Top 50 phrases to get by France (Advanced): Dining out

💬 Je shrinks to j' before a vowel sound, so je ai becomes j'ai. The same thing happens in j'aime "I like".

💬 Swap in any surname after au nom de to give the name a booking is under, such as au nom de Smith.

🇫🇷 Terrace seats are prized in good weather and are often where smokers sit. Ask early if you want one.

💬 À le never appears before a vowel. It becomes à l', so this runs together as one sound.

💬 Asking for le menu gets you a fixed-price set meal. To see everything the restaurant offers, ask for la carte.

🇫🇷 The set menu, often a starter, main and dessert at one price, is usually the best value, especially at lunch.

💬 In a restaurant la carte is the menu. The French word menu usually means a fixed-price set meal.

🇫🇷 The dish of the day is usually chalked on a board rather than printed. It is often the freshest and cheapest choice.

💬 Quel est … ? means "what is …?". Swap in another noun to ask about something else, as in Quel est le dessert du jour ?.

💬 Je voudrais is the polite way to order anything. Swap in the item, as in Je voudrais un café.

💬 Here entrée means the starter, not the main course as in American English.

💬 Principal comes after plat, because descriptive words usually follow the noun in French.

💬 Say dessert with a soft single s (day-sair). A hard double s, as in désert, means desert.

💬 Eau is pronounced just (oh). The l' glues onto it, giving (loh).

🇫🇷 Tap water in a jug is free in French restaurants. Ask for it by name, or you may be brought a paid bottle.

💬 De l' means "some" for things you don't count, like water. You'll hear it in du pain "some bread" too.

💬 The n in vin isn't said as an n. It makes a nasal vowel, roughly (van) with the n barely touched.

💬 Verre "glass" sounds exactly like vert "green" and vers "towards". Context tells them apart.

💬 Colour words come after the noun, so it's vin rouge, never rouge vin.

💬 Un verre de … is the pattern for "a glass of", with no le after de. Swap in the drink: un verre d'eau.

💬 The c in blanc is silent, so it ends on the nasal sound (blahn).

🇫🇷 Bread comes free with the meal and is usually refilled at no charge. It goes on the table, not on a side plate.

🇫🇷 Order un café and you'll get a small espresso. Ask for un café crème if you want one with milk.

💬 After pour, use moi rather than je. The same goes for pour toi and pour lui.

💬 Starting with pour moi and then naming the dish is the simplest way to order. Swap in any item from the menu.

💬 Saignant literally means "bleeding". French rare is very red, and bleu "blue" is rarer still.

🇫🇷 French cooking levels run a notch rarer than in the UK or US. If you're unsure, order one step more cooked than you would at home.

🇫🇷 French à point is pinker than many expect, closer to medium-rare elsewhere.

🇫🇷 Some chefs frown on well-done steak, but asking for it is perfectly acceptable.

💬 Qu'est-ce que is a fixed opener meaning "what". Me goes before the verb, so it's literally "what do you me advise".

💬 If you are female, say Je suis végétarienne with an extra ne sound at the end. Many identity words change this way: italien / italienne, allergique does not change.

💬 Allergique stays the same for men and women, so anyone can say this as written.

💬 Aux is à les merged together. Swap in your allergy: allergique aux arachides "allergic to peanuts".

🇫🇷 Vegetarian options can be thin in traditional places. Check whether a dish contains lardons "bacon bits" or meat stock.

🇫🇷 Staff may say Bon appétit ! as they set down food, and diners say it to each other before starting. It is more common in France than in English-speaking settings.

💬 C' is ce shortened before a vowel and never stands alone. You can swap in other words, as in C'est parfait "It's perfect".

💬 Put encore before anything to ask for more of it: encore de l'eau "more water".

💬 French always says this in the plural, even when there's just one toilet.

🇫🇷 In cafés the toilets are often meant for customers. Ordering a coffee at the counter first is the usual polite move.

🇫🇷 The bill won't come until you ask for it, since rushing you would be rude. Catch the waiter's eye and say L'addition, s'il vous plaît.

🇫🇷 In France you usually ask for the bill; staff often will not bring it until you do. L'addition, s'il vous plaît is the standard way in a café or restaurant.

💬 Just raising your voice at the end turns a statement into a question, with no word change needed.

💬 Carte covers both a bank card and a menu. Here par "by" tells you it's about paying.

🇫🇷 In France, par carte usually means by bank card, not any kind of card. This is a very normal thing to ask in shops, cafés, and taxis.

🇫🇷 By law, service is already included in French prices. Leaving a few coins for good service is a kind extra, not an obligation.

💬 Soirée means the whole evening as it unfolds. Bonsoir is the greeting you say when you arrive.

🇫🇷 Saying goodbye to the staff as you leave is expected. Walking out silently can seem cold.