Basic French: French Restaurant Vocabulary

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Salut c’est Géraldine, bienvenue sur Comme une Française TV, Sound French, even to the French! Restaurants are one of French people’s favorite places. You can eat your lunch or dinner while talking with friends or family, with wine in your glass and a baguette always within reach. But with time and habits, you’ll find out the interactions there are quite codified, especially with the staff–and that’s good for you! Once you learn a few of our usual scripts, you can order your meal and drinks just like a native, and that’s a huge boost for a student in French! Which sentences, you ask? Let’s dive in! Le serveur Le serveur is a waiter, while la serveuse is the waitress. They’re probably the first people who’ll greet you in the restaurant. They might ask how many people are in your group, which you can answer for example with: Bonjour, on est quatre. Hi, there will be four of us! Bonjour is expected, as it’s good manners. As a general rule, be generous with your s’il vous plaît, please, and merci, thank you, it’s always appreciated as well. So now you are seated, someone gave you le menu, the menu, you’ve made your choice and you’re waiting for a waiter to take your order. You can raise your hand subtly, or even ask S’il vous plaît ? if you catch their eye. Avoid yelling Garçon !, it’s quite rude. Anyway, they might come to take your order, or ask you to wait a little: “J’arrive tout de suite.” “I’m coming in a minute.” Or “Juste une minute!” “Just a minute!” You can answer OK, Merci ! Just to be clear. Now you can order. Try le menu / la formule, the special formula, or order à la carte, or in English, “a la carte [NdA : à dire avec accent américain qui parle français]:” a combination of entrée-plat-dessert, starters, main dish and desserts. Commander Commander means “to order.” Food, for instance. The simplest order would be “Un café, l'addition” “A coffee, and the bill.” Straightforward, to start your day or enjoy the afternoon. For a full meal, though, you can start your order with: “Je vais prendre le…” “I’m going to take the...” For instance, “Alors, moi, je vais prendre le plat du jour, s’il vous plaît.” “So, I’m going to take the daily special, please.” Le plat du jour is very often a good call to make if you’re not sure, anyway. Another informal and popular script we use in this case, especially if you’re following someone else’s order, is: “Pour moi ce sera…” “For me, it will be… For example: “Pour moi, ce sera le saumon au four, s’il vous plaît.” “For me, I will take the baked salmon, please.” For several reasons, you might want to ask for precisions on the kind of dishes you want. For example: “Qu’est-ce que vous avez comme poisson ?” “What kind of fish do you have?” “Qu’est-ce que vous avez en viande ?” “What kind of meat do you serve?” And don’t forget your drinks! The default is une carafe, or une carafe d’eau: a pitcher of tap water. But if you want, ask for: “Et une bouteille de vin rouge.” “And a bottle of red wine.” You can ask for something specific from the drink list, or ask for input: “Qu’est-ce que vous nous conseillez ?” “What would you suggest?” By the way, it’s also a great question to ask at any point of your order! Demandes spéciales Les demandes spéciales, your special requests, can often be met, especially if you’re asking nicely. Try c’est possible de..., Is it possible to… “C’est possible de faire la salade sans les lardons ?” “Is it possible to make the salad without bacon?” “S’il vous plaît, c’est possible de mettre les anchois sur un seul côté ?” “Please, is it possible to keep the anchovies on just one side?” You can also ask for their selection of les plats végétariens / les plats sans viande, vegetarian dishes. Végétarien has a wide definition, but it still includes dishes with eggs and milk for example. Vegan isn’t really a thing in France yet; it exists but is even less common than végétarien, so you might need to be clear or careful about what you’re asking. And also in your meal, just ask for more bread and water if they run out: “Vous pouvez nous apporter du pain ?” “Can you bring us some more bread?” “Vous pouvez nous apporter de l’eau, s’il vous plaît ? Merci !” “Can you bring us more water, please ? Thanks a lot.” Remercier, payer, et partir Now hopefully your meal went well, so it’s time to remercier, payer et partir, to say thank you, pay the bill and leave. When you’re ready to leave, catch a waiter’s attention to ask: “L’addition s’il vous plaît” “The bill, please. Sometimes you might not be sure: “On paye ici ou au comptoir ?” “Do we pay seated here, or at the counter?” In France the tip is not mandatory, as employers are actually supposed to pay living wages, but if you’re satisfied you can leave 5% of your bill for the staff. A nice word is always appreciated, if it’s true. “C’était très bon / délicieux / exquis.” “That was very good, delicious.” And before you leave for more adventure, be nice and say goodbye! “Merci, au revoir ! Bonne journée !” “Thank you, good bye! Have a nice day!” And you’re ready to go! Et toi ? When was the last time you went to a restaurant? Have you ever been to a restaurant in France? For which other situations would you like to have scripts and sentences? Tell me in the comments section, I want to hear from you! If you’re on Youtube, you’ll find a link below this video to the blog CommeUneFrançaise.com: on the site I read all the comments and answer all your questions too! Did you like this video? Want more? Let me share exclusive lessons, private offers and my 10 favorite Comme Une Française hand-picked episodes with you by email. It’s super easy to join. Leave me your first name and email and I’ll get back to you straight away. Subscribe now to get my best content straight to your inbox; the fantastic stuff that’s not even on YouTube. And the best thing is, it’s all free. Merci for watching Comme une Française TV, sound French, even to the French. Allez, salut !
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Channel: Comme une Française
Views: 129,568
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Keywords: how to order at a french restaurant, ordering food in france, french phrases, french sentences, ordering at a french restaurant, Commander, learn french, learn french language, learn to speak french, learn french phrases, french lessons, speak french, learning french, learn french culture, free french lessons, french greetings, french language tips, comme une francaise, french pronunciation, french food, french restaurant tips, order french food, french restaurant
Id: g5SsHDaf_jg
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Length: 7min 34sec (454 seconds)
Published: Mon Apr 24 2017
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