter, not the main course (which is le plat principal or le plat).
- Le plat du jour is the dish of the day.
Meat and how it's cooked
If you order steak, you'll be asked how you'd like it cooked:
- Bleu: barely cooked.
- Saignant: rare.
- À point: medium-rare to medium.
- Bien cuit: well done.
French à point is often pinker than some visitors expect, so if in doubt, go one step further.
Water and the bill
- Une carafe d'eau, s'il vous plaît: a jug of tap water, normally free in restaurants.
- De l'eau plate / de l'eau gazeuse: still / sparkling bottled water.
- L'addition, s'il vous plaît: the bill, please.
As in much of southern Europe, the bill usually won't arrive until you ask; nobody is trying to rush you out. Service is included in prices in France, so tipping is a small extra for good service rather than an obligation.
A few useful extras
- Je suis allergique à...: I'm allergic to...
- C'est délicieux: it's delicious.
- Qu'est-ce que vous me conseillez ?: what do you recommend?
- Pour emporter: to take away.
French menus are a good place to meet false friends, too: une entrée is only the beginning. And if you're wondering whether the waiter expects vous or tu, the answer is vous; there's more on that in formal and informal "you".