A1 French short story: a waiter who remembers every name

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated 25 September 2026 · About the library

Read about Antoine, a café waiter who knows every regular's name and order. Easy present-tense French with glosses, then match customers to their drinks.

A1
8 margin notes
Translation included
Questions at the end
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In short

A short A1 story in a neighbourhood café. Antoine the waiter remembers what every regular drinks. Read, then match each customer with their order.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

A café waiter brings an espresso to a regular at a terrace table. — Antoine knows what les habitués order each morning. Illustration: Atelier

Antoine se souvient

Antoine est serveur au Café du Marché. Tous les matins, les habitués¹ arrivent. Antoine se souvient de² tous les prénoms et de toutes les commandes.

« Bonjour Monsieur Blanc ! Un serré³, comme d'habitude⁴ ? » — « Oui, merci, Antoine. » Puis Madame Diallo arrive : un grand crème et un croissant.

À neuf heures, une nouvelle cliente⁵ entre. Elle regarde la carte et hésite⁶. « Je voudrais… la même chose⁷ que ce monsieur. » Elle montre Monsieur Blanc.

Antoine sourit et apporte un serré. « Vous vous appelez comment ? » — « Laura. » — « À demain⁸, Laura ! » Demain, Antoine se souviendra.

Read it in English

Antoine is a waiter at the Café du Marché. Every morning, the regulars arrive. Antoine remembers all their names and their orders.

"Hello Monsieur Blanc! A strong espresso, as usual?" "Yes, thank you, Antoine." Then Madame Diallo arrives: a large white coffee and a croissant.

At nine o'clock, a new customer comes in. She looks at the menu and hesitates. "I'd like… the same as that gentleman." She points at Monsieur Blanc.

Antoine smiles and brings a strong espresso. "What's your name?" "Laura." "See you tomorrow, Laura!" Tomorrow, Antoine will remember.

Who drinks what?

Customer	Order
Monsieur Blanc	un serré
Madame Diallo	un grand crème et un croissant
Laura	un serré (the same as Monsieur Blanc)

La même chose is a lifesaver in a café: if you don't know the name of a drink, point and say la même chose, s'il vous plaît. Comme d'habitude ? is what a waiter says to a regular, and un serré is a short, strong espresso.

Antoine se souvient

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