These are called Timbits; they’re sold at Tim Hortons
After looking at the Québécois names for trays and coffee cup sleeves in #1013, maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to look again at ways of ordering coffee itself, as well as a few other food items.
A lot of people land on OffQc looking for help with ordering at Tim Hortons in particular because of road trips, so that’s what we’ll go with here. The coffee at Tim Hortons is filter coffee, and people usually add milk, cream or sugar to it, which is why the cups are so big. The coffee is usually served in a paper cup.
I’ve written some sample exchanges below. The prices are just made up. I’ve tried to include a variety of ways of ordering here, trying to imagine the situations you might find yourself in and the different usages you might hear.
— Passez ici! (…) Bonsoir.
— Bonsoir, un moyen deux-deux, s’il vous plaît.
— C’est pour ici ou pour emporter?
— Pour emporter.
— C’est tout?
— Oui, c’est tout.
— Ça fait une et cinquante.
— Next! (…) Good evening.
— Good evening, a medium double-double, please.
— Is it for here or to go?
— To go.
— Will that be all?
— Yes, that’s all.
— That’ll be one fifty.
— Passez ici!
— Bonjour, je vais prendre un petit café, s’il vous plaît.
— Qu’est-ce qu’on met dedans?
— Un lait, un sucre.
— Ensuite?
— C’est tout.
— Une et vingt-cinq, s’il vous plaît. (…) C’est juste à côté pour votre café. Ça sera pas long.
— OK, merci.
— Passez une bonne journée.
— Next!
— Hi, I’ll take a small coffee, please.
— How do you take it?
— One milk, one sugar.
— Will that be all?
— That’s it.
— One twenty-five, please. (…) Your coffee will be just off to the side. It won’t be long (in coming).
— OK, thanks.
— Have a good day.
— Suivant! (…) Bonjour, monsieur.
— Bonjour, ça va être un moyen café une crème, un sucre; un petit café noir; un grand deux-deux; et un moyen deux crèmes, pas de sucre.
— Ensuite?
— C’est tout.
— Sept et soixante, s’il vous plaît. (…) C’est pour emporter?
— Oui.
— Voulez-vous un cabaret de transport?
— Oui, s’il vous plaît.
— Next! (…) Hello, sir.
— Hello, I’ll take a medium coffee one cream, one sugar; a small black coffee; a large double-double; and a medium with two creams, no sugar.
— Anything else?
— That’s it.
— Seven sixty, please. (…) Is it to go?
— Yes.
— Would you like a take-out/take-away tray?
— Yes, please.
— Suivant!
— Bonjour, un grand café deux crèmes, deux sucres.
— Autre chose?
— Oui, une boîte de vingt Timbits.
— Avez-vous une préférence (pour les Timbits)?
— Non… mélangés.
— Autre chose?
— C’est tout.
— Quatre et trente-cinq, s’il vous plaît. (…) Voulez-vous la facture?
— Non, merci.
— Merci à vous, bonne journée.
— Next!
— Hello, a large coffee with two creams, two sugars.
— Anything else?
— Yes, a box of twenty Timbits.
— Do you have a preference (i.e., for which Timbits you want)?
— No… mixed.
— Anything else?
— That’s all.
— Four thirty-five, please. (…) Do you want the receipt?
— No, thank you.
— Thank you, good day.
— Passez ici!
— Bonjour, je prendrais une demi-douzaine de beignes, s’il vous plaît.
— Mélangés?
— Oui.
— Ensuite?
— Un moyen café corsé.
— On met quoi dedans?
— Noir, s’il vous plaît.
— Ensuite?
— Un bagel plein goût avec du fromage à la crème.
— Grillé?
— Oui.
— Est-ce qu’on met du beurre?
— Non, pas de beurre.
— Autre chose?
— Une brioche à la cannelle deux fois.
— Ça va être tout?
— Oui, merci.
— Dix et cinquante.
— Next!
— Hi, I’ll take a half-dozen donuts, please.
— Mixed?
— Yes.
— Anything else?
— A medium dark roast.
— With what in it? (i.e., how do you take it?)
— Black, please.
— Anything else?
— An Everything bagel with cream cheese.
— Toasted?
— Yes.
— With butter?
— No, no butter.
— Anything else?
— Two cinnamon buns.
— Will that be all?
— Yes, thanks.
— Ten fifty.
Well, that should get you unstuck out of a few situations at any rate!
___
Updates:
- An iced cappuccino is called un cappuccino glacé on the menu, but most people just call it an iced capp when they order, which sounds like ice cap (aïss capp). If you wanted a small iced capp, for example, you can ask for un petit iced capp.
- The breakfast sandwich is called le Timatin (which comes from Tim + matin and is also a wordplay on ti-matin, p’tit matin).
- A danish is une danoise; a muffin is un muffin.
- For the donut names, check what they’re called on the little signs under each one when you’re ordering. If you want more than one of something, you can use deux fois, trois fois, etc. For example, if you’re choosing a dozen donuts, you could say glacé au chocolat, trois fois if you wanted three chocolate dip donuts.
- Asking for a deux-deux means you want two creams and two sugars in your coffee. You can also say deux crèmes, deux sucres. When you ask for a deux-deux, you’ll always get cream and sugar, never milk and sugar.
Continue reading: How to order at McDonalds in French when in Québec
I wish I knew this before my 2 years in Quebec. I also thought ‘Timatin’ was a clever moniker for the breakfast sandwich.
I forgot about the Timatin. I’m going to add it above.
How common is “baguel,” which the Office québécois de la langue française mandated be used instead of “bagel”? I ask because I see that even on the Tim Hortons French menu this item is referred to as a “bagel.”
Answering spontaneously, I’d say that spelling is very rare on menus.
When I was in Québec this summer and ordered a coffee at a coffee house, I was asked if I wanted it __ or __. I never caught what the words were but someone told me they meant if I wanted a stronger or a milder brew. One of the choices might have been similar to épicé. Do you know what I’m talking about? Sorry, I know it’s hard to decipher! Thanks!
Strong blend is called corsé (café corsé) although sometimes it’s also called foncé at Tim Hortons. Normal blend is probably just régulier or doux. There might be other words that just aren’t coming to me right now.
Épicé means spicy, so it’s not that — not unless it really was some sort of spicy blend. My guess is that one of the words you heard was corsé, which is the usual way to talk about strong blends in most places.
Merci bien! I figured it wasn’t épicé but that was the closet I could come up with. It must have been corsé and doux. I’ll pay closer attention when I’m there again next summer.
By the way, maurainelle farther down in the comments reminds us of the word velouté, which means mellow. That might be another word you heard.
I’m looking forward to using this material in my class, which includes several Tim’s employees in the group. Maybe they’ll be better able to help francophone customers!
Great! 😀
For any non-Canadian readers out there: a double-double (or un deux-deux in French, as Felix so greatly explained) is a shorthand way of saying that you want two cream and two sugar in the drink you ordered. This is almost always used – though not exclusively – at Tim Hortons. You could go to a McDonald’s and ask for a double-double/un deux-deux; they’ll understand you, but may give you a weird look.
Thanks, I should’ve mentioned that. I’ll add a note above.
Hello, thanks for a wonderful post! “Un lait” was very interesting for me: countable milks? Does milk come in a standard packet or something? By the way, there seems to be a mistake in “C’est va etre tout”: surely, it should be “Ca”? (Sorry for the lack of accents from my English clavier.)
Ah darn, fixed the mistake, thanks! Yes, it should be: ça va être tout?
I’m not sure where the cream and milk comes from. I think the cream comes out of a machine… as for the milk, it might be coming out of a carton or bag. (Again, not sure.) So even when you say two creams, they’re not actually putting in two little containers of cream; they’re either pushing the cream button twice on the machine or holding it down longer than for just one cream. You’ll have to ask an employee! 😉
This is awesome! Just learned today what a “double-double” was so now will attempt it in French. 🙂 I’m so glad you included the “deux fois” part since I would normally ask for “deux brioches à la cannelle” instead. I’m hoping this helps ease the awkwardness of my fast food transactions. Thank you again! 🙂
P.S. Maybe the other word that @Andrea had heard was “velouté”? Seems like I’ve heard and read that on quite a few café menus in Montréal and would make sense as the alternative to “corsé”.
Ah yes, velouté (mellow). Forgot about that one, thanks. It’s possible to put the number in front of the name of the item too, but I find cashiers often don’t hear it and then get the quantity wrong (probably because they’re listening for the item name rather than a number). I find it’s better to say the item first, then how many.
About the CANEnglish term double-double: like joshandallo mentions above in the comments, it’s a typically Tim Hortons usage, but it’s caught on in general usage and can be heard in other establishments too throughout ENGCanada.
Merci!! Finalement je peux commander mon bagel préféré en français au Tims à Gatineau!
This is a great (and informative) post! Really like it.
One thing some people might have problems with is how to say “sweetener”. It’s not really one of those words your dictionary will turn up.
I for one usually order my coffee with one milk and one sweetener – “un lait, un sucaryl” (pronounced su-ka-rel).
Sucaryl is that older “liquid” brand of coffee sweetener, but it made its way into coffee shop vocabulary from when cafeterias were the thing (the old types you’d find in Woolworth’s, or department stores).
I and others tend to say “un sucaryl” at Tim’s or Starbucks, but others may chose to say “un Splenda”. I suppose in Montreal some people maybe would / could use the English word “un sweetener” and still be understood, but the above two would be more common in other areas of Québec.
It would be more rare (and kinda strange) to hear someone say “un édulcorant”, which is technically the word for artificial sweetener (but it sounds too scientific).
We just moved to La Prairie, and I find on the South Shore that orders end with “c’est complet?” “C’est tout” will sometimes get me that eyeball that means I haven’t blended in with the locals, lol.
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