A waiter in a café is sometimes called un garçon de café, but French people use the word un serveur much more often, for any type of waiter. A waitress is une serveuse. Yelling “Garçon !” to catch a waiter's attention in a restaurant (or a café) is rude and outdated.
You can raise your hand with a bid smile, you'll be served correctly. If you want to order something, you just have to call the waiter/tress by saying: "Excusez-moi" or saying : "Monsieur" for the waiter or "Mademoiselle" if it's a young waitress or "Madame" if it's an older waitress.
Calling The Waiter “Garçon”
Not many people do this anymore unless you are an elder as it's quite old fashioned to call a server garçon. It means boy which sounds quite derogatory in English, but it's not quite as bad as it sounds in French since it originated as a means of calling a waiter “garçon de café".
noun,plural gar·çons [gar-sawn]. French. (usually in direct address) a waiter in a restaurant. a boy or a young unmarried man.
Bonjour/Bonsoir
It is simply considered good manners to say Bonjour (hello) upon entering a restaurant or any place of business, acknowledging both the shop owner and the other customers. Upon leaving, one always says “Au revoir” (good bye).
French etiquette indicates that you should finish your plate, or the host will be offended (thinking that the meal was bad).
To attract the attention of a waiter or waitress just raise your arm and call out 's'il vous plait' .
It can be condescending to use garçon for a young man (just like “boy” in English). In everyday slang, you can use un mec / un gars (= a dude, a guy) instead. When referring to a group for male friends, though, les garçons is acceptable.
In some instances, the gender of the noun is apparent: un garçon (a boy) is masculine, whereas une fille (a girl) is feminine.
The feminine form is serveuse. This refers to a waitress or a female server in a restaurant.
1. a boy, youth, or young man. 2. a waiter or servant.
Le Bon Garçon, pronounced luh-BOHN-gar-sohn, means “the good boy”.
Ordering in French
You'll exchange hello's and be asked, “Vous préférez vous installer en salle ou en terrasse?” (do you prefer to be inside or outside). Responding “en salle” or “en terrasse” will suffice.
How do you call a waiter with respect? Raise your hand slightly and say “Excuse me” as he passes your table. If that doesn't work politely ask a bus-person or the Maitre'd to send your server over. Don't EVER snap your fingers or yell for attention.
Waiting staff (British English), waitstaff (North American English), waiters (male) / waitresses (female), or servers (North American English), are those who work at a restaurant, a diner, or a bar and sometimes in private homes, attending to customers by supplying them with food and drink as requested.
Beau is the masculine, and belle the feminine form of the adjective meaning beautiful. So, if you are talking about a man or masculine object you use beau, if talking about a woman or a feminine object use belle.
noun. a young woman or girl.
French people tend not to visit unannounced or uninvited. To do so is considered rude. When invited to a dinner, it is common for guests to ask their hosts if they are required to bring something on the day. Guests may also bring a bottle of wine or dessert.
A boy is a male child.
Like many French animal nouns, the word chat has male and female versions—which are both pronounced differently. In this case, chat is actually the masculine form for cat and chatte is the feminine. Chatte is pronounced with a hard “t” at the end so it sounds like “sh-at.”
L'addition, s'il vous plaît. The bill, please.
Tipping is not considered etiquette by French people in French restaurants, but if you enjoyed your meal, it's nice to leave 5 - 10%.
Café If you order "un Café" in France, you will be served with a shot of espresso, which is the most standard and popular coffee drink you will find in France.