Key Takeaway:
Mastering a handful of essential French café phrases—and knowing their correct pronunciation and cultural etiquette—empowers you to order coffee confidently and get exactly the drink you want when you visit France.
Would you like an express (short) espresso? Or Are you an Americano man/woman? A latte, brewed coffee, or tea is an excellent way to start any day. But it’s best to know how to order coffee in French when ordering your coffee in France.
It can get complicated! We all drink coffee for different reasons. Someone might want the “Vrai” experience with a Café au lait (a French specialty). In contrast, someone else might want their coffee sweeter and request a crème, vanilla, or hazelnut.
There are many different ways to order “a cup of coffee” in France. If you want to impress your friends while visiting Paris, here’s what you need to know to order your next latte with a side of croissants in Paris.
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Quick-Reference Cheat Sheet
| French Phrase | English Translation | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
Un café au lait | Café with steamed milk | uhn ka-fay oh lay |
Un café noir | Black coffee | uhn ka-fay nwahr |
Un café serré | Strong coffee | uhn ka-fay seh-ray |
Un café allongé | Americano | uhn ka-fay ah-lohn-zhay |
Une noisette | Espresso with a dash of milk | ewn nwa-zet |
Je voudrais un… s’il vous plaît | “I would like a … please” | zhuh voo-dray uhn … seel voo pleh |
Pro Tip: Always end with “s’il vous plaît” to sound polite and friendly.
Café-au-lait
Ask for a “café-au-lait” if you want a coffee with steamed milk, like the Caffè latte. This drink is a French tradition dating back to the early 20th century and is still popular today! It’s a warm drink that’s good for the wintertime and makes for an excellent way to start your morning. It’ll wake you up while giving you your daily dose of caffeine.
It’s confusing at first because there are also two different ways people might say this phrase: crème or café au lait. A café crème (Kah-fay krəm) is similar but with hot milk instead of water. The idea is that the person wants one part espresso and three parts steamed milk. Just like an Americano with more cream!
Un Café Noir: A Black Coffee
An espresso, or caf-un noir, is the standard way to ask for a coffee in France. It’s a single shot of coffee with hot water added (like an Americano).
Un café serré: a strong coffee
Un café serré is a strong coffee. To order it, you can say:
- “Un café serré, s’il vous plaît.” (A strong coffee, please.)
- If you want sugar added: “Un café serré avec sucre.” (A strong coffee with sugar). This means extra ground coffee in the filter, so there’s less water.
If you’re ordering this at a fast food place or cafe on the go, expect to get it in a paper cup instead of porcelain or metal. For example: “Un café serré dans un gobelet s’il vous plaît.”
Un Petit Café: Tiny Cup of Black Coffee
Un petit café means you want a small serving of black coffee. Une petite café is the most basic order you can make and the easiest to remember. A “petit” means small, so the first part of your sentence should always be ‘un.’ Like in English, you can order several cups of coffee at once by saying ‘Deux Petits cafés’ or ‘Trois Petits cafés.’
If you want more than three cups of black coffee, say Trois Grands cafés’ (three large coffees). Or ‘quatre minuscules tasses de thé’ (four tiny teacups).
Café Allongé
Café allongé is an Americano. Café allongé is filtered coffee topped with hot water, resulting in a longer drink than an espresso. It’s also called un long ou un grand café (a long or large coffee).
When you ask for a café allongé, you ask for a longer version of your cup of coffee. Allongé does not mean something that has been lying around too long! The French word “long” isn’t the same as the English word “long.”
Un Espresso/Noisette
Un espresso in English means “an espresso” is a small cup of very strong coffee. On the other hand, “une noisette” means espresso with a bit of milk added to create a lighter-colored drink. That’s how to order coffee in French if you want an espresso!
Un cafe Americain
Un cafe Americain is a more robust version of a regular cup of coffee. American coffee is served in an oversized cup and added hot water after brewing.
The strong brew makes this variation ideal for those who like extra-caffeinated cups. You can also order a un cafe Americano if you want a flavorful coffee.
Un Grand Creme (Cafe Au Lait)
You might have heard of it and seen it on menus, but what exactly is a “cafe au lait”? A “cafe au lait” is warm milk mixed with coffee. It’s often served with an accompaniment like croissants or pain au chocolat. If you’re unfamiliar with these foods, fear not: we’ll discuss them later!
Un Cafe Creme
Here’s how to order coffee in french if you want your coffee with extra milk. It is as easy to say “un cafe creme.” You can ask for an espresso or macchiato if you want something stronger. You can also order a “cafe au la lait.”
Une Noix (Une Noisette) De Lait (Pour Le Café)
To order a noisette of milk for your coffee, you can say, “une noix (une noisette) de lait (pour le café).”
“Une noix” is a little bit of milk. It’s not usual, so it’s like a joke—a little bit isn’t enough for anything! A small amount.
Additional Phrases You Can Use:
- “I would like a latte.” (Je voudrais un café au lait.)
- Or you could say, “I’d like to have some espresso.” (Je voudrais un expresso.)
- Suppose you feel more adventurous and want your order to be more specific. (I’d like an Americano with milk, please.) In that case, you can add additional words for extra information on how you want your coffee made. Say “Je voudrais un américano au lait s’il vous plaît!”
- If you are ordering a coffee to drink inside the café, say “Je consomme our place” (zhuh con-sohm soor plahs). “I’m consuming [my coffee] on site.”
- If you’d like to order a coffee, say: “Je commande un café au lait,” or if it’s black, “Je commande un café noir.”
- If you’d like milk in your coffee, say: “Avec du lait.” And if you don’t want any milk in your hot beverage but would add it at home later, reply with an emphatic “Non!” (no).
- If you prefer no sugar in your cup of joe either—respond with another emphatic “Non!” (no).
- You can ask for more than one espresso shot by saying something like “Café allongé.” Asking for a Cafe allonge means pouring two shots into one cupful of watery goodness.
Conclusion
In general, the French take their drink orders seriously. So if you are ordering in a bar, you should be prepared to answer your questions about how you want your coffee. So what do you say when ordering coffee in France? ☕
