Au restaurant (3/4): "Vous avez choisi ?" | 25+ Ordering & Eating Phrases in French

Vous apprenez le français. Bravo ! Continuez.

Bienvenue in this third episode of our restaurant adventure. I created this series because ordering at the restaurant in French is NOT for beginners, and I'm hoping to help everyone discover and learn the everyday French idioms and vocabulary for dining out in France. In this chapter, Étienne, Sandra and Noah finally open the menus — and discover exactly how far the new chef is willing to go : Velouté Trois Tommes, Salade contée au comté des Pyrénées, Poulet au Maroilles fort-en-gueule. Sandra, it turns out, knows her cheeses. Noah knows there are microscopic insects living in the rinds, and says so at the table. Étienne orders a Bouillon de la Pastourelle without the faintest idea of what it contains, simply because the name sounded poetic.

Then the family manages to order starters and main courses for everyone — everyone except their own son, who has to remind them he is still sitting there.

And after an hour of waiting, counting the bottles behind the bar and settling a thumb war, everything arrives at once. Three starters, three main courses, a basket of fries and one very tall soufflé, all landing on forty centimetres of counter.

Between reading the menu, asking the waitress for advice, changing an order, negotiating over fries and finally saying bon appétit, you'll hear a French family eating out — followed by more than 25 phrases to repeat in natural, fast-spoken French.

CE QUE VOUS ALLEZ ÉTUDIER ✦

• more than 25 authentic French contractions, from 161 to 190
• Reading a French menu and ordering starters and main courses
• Useful phrases for hesitating, asking for advice, modifying a dish and commenting on the food
• Everyday expressions such as J'hésite entre…, Fais-toi plaisir, Ne parle pas la bouche pleine and Bonne dégustation !
• Recognizing dropped sounds and shortened words in natural spoken French

COMMENT UTILISER ✦

Écoutez plusieurs fois
Répétez à voix haute, even when the sentence feels easy

À PROPOS ✦

Hosted by Léa Tirard-Hersant, French tutor, founder of Leacafe, and creator of Par cœur and the French-learning audio series Le Vignoble, this podcast helps learners retain French through carefully designed repetition, listening drills, storytelling, and spoken rhythm.

💡 DANS LES COULISSES DE PAR CŒUR ✦

Par cœur also uses ElevenLabs AI tools to bring guest voices and immersive situations to life. Alongside Léa’s own voice, you may hear different speakers, accents, dialogues, and sound environments — all wrapped into lively, engaging, and sometimes slightly absurd everyday stories.

💡 LE SAVIEZ-VOUS ? ✦

With over 10,000 hours taught since 2013, Léa Tirard-Hersant is an experienced online French tutor and contributor to language-learning communities and conferences.

Visit www.LEACAFE.com to discover the complete Par cœur French program and schedule your first lesson.

Et pour enrichir votre français aujourd’hui ? Finalement, il suffit de pas grand-chose.

Hébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.