I can get or reserve a table in a French café, ask for the menu, order, answer the waiter's questions, ask for the check, pay in cash or by card, and leave a tip.
At the table: la carte, ordering, the check
At the table: la carte, ordering, the check
At the table there are three steps: get a table, order, pay. With the waiter, always vous.
The table. “Bonjour, une table pour deux, s'il vous plaît.” To ask if a table is free: “Il y a une table libre ?” To book ahead, use the polite phrase from Module 7: “Je voudrais réserver une table”.
La carte is the menu, the list of dishes; le menu is a set meal at one price. A meal has three parts: une entrée (appetizer, not the US main course), un plat (main course), un dessert.
Ordering. The waiter asks: “Vous avez choisi ?” and “Et comme boisson ?” You answer: “Je voudrais …” or “Pour moi, …”.
The check and the tip. Ask for the check: “L'addition, s'il vous plaît.” (Un chèque is only a bank check.) You pay en espèces (cash) or par carte (by card). Le pourboire isn't part of the check and is optional: people usually leave a euro or two.
To go. In a café they ask: “C'est pour emporter ?” The answer is two words: pour emporter (to go) or sur place (here, to eat in).
Letters: ch in choisi — one sound [ʃ], as in “shoe”; j in jour — [ʒ], as in “measure”; ss in boisson and dessert — [s] between vowels, not [z]; on in boisson — nasal [ɔ̃], no n; eu in serveur — [œ].
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Je veux un dessert” → “Je voudrais un dessert” (je veux sounds blunt).
• NOT “un carte” → “une carte” (a feminine noun).
• NOT “Je paye avec carte” → you need par: par carte.
The waiter asks — you give a short answer
On the left is what you'll hear at the table; on the right, all you need to say in reply.
| Waiter | Short answer | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Bonsoir ! Vous avez choisi ? | Je voudrais … | Good evening! Have you decided? — I'd like… |
| Et comme boisson, madame ? | Un thé | And to drink? — Tea |
| C'est pour emporter ou sur place ? | Sur place | For here or to go? — For here, in the dining room |
| Vous payez comment ? | Par carte | How are you paying? — By card |
A meal in three parts
Both le menu at a fixed price and ordering from la carte work this way.
| Part | What it is |
|---|---|
| l'entrée | appetizer, starter |
| le plat | main course |
| le dessert | something sweet at the end |
Lesson notes
At the table: la carte, ordering, the check
At the table there are three steps: get a table, order, pay. With the waiter, always vous.
The table. “Bonjour, une table pour deux, s'il vous plaît.” To ask if a table is free: “Il y a une table libre ?” To book ahead, use the polite phrase from Module 7: “Je voudrais réserver une table”.
La carte is the menu, the list of dishes; le menu is a set meal at one price. A meal has three parts: une entrée (appetizer, not the US main course), un plat (main course), un dessert.
Ordering. The waiter asks: “Vous avez choisi ?” and “Et comme boisson ?” You answer: “Je voudrais …” or “Pour moi, …”.
The check and the tip. Ask for the check: “L'addition, s'il vous plaît.” (Un chèque is only a bank check.) You pay en espèces (cash) or par carte (by card). Le pourboire isn't part of the check and is optional: people usually leave a euro or two.
To go. In a café they ask: “C'est pour emporter ?” The answer is two words: pour emporter (to go) or sur place (here, to eat in).
Letters: ch in choisi — one sound [ʃ], as in “shoe”; j in jour — [ʒ], as in “measure”; ss in boisson and dessert — [s] between vowels, not [z]; on in boisson — nasal [ɔ̃], no n; eu in serveur — [œ].
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Je veux un dessert” → “Je voudrais un dessert” (je veux sounds blunt).
• NOT “un carte” → “une carte” (a feminine noun).
• NOT “Je paye avec carte” → you need par: par carte.