Frasa
SituationsGet the app (opens the App Store in a new tab)

French phrases for saying you're vegetarian or vegan in France

Say it simply: “Je ne mange pas de viande” or “Je suis végétarien”. Ask what you can have with “Qu'est-ce que vous conseillez ?”, and check a dish with “Il y a de la viande dedans ?”. If you skip fish too, say “Je ne mange ni viande ni poisson”.

Try it · about two minutes

Before ordering, you explain that you don’t eat meat and check which dishes on the menu fit.

Sound on: the waiter speaks French. You choose what to say back, and Frasa tells you why it works.

How does the conversation usually go?

  1. Waiter

    Voici la carte.

    Here is the menu.

    You

    Je ne mange pas de viande.

    I don’t eat meat.

  2. Nothing on the menu is marked as vegetarian, so you ask the waiter for help.

    You

    Qu'est-ce que vous conseillez ?

    What do you recommend?

  3. Waiter

    On a un risotto aux champignons et une tarte aux légumes.

    We have a mushroom risotto and a vegetable tart.

    You

    Il y a de la viande dedans ?

    Is there any meat in it?

  4. Waiter

    Vous avez choisi ?

    Have you decided?

    You

    Je prendrai le risotto, s'il vous plaît.

    I’ll have the risotto, please.

  5. Waiter

    Tout se passe bien ?

    Is everything all right?

    You

    Merci, c'est très bon.

    Thanks, it’s very good.

  6. Waiter

    Je vous apporte autre chose ?

    Can I bring you anything else?

    You

    Un café noir, s'il vous plaît.

    A black coffee, please.

Which French phrases do you need?

  • Voici la carte.

    Here is the menu.

  • Je ne mange pas de viande.

    I don’t eat meat.

  • Sans viande, s'il vous plaît.

    Without meat, please.

  • Je ne mange pas de porc.

    I don’t eat pork.

  • Vous avez des plats végétaliens ?

    Do you have vegan dishes?

  • Qu'est-ce que vous conseillez ?

    What do you recommend?

  • Vous avez choisi ?

    Have you decided?

  • Vous avez du lait végétal ?

    Do you have plant-based milk?

  • Tout se passe bien ?

    Is everything all right?

  • Merci, c'est très bon.

    Thanks, it’s very good.

What is worth knowing in France?

No meat, or no fish too

No meat, no fish

Je ne mange ni viande ni poisson.

I eat neither meat nor fish.

May still get fish

Je ne mange pas de viande.

I don’t eat meat.

In French, poisson isn’t viande, so “no meat” can still leave fish on the plate. If you skip fish as well, say so.

Hidden meat

Soups, salads and tarts can hide bacon pieces (lardons) or meat stock. Asking what’s in a dish is normal, and waiters don’t mind.

Il y a des lardons ou du bouillon de viande ?

Is there bacon or meat stock in it?

Vegetarian or vegan

Végétarien is vegetarian. Végétalien means vegan, with no animal products at all, and “vegan” is understood too. Say which one you mean.

Vous avez des plats végétaliens ?

Do you have vegan dishes?

Questions about this situation

Which French phrases matter most here?
“Voici la carte.” (Here is the menu); “Je ne mange pas de viande.” (I don’t eat meat); “Sans viande, s'il vous plaît.” (Without meat, please). The full list is above.
Can I hear how they sound?
Yes: press the speaker next to a phrase to hear it, recorded for the Frasa app.
How can I practise this conversation?
Press “Start the conversation” above to play it through and choose your replies, with a note on why some fit better in France. Frasa, an iPhone app, lets you save these phrases and rehearse them out loud.

Related situations in French

All situations in French

Practise these phrases in Frasa

Frasa is an iPhone app for the conversations in front of you. Save phrases like these, rehearse them out loud, and they come back until they stick.

AI-generated. May be inaccurate.