Ordering food when you can't read the menu in French
The waiter is waiting for your order, and you barely recognize any dish on the menu.
The phrase
Est-ce que vous avez une carte en anglais ?10 words10 sentences
The ten words3 of 10
- 1carte/kaʁt/
menunoun
The list of dishes a restaurant offers.
- 2plat/pla/
dishnoun
A prepared food served during a meal.
- 3spécialité/spesjalite/
specialtynoun
What a person or place does best.
- 4
ingrédientingredient
- 5
accompagnementside dish
- 6
saignantrare
- 7
épicéspicy
- 8
commanderto order
- 9
expliquerto explain
- 10
traduireto translate
Spell it1 of 3
The sentences3 of 10
Est-ce que vous avez une carte en anglais ?
Do you have a menu in English?
Quel plat est-ce que vous me conseillez ?
Which dish would you recommend?
Quelle est la spécialité de la maison ?
What's the house specialty?
Pronunciation
plat/pla/
The final t is silent: it's said "pla".
Good to know
- pain à volonté
- In many restaurants the bread on the table is free, and you can ask for more at no extra charge.
- prix service compris
- Service is almost always included in the prices on the menu, shown by the words service compris.
- pourboire
- Leaving a tip isn't required, but leaving some change or rounding up the bill is common if you were happy with the meal.
- carte des menus
- Many restaurants offer a fixed-price menu alongside the à la carte menu, often posted at the entrance.
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- How do you ask for the house specialty in French?
- Say "Quelle est la spécialité de la maison ?" to ask what the restaurant does best.
The same situation in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German.