How to Make a Restaurant Reservation｜French Phrases for Booking

When traveling or on a business trip, it is common to make a reservation before dining at a restaurant. In particular, popular places and dinner hours often require advance booking.

By learning standard expressions for giving the date, time, number of people, and your name, you can make a reservation smoothly in French.

This lesson explains useful French phrases frequently used when booking a table.

Dialogue

A

Bonjour, je voudrais réserver une table pour ce soir.
(Hello, I would like to reserve a table for this evening.)

B

Pour combien de personnes ?
(For how many people?)

A

Pour deux personnes, à 19 heures, s’il vous plaît.
(For two people, at 7:00 p.m., please.)

B

Très bien. À quel nom, s’il vous plaît ?
(Very well. Under what name, please?)

A

Au nom de Tanaka.
(Under the name Tanaka.)

B

Parfait, la réservation est confirmée.
(Perfect, the reservation has been confirmed.)

Grammar and Expression Points

1. Expressions for “Reservation”

In French, the verb réserver is used to mean “to book/reserve.” For restaurants, the standard phrase is:

Here, je voudrais literally means “I would like,” and is a polite, softened way of making a request.

You may also use:

This carries a nuance of “I would be happy to …,” and is equally polite.

2. Saying the Number of People

To indicate the number of people, use the structure “pour + number + personnes.”

For one person, say “pour une personne.” Note that personne is always feminine in French, so it takes “une” instead of “un.”

3. Indicating Date and Time

Reservations require “when” and “what time.” In French, time is indicated by “à 〇〇 heures.“

In France, the 24-hour clock is commonly used even in spoken language. For casual conversation, one may also say “7 heures du soir” (7 in the evening).

4. Giving Your Name

You will always be asked for a name when booking. The standard phrase is:

This is the usual way to provide your reservation name, whether on the phone or in person. Typically, giving just the last name is sufficient.

5. Confirmation Phrases

When the restaurant confirms the booking, you may hear several expressions:

All of these indicate that your reservation is complete.

Summary

泉（Izumi）

Author

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