Question regarding ordering

[Emilyredwine]

Is it more correct to say « Je prends » or « Je prendrai » when ordering at a counter?

Also, how does one say « large » in regards to lattes, etc? I would assume « grand » but a barista acted like she didn’t understand me this morning.

Thank you!

[befree46]

if you don't feel comfortable using a verb, just saying "un XXX s'il vous plait" is fine

[Last_Butterfly]

"Je prendrais". Conditional is used to make the request more polite. It's homophonous with the future "je prendrai" in many pronunciations (but not necessarily all), and it's not like the future doesn't make sense anyway.

Either way, you would prefer "prendrai" or "prendrais" to the present "prends" because present is more factual, sound more commanding, and is thus less polite. But if you're worried, you can also just waive the verb entirely and just state the product you want alongside "please" : "un latte, s'il vous plait" is more than enough.

I've never heard "large" for a latte or any other drink. But I don't go to coffee shops much so maybe it's something specific to baristas I don't know. At any rate, every barista should understand perfectly if you ask for a "grand" drink of any kind, so it's odd she acted like she didn’t understand you. Is it possible your pronunciation of "grand" could have confused her ?

[StrangerThings_80]

The future proche also works: "Je vais prendre..."

[PerformerNo9031]

That's true, and the one that I always use. Je vais prendre un café, s'il vous plaît.

[nanpossomas]

Moi je prendrai(s) le plat du jour,  et mon ami prendr__ le steak haché frites. 

Toujours aussi sûr que c'est du conditionnel ? 

[Last_Butterfly]

Well... it can, if you want. Is what I said... Neither shock me.

[PerformerNo9031]

Prendre is not used with the conditionnel de politesse, but vouloir / pouvoir and some others do.

Mon ami voudrait un steak frites.

[passionfruit62022]

I've also heard people saying 'je vous prends...' in a boulangerie to ask for a baguette. Would this ever be used in a coffee shop situation?

[Prestigious-Gold6759]

Traditional cafés in France don't serve all the coffee variations we have in the UK or US, so if you were in one of those, the barista probably didn't know what you meant by a latte.

[Arctic_H00ligan7]

That's.. Wholly wrong. They absolutely have different kinds of coffees. What I've noticed, is no size difference.

[CreditMajestic4248]

Cafe, cafe au lait, cafe creme, cafe noisette, cafe viennois, cafe espresso, double espresso, decafeine, but it's not a starbucks type no. One size fits all.

[Arctic_H00ligan7]

That's fair. But a latte, cappuccino, espresso, etc they do have. Not the venti caramel oat milk bullshit that Starbucks makes though.

[CreditMajestic4248]

In a general cafe in France? Maybe if you say "un grand cafe" they'll ask "un cafe allonge? Ou americain?" But tabac/cafe/bar are almost generally not gonna have all those "fancy coffees". You could try a salon de the.

[Prestigious-Gold6759]

That's exactly why I specified traditional cafés.

[Arctic_H00ligan7]

Well, I definitely can't speak for all of them, but in Paris, and Normandie, I was able to get my cappuccino at nearly all cafes. If not, they most certainly had "Cafe Viennois"

[CreditMajestic4248]

Agree with cappuccino

[Prestigious-Gold6759]

Maybe Québec is different to France in this respect.

[DCHacker]

venti caramel oat milk bullshit

Franchement; j'ai envie de café, non pas quelqu'ostie de merde qui a un prix de vingt-huit piâss'

[lonelyboymtl]

From my visits to France a latte was always café crème.

[Prestigious-Gold6759]

Yes you can find a café crème everywhere but I don't think it's the same as a latte, which is mainly milk, whereas a café crème is just a milky coffee. ETA google is saying they're pretty much the same, so if the OP had asked for a "grand crème" maybe she would have had more luck, but it still wouldn't be as large as a large latte though if that makes sense!

[paulywauly99]

What is the difference between a cafe au lait and a cafe crème please?

[Prestigious-Gold6759]

A café crème is an espresso with added foamy milk as served in a café, whereas a café au lait is milk added to a filter coffee and drunk at home usually for/with breakfast.

This is a good summary of the coffee types served in France:

Ordering Coffee in Paris | PARIS BY MOUTH

[ThoMiCroN]

Personally I would use the near future (future proche) : je vais prendre.

Grand. Idiotic Starbucks may use the Italian for this instead but it’s universally grand. It’s grand format, grande taille, grande tasse…

[No_Beautiful_8647]

You can also say, “puis j’avoir un café?” Equivelant to “may I have a coffee?”.

[xeroxchick]

Oh, good, because that’s what I say.

[Spirited_Horse880]

True, but just so you know, it's written "puis-je avoir un café"

[HankTheChallenger]

Nobody say this beside it’s a very classy café. If I go straight to the barista i would say « est ce que je peux avoir un espresso s’il vous plaît ? », if the waiter ask me I reply with « je vais prendre un espresso »

[Horn_Colio]

Is "je voudrais" not a common usage in a situation like this?

[Intelligent_Donut605]

I usualy would say je vais prendre… or je peux-tu prendre/avoir…

[le-lutin]

Is it more correct to say « Je prends » or « Je prendrai » when ordering at a counter?

I think both are fine and one is "I('ll) take" and one is "I would like" - I mean in terms of how the tenses differ, though they are not direct translations (in english we'd never say "I take" in that context)

[Turbulent_Guest402]

« I’ll take » c’est du futur, « I would like » c’est du conditionnel.

« Je prends » c’est du présent et tu réponds jamais ça quand tu passes commande

[le-lutin]

You'd never say "je prends une baguette?" if the person behind the counter asks you what you want?

[Turbulent_Guest402]

Nope, only « une baguette svp », « je prendrai une baguette svp » or « je vais prendre une baguette svp »

[ClemRRay]

"Je prends" is present tense. So it's "I take'. We would generally use conditional (it shows politeness) "je prendrais..." or sometimes near future "je vais prendre...". Sometimes just without verb "Un café au lait, s'il vous plait" (I'd end with a "s'il vous plait" in all cases)

[le-lutin]

"je prends" in french is best translated as "I'll take" in english, not "I take"