Au Restaurant

[Liz]

It has happened again.  We've been out to lunch and the waitress takes away the plates and says 'ça a été?'.  At least that's what it sounds like.  I think it means was the meal alright?  Does it and what is the grammar?  It just sounds like the perfect tense of être to me and the individual words don't make much sense, perhaps I've got it wrong.

It reminds me of 'ça y est'.  It took me years to work out that when they said what sounded like sye-aye that is how it is spelt.

Enlighten me someone, please.

Liz

[M]

yes, that's right - she was askingif you enjoyed the meal.

malcolm

[crépuscule]

This happened to us a couple of years ago. At the time, I assumed the waiter was saying "Satiété?" - "Have you had enough?" - but obviously not! I have just found "Ca a été?" in my French Idioms book. Funnily enough, I have only heard this in one place - Draguignan!

[Christine Animal]

I suppose it could be the past of "ça va?", when people say they have been somewhere they often say "j'ai été là-bas", instead of "je suis allé là-bas"...  so "ça a été?", meaning how's it been, or has it been all right.

 

[graham34]

[quote user="crépuscule"]This happened to us a couple of years ago. At the time, I assumed the waiter was saying "Satiété?" - "Have you had enough?" [/quote]

It is Satiété, we hear that used frequently before the plates are taken away. Translation is "eaten to satisfaction" or "full to satisfaction" it seems.

Graham

[Clair]

[quote user="graham34"]

[quote user="crépuscule"]This happened to us a couple of years ago. At the time, I assumed the waiter was saying "Satiété?" - "Have you had enough?" [/quote]

It is Satiété, we hear that used frequently before the plates are taken away. Translation is "eaten to satisfaction" or "full to satisfaction" it seems.Graham[/quote]

I cannot help but intervene here, as I cannot think of any situation where a restaurant waiter/waitress in France would approach a table and ask "satiété?" before taking the plates away... [:D]

As reported earlier in the thread, he/she would ask "ça a été?" (meaning was everything alright?) to find out if everything was to the clients'satisfaction.

If you are not convinced, ask him/her to repeat next time you're asked that question...

[Opalienne]

How was it?   is maybe the nearest English translation.   As to it only happening in Draguignan, in the north it happens after each course in all restaurants.... Maybe people up here are more concerned about keeping their customers happy!

[Suze01]

I suppose it depends on the restaurant and on how polite the staff are, but the ones we go to (in the SW) often say it after each course, so I don't think it's a northern thing..

[Owens88]

>he/she would ask "ça a été?" (meaning was everything alright?) to find out if everything was to the clients'satisfaction

Assuming so, what would be the general response. Oui, merci  or what ?

Thanks

John

[Christine Animal]

Depends what the meal was like!  But if you are pleased you could say "Oui, très bien, merci".

 

[Christine Animal]

Another way of saying "Ca a été" and which perhaps explains more the meaning is "Ca s'est bien passé?".

 

[Liz]

[quote user="Clair"]I cannot help but intervene here, as I cannot think of any situation where a restaurant waiter/waitress in France would approach a table and ask "satiété?" before taking the plates away... [:D]
As reported earlier in the thread, he/she would ask "ça a été?" (meaning was everything alright?) to find out if everything was to the clients'satisfaction.

[/quote]

That makes me wonder if there is perhaps a play on words?

Liz

Anyway, thanks all for the comments.  I shall know next time that I am right to say, 'tres bien,merci'. 

[KathyC]

Can you use it after sex? With either of its meanings?

[KathyC]

You're supposed to see a little winking (correct spelling) smiley after that last post, but the way to do it escapes me.

[Anton Redman]

[quote user="KathyC"]Can you use it after sex? With either of its meanings?[/quote]

I would not recommend it at my age, in the 60s if you said non, they used to fill up the soup bowl again because your were not satisfied.

[Andyphilpott]

Restaurants in Collobrieres (Var) started using this expression a couple of years ago - never heard it before then!

[crépuscule]

To prolong the debate:

Last night, I was reading the Rough Guide to the Pyrenees and came across the following under Eating and Drinking:

"The waiter/waitress will approach with the words Ca-y-était? to take finished plates away, which inevitably throws some people as the expression isn't in most phrasebooks."

It isn't in mine! Is this an alternative or a mistake by the Rough Guide?

 

[Clair]

[quote user="crépuscule"]To prolong the debate:

Last night, I was reading the Rough Guide to the Pyrenees and came across the following under Eating and Drinking:

"The waiter/waitress will approach with the words Ca-y-était? to take finished plates away, which inevitably throws some people as the expression isn't in most phrasebooks."

It isn't in mine! Is this an alternative or a mistake by the Rough Guide?[/quote]

I would definitely say Rough Guide  got it wrong.

Ca-y-était? = was it there? (use of "y" is colloquial)

[Rob G]

Definitely a mistake by the Rough Guide. It always surprises me when supposedly well-researched publications like this make such gaffes. It's a bit like when serious commercial companies in France decide they want to advertise in English or have an English website, but they don't bother to get it properly translates so it ends up looking like schoolboy English at best. Why don't they do thier homework properly, and/or pay to get a proper translation done?

Anyway, to come back to our onions (sic), "ça a été" has been in use as a colloquial expression for a very long time. It's one of those things that you won't find in any dictionary, and as already answered above, is roughly translated (depending on context) as "Was that OK?" or "Was everything alright?"

Rob

[Christine Animal]

That Guide sound very Rough...  and of course ça a été has always existed, maybe it's just because they have more recently started to use it in restaurants to look polite instead of just taking your plate away without saying a word.  Like they all say, and this is only in the last few years, bonne journée, bonne soirée, etc., every time you leave someone, in a shop or somewhere.  Maybe it comes from the States, where everyone says "have a nice day", "enjoy your meal", etc.

"Ca a été?" can be used at any time, like if you come back from the dentist's for example! 

Oh well, way back in the beginning I thought café au lait was "café olé"... too many holidays in Spain!

 

[Rob G]

Interesting, Christine, your comment about "bonne journée" etc. perhaps coming from the states. I notice a difference though - often when Americans say "have a nice day" they say it in an automated way which lacks any sincerity. Certainly where we are, when someone says "bonne journée" they usually seem to say it with some feeling so you actually feel that they really do want you to have a good day.

One thing that I still haven't quite got my head around is this: how late in the day is it still valid to say "bonne journée"? I've been wished this well into the afternoon! On a similar note, at what time would you start saying "bonsoir" instead of "bonjour"? And until what point in the evening would you wish someone "bonne soirée"? And how late does it have to be before you can say "bonne nuit"?

Rob

[Ron Avery]

Rob asked  at what time would you start saying "bonsoir" instead of "bonjour"? And until what point in the evening would you wish someone "bonne soirée"? And how late does it have to be before you can say "bonne nuit"?

We asked this at French school and were told that after lunch you use bon après-midi then you use bonne soir/bonne soirée after 16-00 or there abouts, Bonne nuit is only used when someone is going to bed.

[chris pp]

I understood that after18.00 was when bonne soir is used and bonne nuit is normally only used to someone you are going to sleep with!   Also there is bonne fin d'après midi used in the afternoon round here.

Chris

 

[Dick Smith]

We've also had bonne fin d'apres-midi - it's very confusing to a Brit used to a tight smile and a muttered 'hello'.

And what is the appropriate reply?

[chris pp]

Et vous aussi  seems to work well enough.

Chris