How To Order Food In German [29 Phrases You Need To Know]
If you’re travelling to a German speaking country this year, chances are you’ll want to try some German food. Even if your grasp of the German language is a bit hit or miss, learning how to order food in German is quite straightforward.
Best of all, any waiting staff in cafés or restaurants will really appreciate you making an effort to speak German. There are lots of phrases you can use to order food in German, but the best and most polite phrase you need to know is ich hätte gern … (I would like …)
In this post we’ll be taking a deep dive into everything you need to know about eating out in a German speaking country including phrases you can use, and phrases you’ll hear waiters and waitresses saying to you.
After reading this post you will know:
- Simple phrases to order food in German
- Common phrases waiters may say to you
- How to ask for the bill / check
Plus, stick around the end of the post to hear a full example conversation between Lena, Jan and their waitress.
A note on formal / informal German: In German there are 2 ways to say ‘you’, the formal Sie and informal du. All the phrases in this post use the formal Sie, when addressing waiting staff, and informal du when talking to other people you’re eating / drinking with.
When You Arrive
Depending on the restaurant or café you arrive at, you might be able to sit straight down at a table of your choice, or wait to be seated. Look out for a sign at the entrance with bitte warten (please wait) or platz (seat / place) to indicate you might need to wait for someone to come over.
Most often it’s just a case of finding a free table and sitting down, but it’s a good idea to make eye contact with the staff as you walk in.
In a popular restaurants you may need to make a reservation beforehand.
Phrases you might hear
Do you have a reservation? |
Phrases you can say
Do you have a table for 2 people? | |
Is this table free? |
How to Order Food in German
So now you’re sitting down in a café or restaurant, the waiter comes over and it’s time to order your food in German. As I mentioned in the introduction to this post, your key phrase is ich hätte gern … and then whatever you want to order.
But before you get to this stage, you’ll probably hear some other phrases:
Phrases you might hear
Have you already ordered? | |
What would you like to order? | |
What would you like to eat? | |
And to drink? | |
Would you like anything else? | |
Is that everything? |
There are a few ways to order food in German, ich hätte gern (I would like) being the most polite. You could also say ich nehme (I’ll take) if you want to sound a bit more casual.
Für mich (for me) is useful if other people in your group have ordered first and you just want to add your order on. If all else fails you can just say what you want to order followed by bitte (please).
When you order one or more of something, for example you’re ordering drinks for the whole table, rather than everyone ordering individually, German has a rather unique way of doing this…
Rather than saying zwei Cola (2 colas) or drei Mineralwasser (3 mineral waters), German add the word mal (times) after the number so we get:
1 | einmal | (one times) | einmal Bier | (1 beer) |
2 | zweimal | (two times) | zweimal Bier | (2 beers) |
3 | dreimal | (three times) | dreimal Bier | (3 beers) |
4 | viermal | (four times) | viermal Bier | (4 beers) |
Phrases you can say
Do you have a menu? | |
What do you recommend? | |
I would like … [a schnitzel] | |
For me … [a Bratwurst] | |
I’ll take … [a beer] | |
What type of … [cakes] do you have? |
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German Phrases for During a Meal
Whilst tucking into your Schnitzel there might not be much time for conversation, but you may hear a few pleasantries from the waiter and you may need to ask for another drink etc.
Phrases you might hear
Here you go | |
Enjoy your meal | |
Does it taste good? |
Phrases you can say
Do you have some … [pepper]? | |
Could I have another … [coffee]? | |
Could you pass me … [the salt] please? | |
It tastes good | |
Tasty | |
Gorgeous / delicious |
How to Ask for the Bill / Check in German
After you’ve finished your meal, it’s time to pay. Most of the tip you’ll need to attract your waiter’s attention with a friendly wave, a hallo or Entschuldigung. You can then dive straight in with the phrase kann ich bitte zahlen? (can I pay please?) which can be shortened to zahlen bitte (pay please).
In Germany it’s very common to pay with cash, but many cafés and restaurants will ask if you’re paying by card or with card. It’s a good idea, especially if the café is very small, to check whether they accept cards before you order as many are cash only.
If you’re in a group, you’ll probably be asked if you want to pay together or separately. Lastly, don’t forget to leave a trip (Trinkgeld) if you were happy with the service, around 10% is customary but it’s not mandatory like in the US.
Phrases you might hear
Would you like to pay with cash or credit card? | |
Together or separately? |
Phrases you can say
Can I pay please? | |
Can we pay please? | |
I’ll pay for everything | |
Keep the change |
Key Words to Listen For
During your first experiences eating out in a German speaking country, you might find yourself overwhelmed with complete sentences and phrases that staff say to you.
The best way to overcome this and not switch to English is to learn a number of key words or ‘signpost words’ as I like to call them. These signpost words will save you having to decipher whole sentences, and will help you work out what the waiter is saying.
For example if you hear was wollen Sie zum trinken? once you know that trinken means to drink, you don’t need to understand the other words to know that the waiter is asking what you would like to drink.
Since ordering in a restaurant follows the same sort of pattern, you can pretty much guess what the waiter is going to say to you next if you listen for these signpost words.
essen | to eat |
trinken | to drink |
bestellen | to order |
How to Order Food in German: Example Conversation
So now you know all the components for ordering food and drink in a German café or restaurant. Now let’s take a look at them being used in a real life situation. Let’s join Jan and Lena as they enjoy a beer or two in a café:
Lena | | Hello do you have a table for 2 people? |
Waitress | Sure, this table is free. | |
Jan | Do you have a menu? | |
Waitress | Here you go. |
Jan | | Excuse me, can we order? |
Waitress | | What would you like to eat? |
Jan | | I would like a currywurst. |
Lena | | And a schnitzel with fries for me please. |
Waitress | | And to drink? |
Lena | | A beer please. |
Jan | | That sounds good, I’ll take a beer too. |
Lena | | So, two beers please. |
Waitress | | Coming right up. |
Waitress | | Would you like anything else? |
Jan | | Could I have another beer? And then can we pay please? |
Waitress | | Together or separately? |
Lena | | Separately please. |
So now you know how to order food in German, it’s time to go out and practice what you’ve learned. Your German speaking waiter or waitress will really appreciate your effort.
Thanks Emma, a really clear, easy to understand post which, I’m sure, people will find really useful.
Thank you Ros, glad you found it helpful 🙂
Thank you, this is awesome! ❤️
Very nice and also a great help. Only flaw is that it’s ein Schnitzel, everything else was perfect.
Thank you, I’ve made that correction 🙂 Happy to help!
Hi Emma. Just wondering if the einmal, zweimal rule applies to coffee orders? Some websites I’ve looked at say ‘zwei Kaffees’ instead of ‘zweimal Kaffee’. Would love your help.
Hallo, thanks for your comment. You can absolutely say ‘zweimal Kaffee bitte’ as well as ‘ich hätte gern zwei Kaffee bitte’. Both work fine.
This really helped me a lot. Thanks for your tips!