Phrasebook
French menu questions: what is in the dish and the sauce?
Read three French menu descriptions, then ask about ingredients, accompaniments and sauce. Includes food picture cards and short restaurant exchanges.
- A2
- 11 phrases
- 3 situations
- Learn this in the A2 notebook →
In short
Read the dish, accompaniment and sauce as separate parts. Then name the part you want to ask about: Qu’est-ce qu’il y a dans la sauce ? A short menu line gives you the starting point for your question.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learnRed watch out
| Menu line | What it names | Useful next question |
|---|---|---|
| Omelette aux herbes, salade verte | Herb omelette and green salad | Est-ce qu’il y a du fromage dans l’omelette ? |
| Poulet rôti, pommes de terre, sauce maison | Roast chicken, potatoes and house sauce | Qu’est-ce qu’il y a dans la sauce maison ? |
| Soupe de légumes, pain grillé | Vegetable soup and toast | Est-ce que la soupe contient de la crème ? |
Ingredients and accompaniments
Find:
Ask about one ingredient
Use the dish name so the server knows which recipe you mean.
Ask what the sauce contains
Maison means house-made here; ask for the ingredients you want to know.
Ask how it is served
Removing a sauce and serving it separately are two different requests.
How do you ask what is in a dish in French?
Ce plat est servi avec du riz ?
Is this dish served with rice?
Ce plat est préparé avec de la crème ?
Is this dish made with cream?
Servi avec asks about what comes alongside the dish. Préparé avec asks about what goes into it. If your question concerns the dressing, say la sauce de la salade rather than la sauce when several dishes have one.