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Vocabulaire du restaurant
If you like eating out, you’ll love this French vocabulary related to restaurants.
What the waiter might say…
| Installez-vous. | Have a seat | |
| Vous avez choisi ? | Have you decided? | |
| Que voudriez-vous ? | What would you like? | |
| Vous désirez ? | What would you like? | |
| Je vous écoute. | (Go ahead) I’m listening. | |
| Que prenez-vous ? | What are you having? | |
| Qu’est-ce que je vous sers ? | What can I get you? | |
| Et ensuite de ça ? | And after that? What else? | |
| J’arrive. | I’ll be right there/back |
What you might respond…
| Je voudrais… J’aimerais… |
I would like… | |||
| Je vais prendre… Je prends… |
I’ll have… | |||
| Combien coûte… ? | How much does … cost? | |||
| Je suis… | I am… | |||
| allergique à… | allergic to… | |||
| diabétique | diabetic | |||
| végétarien / végétarienne | vegetarian | |||
| végétalien / végétalienne | vegan | |||
| Je ne peux pas manger… | I can’t eat… | |||
If you order meat, the waiter might ask
Quelle cuisson ? How would you like it cooked?
And you can respond…
| cru | raw | |
| bleu | very rare (red inside) | |
| saignant (for beef) rosé (for duck or lamb) |
rare (pink inside) | |
| à point | medium-rare | |
| médium | medium | |
| bien cuit | well done | |
| calciné | very well done, charred |
Un steak-frites, s’il vous plaît
What you might say to your tablemates
(links go to lessons)
| À la vôtre ! À la nôtre ! À la tienne ! |
Cheers! | |
| Bon appétit ! | Enjoy your meal! (the waiter might say this too) |
Later, the waiter might ask…
| C’est à votre goût ? | Do you like it? Is everything ok? | |
| C’est terminé ? | Have you finished? | |
| Ça a été ? | Was everything ok? |
Restaurant people
| le/la chef | chef | |
| le maître d’hôtel | head waiter, maître d’ | |
| le serveur* | waiter | |
| la serveuse | waitress | |
| un aide-serveur | busboy |
Restaurant verbs
| aimer | to like | |
| s’asseoir | to sit down | |
| attendre | to wait (for) | |
| boire | to drink | |
| commander | to order | |
| manger | to eat | |
| payer | to pay | |
| prendre | to take, have | |
| se régaler | to really enjoy (the food) | |
| vouloir | to want |
Useful restaurant terms
| l’addition | (f) | check/bill | |
| la carte ** | menu | ||
| le menu ** | fixed-price meal | ||
| à la carte | side order (not part of le menu) | ||
| le pourboire | tip | ||
| un resto | (inf) | apocope of restaurant | |
| service compris | tip included | ||
| service non compris | tip not included | ||
| le socle | base of credit card machine | ||
| les animaux sont interdits | no pets allowed | ||
| défense de fumer | no smoking | ||
| Sur place ou à emporter ? | For here or to go? Eat in or take away? |
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* Not garçon, which means "boy" and is offensive in this context.
** Discover the difference: Meals and menus
Related lessons
French listening practice
- Au restaurant
- Au restaurant de la plage
- Dîner en ville
- Repas de Noël en France
- Service au restaurant
- Steak-frites
French lesson plans
- Culinary culture (Lesson, 8th-9th grade)
- Culinary culture: Grammar (Worksheet, 10th-11th grade)
- Culinary culture: Quiz (Worksheet, 9th-10th grade)
- Discovering French food culture (Lesson, 9th-10th grade)
- Drinks and snacks (Lesson, 10th-12th grade)
- Visitons le café (Lesson, K-8th grade)
En español
In italiano
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I read somewhere (maybe in one of your newsletters!) that even if the bill states “service compris”, one should still leave a pourboire, that the “service” is more for taxes and fees, but not a tip, per se. But here it states that “service compris” means that the tip is included. So should one leave an additional “pourboire” or not? I don’t want to insult any servers, nor do I want to leave them a 40% tip in most cases!
No, that’s not true. You can leave a small tip, but it’s definitely not required. I have a couple of friends who own a restaurant, and they were flabbergasted when we left a 5 euro tip after dinner (at a different restaurant) for 6 people. When even restaurateurs say you don’t have to, I’m convinced.