Speak French: How to order food in a restaurant

Insights:

• Be ready to order food in French now with two simple phrases
• With just a couple more phrases, you can ask the server to hold the onions and add extra cheese, please!

Are you curious how people really order at a restaurant in French?

Are you a foodie eagerly planning a trip to Paris? Or maybe you just want to order from the menu at that French restaurant without embarrassing yourself.Whatever your reason, we’re here to show you how to place an order in French.

Even if you’re a beginner, learning just a few simple phrases will let you order like a pro!

Formal

Pourrais-je avoir ...? - Could I have…?

Je voudrais … - I would like…

Informal

Est-ce que je peux avoir…? - Can I have..?

Je veux … - I want…

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Now all you have to do is add the name of the item you want from the menu. Here’s what that might look like in actual sentences:

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➜ Pourrais-je avoir un hamburger?

➜ Est-ce que je peux avoir un hamburger?

➜ Je voudrais des frites - I would like fries.

➜ Est-ce que je peux avoir une boisson? - Can I have a drink?

Don’t stop here! Read on for more useful phrases for placing an order/making a request…

Ready for more? Here are a few more phrases that might come in handy in a restaurant:

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➜ Qu’est-ce que vous voudrez? - What would you like?

➜ Un hamburger avec du fromage - A burger with cheese

➜ Sans sel - Without salt

➜ Sans oignons, s’il vous plaît - Without oignons, please

➜ Du bacon, pas de laitue - Bacon, no lettuce

➜ J'ai besoin de plus de temps - I need more time

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And by the way, these phrases are not just for ordering food. Use Je voudrais anywhere you might buy something - train tickets, balloons, or a t-shirt, for instance.

Practice makes perfect!

If you’re learning French, interacting with other people is the best way to practice. There’s no better way to get skilled at ordering food than to actually order in a restaurant.

So go practice in a real restaurant, or…

Come practice with us in Immerse!

Immersive language learning in VR is a groundbreaking way to learn a language from your desktop or VR headset. Learn through live classes in over 40 scenes, or hang out in the Commons to practice and play games with other language learners.

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