French Food Vocabulary Beyond the Basics: Bakery, Cafe and Market Words

You probably know croissant, baguette, and café. But French food culture goes much deeper than those first words. This guide covers the vocabulary you need for the three settings where food and language intersect most in France: the bakery, the café, and the market.

At the boulangerie (bakery)

une baguette = a baguette (thin long loaf)
une baguette tradition = artisan baguette, slightly chewier
un pain de campagne = country bread (round, denser)
un pain au levain = sourdough
un croissant = croissant
un pain au chocolat = chocolate pastry (called chocolatine in the south)
une tarte = a tart / pie
une brioche = brioche (rich, slightly sweet bread)
une viennoiserie = general term for pastries (croissants, pains au chocolat, etc.)
une pâtisserie = pastry shop / individual pastry

Useful phrase: Une baguette tradition, s’il vous plaît.

At the café

un café = an espresso
un café allongé = a long black (espresso with more water)
un café au lait = coffee with steamed milk (usually at breakfast)
un noisette = espresso with a dash of milk
un crème = espresso with more milk, like a flat white
un thé = a tea
un chocolat chaud = a hot chocolate
un jus d’orange = an orange juice
une eau plate / gazeuse = still / sparkling water
l’addition, s’il vous plaît = the bill, please

Note: In France, asking for un café will always get you an espresso, not a filter coffee.

At the marché (market)

un légume = a vegetable
un fruit = a fruit
une tomate = a tomato
une courgette = a zucchini / courgette
une aubergine = an eggplant / aubergine
des haricots verts = green beans
un kilo de… = a kilo of…
une barquette de… = a small tray of (strawberries, etc.)
C’est combien ? = How much is it?
Je prends aussi… = I’ll also take…
C’est tout, merci. = That’s everything, thank you.

French meal structure vocabulary

une entrée = starter (not the main course as in American English)
un plat principal = main course
un dessert = dessert
le menu = set menu with fixed price
la carte = the à la carte menu

Final tip

The fastest way to build food vocabulary is to visit a French supermarket website or look at a real French café menu online. Real menus teach you the vocabulary in context far better than a list alone.