Restaurant reservations (Advanced): Number of guests

🇫🇷 Restaurants often set a group size where the rules change, such as a set menu or a separate room. Expect to hear this when you book for a large party.

💬 Du fond means "at the back". Au fond gives "at the back" on its own, as in les toilettes sont au fond "the toilets are at the back".

💬 The extra e shows it describes something feminine, here la salle. With le restaurant it would be réservé, and both sound the same.

💬 Quand même doesn't mean "when" here. It means "anyway" or "still", and it often turns a request into a gentle push.

💬 Noter looks like "to note" but here means "to write down". Staff confirm a booking with c'est noté "it's written down".

🇫🇷 Asking to book one extra seat is accepted practice. It's polite as long as you let the restaurant know the final number in time.

🇫🇷 Restaurants count bookings in couverts, one per diner. You'll hear pour combien de couverts ? "for how many?" from staff.

💬 Quitte à plus an action means "even if it means". It's reusable: quitte à attendre "even if it means waiting".

💬 In exact the final ct is usually pronounced (eg-zakt), unlike most French endings. In the feminine form exacte it's always said.

💬 D'ici plus a day or time means "by", the deadline. It's reusable: d'ici demain "by tomorrow".

🇫🇷 Very common and friendly, fine on the phone with restaurant staff. In more formal settings people may say pas de problème or très bien instead.

💬 French often uses the present tense for near plans, so je rappelle covers "I'll call back". Vous sits before the verb: je vous rappelle is "I call you back".

💬 The h in haute blocks any joining, so it's (shez oht) with a clear break. Describing words like haute usually come after the noun.

💬 Vous auriez…? "would you have…?" is a polite way to ask for anything. It's reusable: Vous auriez une table en terrasse ? "Would you have a table outside?"

💬 La here means "it" and refers back to la chaise. It goes before the verb, not after as in English.

💬 French books "at" a name: à quel nom is literally "at which name". Answer with Au nom de Martin "Under the name Martin".

🇫🇷 French phone numbers are read in pairs: zéro six, douze, trente-quatre…. Mobile numbers start with 06 or 07.

💬 Before a word starting with a consonant, the f of neuf stays an f sound. Before ans "years" or heures "hours" it becomes a v sound, as in (nuh-vur).

💬 Un enfant runs together as (uhn-nahn-fahn), with the n carried over to the next word.

💬 Dont here means "including" or "of which". It's reusable: dix personnes dont deux végétariens "ten people including two vegetarians".

💬 Beaucoup means "a lot", so this is literally "thanks a lot". You can't build it with très "very" the way English does; merci très is wrong.

💬 Bonsoir "good evening" is what you say on arriving. Bonne soirée is only for leaving, wishing someone a good rest of the evening.

🇫🇷 This is the standard line on your way out of a restaurant, said to whoever is near the door or your server. If staff say it first, reply Merci, vous aussi "Thanks, you too".