The Long Lane French Menu

From the table to the bill

French phrases for ordering at a café or restaurant

Beginner4 sheetsUpdated

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Sheet 1 of 4

The whole meal in ten phrases

  • Bonjour ! Une table pour deux, s'il vous plaît.

    Hello! A table for two, please.

  • La carte, s'il vous plaît.

    The menu, please.

    La carte lists the dishes with their prices; le menu can also mean a fixed-price meal.

  • Je n'ai pas encore choisi.

    I haven't chosen yet.

  • Qu'est-ce que vous me conseillez ?

    What do you recommend?

  • Je voudrais … / Je vais prendre …

    I'd like … / I'll have …

  • Une carafe d'eau, s'il vous plaît.

    A jug of water, please.

  • C'est très bon, merci.

    It's very good, thank you.

  • Où sont les toilettes, s'il vous plaît ?

    Where are the toilets, please?

  • L'addition, s'il vous plaît.

    The bill, please.

  • Est-ce que je peux payer par carte ?

    Can I pay by card?

Ask for une carafe d'eau when you want plain drinking water. French law requires restaurants and bars to show, on the menu or a notice, that you can ask for free drinking water.

Sheet 2 of 4

At the café: what to ask for

Each line works on its own. Add s'il vous plaît.

  • Un café

    A coffee

    Black, with no milk. The next two lines add some.

  • Un café crème

    A coffee with cream or milk

  • Un café noisette

    An espresso with a dash of milk

  • Un décaféiné

    A decaf

    Shortened in familiar speech to un déca.

  • Un thé

    A tea

  • Un chocolat chaud

    A hot chocolate

  • Une orange pressée

    Freshly squeezed orange juice

  • Un demi

    A glass of beer

    25 cl, a quarter of a litre, not a half.

  • Sur place

    To have here

  • À emporter

    To take away

Check prices before you sit down: a café or restaurant must post the price of la tasse de café noir, un demi of draught beer, a sandwich and a few other items so you can read them from outside.

Sheet 3 of 4

What you’ll hear

  • You hear

    Vous avez choisi ?

    Have you chosen?

    Not yet? Je n'ai pas encore choisi.

  • You hear

    Et comme boisson ?

    And to drink?

  • You hear

    Quelle cuisson ?

    How would you like it cooked?

    For meat: saignant (rare), à point (medium), bien cuit (well done).

  • You hear

    Sur place ou à emporter ?

    Eat in or take away?

  • You hear

    Vous prendrez un dessert ?

    Will you have a dessert?

  • You hear

    Vous avez terminé ?

    Have you finished?

Sheet 4 of 4

Allergies and diets, said clearly

Say it

Name the food, and say how serious it is.

  • Je suis allergique à …

    I'm allergic to …

    Keep the little word: aux arachides, au lait, aux œufs.

  • C'est une allergie grave.

    It's a serious allergy.

  • Est-ce qu'il y a … dans ce plat ?

    Is there … in this dish?

  • Sans …, s'il vous plaît.

    Without …, please.

  • Vous avez la liste des allergènes ?

    Do you have the allergen list?

    Restaurants must have it in writing. More below.

  • Je suis végétarien / végétarienne.

    I'm vegetarian.

    Use the ending that matches you.

  • Je ne mange pas de viande / de porc.

    I don't eat meat / pork.

  • Je ne peux pas manger de gluten.

    I can't eat gluten.

Allergen words

Restaurants in France work from the fourteen groups in Annex II of EU Regulation 1169/2011. Each line starts with the word from its French text; examples after a colon are everyday words for what is on the plate.

  • gluten : blé, seigle, orge, avoine

    Gluten

  • crustacés : crevettes, crabe

    Crustaceans

  • œufs

    Eggs

  • poissons

    Fish

  • arachides (cacahuètes)

    Peanuts

    Cacahuète is the everyday word.

  • soja

    Soy

  • lait

    Milk

    The entry includes lactose: lait et produits à base de lait (y compris le lactose).

  • fruits à coque

    Tree nuts

    Noix on its own is the walnut. Name each nut.

  • céleri

    Celery

  • moutarde

    Mustard

  • graines de sésame

    Sesame

  • sulfites

    Sulphites

  • lupin

    Lupin

  • mollusques : moules, huîtres, calmars

    Molluscs

Not a certified translation: confirm with the staff.

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Service is already in the price

In France the price on the menu is the price you pay. A 1987 order on price display says that where a service charge is made, the displayed price is understood "taxes et service compris": taxes and service included.

The same article requires the words Prix service compris, followed by the service rate in brackets. That percentage is already inside each price, not something to add at the end.

Which program is worth paying for — French

All three teach French well. What differs is whether the rules are explained to you, drilled into you, or left for you to infer. That preference matters more than any feature list.

  • Babbel

    A subscription app built around short dialogue lessons with the grammar explained in plain English.

    How you pay: Subscription, billed monthly or for 3, 6 or 12 months at a lower rate.

    Best for: Building a daily habit. Lessons are 10–15 minutes and the rules are spelled out rather than inferred.

    Skip it if: You are learning Korean, Japanese or Chinese — Babbel does not teach them. Its 14 languages are European plus Turkish and Indonesian.

    Babbel’s site

  • italki

    A marketplace of independent tutors for one-to-one video lessons, booked and paid lesson by lesson.

    How you pay: Pay per lesson. Each tutor sets their own price, so rates vary widely.

    Best for: Speaking with a real person once the basics are in place, including Korean, which most app courses leave out.

    Skip it if: You want a fixed course that tells you what to do next, or you would rather not schedule live sessions.

    The italki note is above

  • Rocket Languages

    Long audio lessons with recording drills, bought once per level rather than rented monthly.

    How you pay: One-time purchase per level, with payment plans. Access does not expire.

    Best for: Listening and speaking. The audio lessons are long and conversational, and you record yourself against a native track.

    Skip it if: You want something light to tap at on a commute, or the up-front cost is a problem.

    Rocket Languages’ site

  • Rosetta Stone

    The immersion method — you work out meaning from images and context instead of being given translations.

    How you pay: Subscription or a one-time lifetime plan, which covers all 25 languages.

    Best for: Pronunciation. Its speech feedback is the most developed of the options here, and its 25 languages include Korean, Japanese and Chinese.

    Skip it if: You want grammar explained in English. The method deliberately avoids it, which some people find freeing and others find maddening.

    Rosetta Stone’s site

None of these replaces the routine. A programme you open three times a week beats a better one you abandon in month two — so weigh the format at least as heavily as the content.

What a restaurant in France has to tell you about allergens

The fourteen allergens on Sheet 4 are not only a polite question. Article R412-14 of the French consumer code covers places that serve meals to eat on site: the allergen information has to be given "sous forme écrite, de façon lisible et visible" in the part of the restaurant open to customers. The restaurant can do this in one of two ways:

  • show the allergen information itself, or
  • show how you can get it. You must then be able to see it directly and freely, in writing.

France's public service site gives examples: a slate, a notebook listing the allergens in the dishes served, or a written mention on the menus. The question that puts this to work is Vous avez la liste des allergènes ?

A printable allergy card

A card does the talking when the room is loud or the words go. Copy the text below, fill in the blank, and keep it on paper and on your phone. Hand it over before you order, not when the food arrives.

JE SUIS ALLERGIQUE À : ______________
(I am allergic to: ______________)

C'est une allergie grave, pas une préférence. Mon plat ne doit pas en contenir, même en très petite quantité : ni dans les sauces, ni dans l'huile de friture.

Pouvez-vous vérifier auprès de la cuisine, s'il vous plaît ?

Si ce n'est pas possible, dites-le-moi et je choisirai autre chose.

Merci beaucoup !

Filling in the blank:

  • Write the allergen in capitals, then the everyday word in brackets: ARACHIDES (cacahuètes).
  • For tree nuts, list each one. These are the eight the regulation names: amandes, noisettes, noix, noix de cajou, noix de pécan, noix du Brésil, pistaches, noix de Macadamia. On its own, noix is the walnut.
  • For coeliac disease, write GLUTEN and add the cereals on the list in brackets: GLUTEN (blé, seigle, orge, avoine).
  • For more than one allergen, give each its own line in capitals, the most serious first.
La carte or le menu?

Both words can mean the list of dishes. Le Robert defines eating à la carte as choosing freely, as opposed to au menu, and one of Larousse's senses of menu is a fixed-price meal served in a restaurant. So La carte, s'il vous plaît gets you every dish with its price. If you want the set meal, say so: Je vais prendre le menu.

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