How to Order Food at a Restaurant in Japanese + Business Speech / Polite Language (Keigo)

Today, we’re going to learn how to order food at a restaurant, as well as some common phrases you’ll hear and use at a restaurant.

If you ever listen to a server or cashier at a restaurant, you’ll notice that they’ll use a different set of phrases from normal Japanese. That’s because they’re using 敬語(keigo), a set of honorifics used to show respect. You use keigo when you talk to people who are older than you or have seniority at school or work, but it is also used all the time in customer service.

Fortunately, you don’t need to use any complicated phrases just to order food, but if you ever decide to work for a Japanese store or a Japanese company, you will need to learn them eventually.

 

Entering the Restaurant

First, let’s learn the words for “restaurant” and “cafe”. This is easy, because they’re the same words as in English.

レストラン
resutoran
restaurant

カフェ
kafe
cafe

You can also use 喫茶店 (kissaten) for cafes, although カフェ is more common these days.

Entering the Restaurant

いらっしゃいませ
Irasshai-mase
Welcome.

This word comes from いらっしゃる(irassharu), which is a more formal way to say 来る(kuru), or to come. It can also mean いる(iru), or to be.

This phrase is used in practically every kind of store, not just restaurants, but also convenience stores and department stores.

When you hear this phrase from an employee, you don’t need to reply with いらっしゃいませ or even こんにちわ (konnichiwa).

いらっしゃる is an example of 尊敬語 (sonkeigo), one of the three types of keigo. The other two types are 丁寧語(teineigo) and 謙譲語(kenjougo). 尊敬語 is used for other people’s actions, not your own.

 

何名様なんめいさまでしょうか。
Nan mei-sama deshouka?
何名様なんめいさまでいらっしゃいますか。
Nan mei-sama de irasshaimasu ka?
How many (people)?

名(mei) is a formal way to say 人(nin/hito), or person. Normally, when you want to ask “How many people are there?”, you would use 何人(nan nin), like this:

明日あした何人なんにん来くる？
Ashita nan-nin kuru?
How many people are coming tomorrow?

However, when you’re talking to a guest or customer, you replace 人 with the more formal 名. On top of that, you have to add 様 (sama), an honorific that is more formal than さん(san) to make it even more formal, giving us 何名様. That’s how serious customer service is in Japan!

でしょうか(deshouka) is a more formal way to say ですか, while でいらっしゃいますか is an even more formal way to say ですか.

As I mentioned earlier, いらっしゃる is a more formal version of 来る, but it can also mean いる (iru), or “to be”. You can use いるto say:

東京とうきょうに友達ともだちがいる。
Toukyou ni tomodachi ga iru.
I have a friend in Tokyo.
(lit. A friend exists in Tokyo.)

 

一人ひとりです。
Hitori desu.
Just one./I’m by myself.

二人ふたりです。
Futari desu.
We are two people.

三人さんにんです。
San-nin desu.
We are three people.

四人よにんです。
Yo-nin desu.
We are four people.

五人ごにんです。
Go-nin desu.
We are five people.

If you want, you can use 名 instead of人, like this:

一名いちめいです。
Ichi-mei desu.
二名にめいです。
Ni-mei desu.
三名さんめいです。
San-mei desu.

However, people don’t normally use 名 to talk about themselves.

 

お客様おきゃくさま
o-kyaku-sama
customer/guest

This word is also used like “Sir” or “Ma’am” in English.

By the way, if you talk to a customer in front of your boss, you must refer to the customer more formally than your boss. For example, if you have a customer named Tanaka-san, and want to introduce Tanaka-san’s mother to your boss, you would say:

田中様たなかさまのお母様かあさまでいらっしゃいます。
Tanaka-sama no o-kaasan de irasshaimasu.
This is Mr./Ms. Tanaka’s mother.

 

六時ろくじに予約よやくした鈴木すずきです。
Roku-ji ni yoyaku shita Suzuki desu.
I have a reservation for 6 o’clock under Suzuki.

六時ろくじに予約よやくした<name>です。
Roku-ji ni yoyaku shita <name> desu.
I have a reservation for 6 o’clock under <name>.

鈴木様すずきさまですね。
Suzuki-sama desu ne.
It’s Mr./Ms. Suzuki, right?

お待まちしておりました。
O-machi shite orimashita.
We’ve been expecting you.

待つ (matsu) = To wait

If you were waiting to meet a friend, you can say:

待まってたよ。
Matteta yo.
I was waiting for you.

 

ご予約よやくいただけましたか。
Go-yoyaku itadakemashita ka.
Have you made a reservation?
(lit. Have I humbly received your reservation?)

ご予約 (go-yoyaku) = Your reservation
いただく(itadaku) = the formal version of もらう(morau), to receive

ご(Go) is an honorific prefix that makes the phrase more polite. Be careful not to use ご to talk about yourself.

予約よやくしていません。
Yoyaku shiteimasen.
I haven’t made a reservation.

申もうし訳わけございません。只今ただいま満席まんせきでございます。
Moushi wake gozaimasen. Tadaima manseki de gozaimasu.
We’re terribly sorry. We are full now.

申し訳ございません (moushi wake gozaimasen) = I’m terribly sorry.
申し訳 (moushi wake) = excuse
ございません (gozaimasen) = I don’t have
満 (man) = full
席 (seki) = seat

おタバコはお吸すいになりますか。
O-tabako wa o-sui ni narimasu ka.
Do you smoke?

Informally:

タバコを吸すいますか。
Tabako wo suimasu ka.
Do you smoke?

タバコ (tabako) = Cigarette (comes from “tobacco”)
吸う(suu) = to smoke (can also mean “to breathe in” or “to absorb” in other contexts)

なります(narimasu) means “to become”, but in this case, it’s part of a common sentence form that’s used in formal Japanese.

お + <verb masu form stem> + になりますか

As another example:

お使つかいになりますか。
O-tsukai ni narimasu ka.
Will you use it?

 

禁煙席きんえんせきと喫煙席きつえんせきとどちらがよろしいでしょうか。
Kin-en seki to kitsuen seki to dochira ga yoroshii deshou ka.
Which one do you prefer, smoking or non-smoking?

禁煙 (kin-en) = non-smoking. You will see this word on signs inside many buildings and restrooms. 禁 comes from 禁止(kinshi), or to prohibit.

喫煙 = the formal way to say “to smoke”
喫煙席 = smoking area(seat)
よろしい = a formal way of sayingいい(ii), or “good”

Use this sentence pattern whenever you want to ask someone what they prefer.

AとBとどっち/どちらがいいですか。
A to B to docchi/dochira ga ii desu ka.
Which one do you prefer A, or B?

 

席せきにご案内あんないいたします。
Seki ni go annai itashimasu.
I will show you to your table.

案内 (annai) = to guide.
いたします = a humble way to say する. This word is 謙譲語(kenjougo), so you use this word when you’re doing the action.

 

Getting Ready to Order

We’re halfway through this article, but finally, we’re ready to order!(やっと注文できる!)

First, you need to get the server’s attention.

すみません！
Sumimasen!
Excuse me!

After which, the server will ask:

ご注文ちゅうもんはお決きまりですか。
Go-chuumon wa o–kimari desu ka.
Are you ready to order?

注文 (chuumon) = order
(〜が)決まる (~ga kimaru) = to be decided

*Be careful not to confuse 決まるwith決める(kimeru), or to decide something. You can learn about transitive and intransitive verbs in this video.

 

Maybe the server comes and asks you before you’ve decided, in which case you can reply:

まだ決きまっていません。
Mada kimatteimasen.
I haven’t decided yet.
(lit. It hasn’t been decided yet.)

まだ (mada) = still
まだ + negative = not yet

Or, you can say:

ちょっと待まってください。
Chotto matte kudasai.
Give us a little more time.
(lit. Please wait a little bit.)

 

When you want to order, simply say the name of the item you want,

生なまビール一つお願ねがいします。
Nama biiru hitotsu o-negai shimasu.
One draft beer, please.

生 = raw, such as 生卵(nama tamago), or raw egg.

みそラーメン一つお願ねがいします。
Miso raamen hitotsu o-negai shimasu.
One miso ramen, please.

チーズバーガー一つお願ねがいします。
Chiizubaagaa hitotsu o-negai shimasu.
One cheeseburger, please.

チーズバーガーとコーラお願ねがいします。
Chiizubaagaa to koora o-negai shimasu.
A cheeseburger and cola, please.

 

But what if you can’t read the name because it’s written in some kanji you don’t know? In that case, you can just point at the item you want on the menu, and say:

これ一ひとつ。
Kore hitotsu.
One of these.

これ、お願ねがいします。
Kore, o-negai shimasu.
This, please.

これ(を)一ひとつお願ねがいします。
Kore (wo) hitotsu o-negai shimasu.
(Can I have) one of these, please.

お願いします (o-negai shimasu) = please (comes from 願う, to desire or to request)

 

It’s possible to say ください (kudasai) instead of お願いします.

これを一ひとつください。
Kore wo hitotsu kudasai.

It’s also possible to leave out the 一つ.

これお願ねがいします。
Kore o-negai shimasu.

Or, if you want to order more than one, add a number after これ.

これ二つお願ねがいします。
Kore futatsu o-negai shimasu.
(Can I have) two of this, please.

It’s also possible to just say:

これ
Kore
This

But that’s pretty lazy, and a bit rude. So you should at least say “これ一つ。” Just adding another word will make it okay.

If you can’t decide on something to eat, you can ask the waiter:

おすすめは何なんですか。(informal: 何がおすすめ？)
O-susume wa nan desu ka. (Nani ga o-susume?)
What is your recommendation?/What do you recommend?

おすすめ (o-susume) = recommendation. This is a convenient word that can be used for anything, such as when you want to ask your friend to recommend a movie or anime.

じゃあ、それ一ひとつお願ねがいします。
Jaa, sore hitotsu o-negai shimasu.
Then, (may I have) one of those, please.

お飲のみ物ものはいかがですか。
O-nomi mono wa ikaga desu ka.
Would you like something to drink?

飲み物 (nomi mono) = drink
いかがですか？ (ikaga desu ka?) = a formal version ofどうですか？(dou desu ka?), or “Would you like ~ ?”

This sentence is a more formal version of:

飲のみ物ものはどうですか。
Nomi mono wa dou desu ka.

お水みずをお願ねがいします。/お水みずをください。
O-mizu wo o-negai shimasu./O-mizu wo kudasai.
Water, please.

お水みず一ひとつ/二ふたつ/三みっつ/四よっつお願ねがいします。
O-mizu hitotsu/futatsu/mittsu/yottsu o-negai shimasu.
One/Two/Three/Four glass(es) of water, please.

ミネラルウォーターお願ねがいします。
Mineraru wootaa o-negai shimasu.
A bottle of mineral water, please.

コーヒー(を)一つお願ねがいします。
Koohii (wo) hitotsu o-negai shimasu.
One coffee, please.

カフェラテ(を)お願ねがいします。
Kafe rate (wo) o-negai shimasu.
A latte, please.

Of course, if you buy coffee or tea, you can drink it either hot or iced. In this case, the words for hot and iced are the same as in English.

ホットとアイスとどちらになさいますか。
Hotto to aisu to dochira ni nasai masu ka.
Would you like it hot or iced?

Depending on the restaurant, they might bring your drink along with your meal, or before it.

お飲のみ物ものは先さきにお持もちしますか。
O-nomi mono wa saki ni o-mochi shimasu ka.
Shall I bring your drink before your meal?

先に (saki ni) = before something
お持ちしますか (o-mochi shimasu ka) = formal version of持ってきますか, or to bring something.

 

Phrases for Vegetarians

Here are some phrases in case you’re a vegetarian.

ベジタリアンのメニューはありますか。
Bejitarian no menyuu wa arimasu ka.
Is there a vegetarian menu?

ベジタリアンの料理りょうりはありますか。
Bejitarian no ryouri wa arimasu ka.
Are there/Do you have vegetarian dishes?

Some restaurants use the word 菜食料理(saishoku ryouri) to refer to vegetarian dishes, but in these days, ベジタリアンis more common.

菜食料理さいしょくりょうりはありますか。
Saishoku ryouri wa arimasu ka.
Are there/Do you have vegetarian dishes?

Or, if you’re vegan:

ヴィーガンの料理りょうりはありますか。
Viigan no ryouri wa arimasu ka.
Do you have vegan dishes?

Vegan dishes can be hard to find in Japan. Even ramen has 出汁(dashi), or broth/stock, which is made from fish. Some people don’t even know the word “vegan”, so in that case, you can explain that you can’t eat meat.

お肉にくは食たべられません。
O-niku wa taberaremasen.
I can’t eat meat.

肉にくと魚さかなが食たべられません。
Niku to sakana ga taberaremasen.
I can’t (don’t) eat meat or fish.

肉にくも魚さかなもチーズも卵たまごも食たべられません。
Niku mo sakana mo chiizu mo tamago mo taberaremasen.
I can’t (dont’) eat meat, fish, cheese, or eggs.

 

Paying the Bill

Once you’re done eating, you will usually go to the cash register and pay for your meal there. However, at some restaurants, such as conveyer belt sushi restaurants, you call a waiter to come to your seat.

すみません、お会計かいけいお願ねがいします。
Sumimasen, o-kaikei o-negai shimasu.
Excuse me, check please./Could I have the bill, please?

At most restaurants, though, you will walk to the cash register and pay for your meal there.

お支払しはらいはレジでお願ねがいいたします。
O-shiharai wa reji de o-negai shimasu.
Please pay at the cashier.

支払い (shiharai) = payment
レジ (reji) = cashier

If you’re eating with a friend, and you want to pay together, just say:

一緒いっしょで。
Issho de
Together, please.

If you want to pay separately, say:

別々べつべつで。
Betsu betsu de.
Separately, please.

If you want to pay by credit card, say:

クレジット(カード)で。
Kurejitto (kaado) de.
By card.

一括いっかつで。
Ikkatsu de.
One-time payment./All at once, please.

However, a lot of restaurants in Japan accept only cash, in which case they will say:

お支払しはらいは現金げんきんのみとさせていただいております。
O-shiharai wa genkin nomi to sasete itadaite orimasu.
We only accept cash.

現金 = cash
のみ (nomi) = only
おります (orimasu) = A formal version of いる, to be. This is kenjougo, or humble speech, so you use this to talk about yourself.

 

またのご来店らいてんをお待まちしております。
Mata no go-raiten wo o-machi shite orimasu.
We’re looking forward to seeing you again./Thank you.
(lit. We are humbly waiting for you to come/your visit to our store again.

ありがとうございました。
Arigatou gozaimashita.
Thank you.

ごちそうさまでした。
Go-chisou-sama deshita.
Thank you for the meal. (It was a feast.)

You can say this phrase any time you finish a meal, even at home.

 

Today, we learned some common phrases for ordering food, as well as some keigo used to show respect. Thanks for reading until the end. Now, you’re ready to try some ramen, sushi, okonomiyaki, and all the other delicious food in Japan!