Japanese Restaurant Phrases: Ordering to Paying

🗣️ A restaurant is the first place in Japan where the conversation actually branches, which is why reading the phrases is never enough. SoraSpeak lets you practise the whole exchange out loud with an AI Japanese teacher, with corrections on grammar, particles and politeness explained in simple English. Free daily tier, in your browser. Start a free speaking session →

Here is the short version: a Japanese restaurant visit has seven fixed stages, and each one has two or three phrases attached to it — how many people, calling staff over, ordering, checking ingredients, asking for more, paying, leaving. Learn them in that order and the meal stops being a series of ambushes.

Everything below is given as kana, a romaji reading, an English gloss and a register note, because the wrong politeness level is a much more common learner mistake than the wrong word. And the staff lines are included too, since those are the half that catches people out.

In this guide: the seven stages · walking in · ticket machines · calling staff · three ways to order · menu questions · allergies · during the meal · paying · leaving · the timeline table · bottom line

How a Japanese restaurant visit is structured

Unlike a convenience store, a restaurant conversation branches. But it branches at predictable points, and the shape is the same in a ramen counter, a family restaurant and an izakaya:

1. Enter — staff ask how many people you are.
2. Get seated — smoking or not, counter or table, or a wait.
3. Order — call staff, name dishes, close the order.
4. Eat — say いただきます, receive dishes, ask for extras.
5. Ask for things — water, a small plate, a refill, a correction.
6. Pay — at the table or at the register, together or separately.
7. Leave — ごちそうさまでした on the way out.

Two structural surprises come before you say anything, and both are covered below: ticket machines at cheap noodle and rice shops, where you buy before you sit, and お通し at izakaya, a small dish that arrives unordered and is charged for.

Walking in and being seated

The door opens, someone calls いらっしゃいませ (irasshaimase) — "welcome" — and then immediately:

• 何名様ですか (nan-mei-sama desu ka) — "How many people?" Keigo. Sometimes 何名様でしょうか, which is softer still.
• お一人様ですか (o-hitori-sama desu ka) — "Just one?" Keigo.

Your answer is a number plus 人 or 名:

• 一人です (hitori desu) — "One person." Polite.
• 二人です (futari desu) — "Two." Polite. Note the irregular reading: hitori, futari, then regular from three — 三人 (san-nin), 四人 (yo-nin).
• 二名です (ni-mei desu) — "Two." Polite, more formal. Staff use 名様 about you; you can use 名 about yourself.

Fingers work too. Then come the seating questions:

• 喫煙席と禁煙席、どちらになさいますか (kitsuen-seki to kin'en-seki, dochira ni nasaimasu ka) — "Smoking or non-smoking?" Keigo. Answer 禁煙でお願いします (kin'en de onegai shimasu) — "non-smoking, please."
• カウンターでもよろしいですか (kauntā de mo yoroshii desu ka) — "Is the counter okay?" Keigo. Answer はい or 大丈夫です.
• ただいま満席です (tadaima manseki desu) — "We are full right now." Polite.
• お待ちになりますか (o-machi ni narimasu ka) — "Would you like to wait?" Keigo.
• こちらへどうぞ (kochira e dōzo) — "This way, please." Polite.

You will hear the smoking question less than older phrasebooks suggest. Japan's revised Health Promotion Act took full effect in April 2020 and made indoor smoking in restaurants largely prohibited, with carve-outs for small existing businesses and designated smoking rooms, so many places no longer have a smoking section to offer. Izakaya are where you still meet the question.

Two more you may need:

• 予約しています (yoyaku shite imasu) — "I have a reservation." Polite. Add your name: 山田で予約しています.
• どのくらい待ちますか (dono kurai machimasu ka) — "How long is the wait?" Polite.

Ticket machines and izakaya table charges

Two systems that surprise first-timers, both of which happen before anyone talks to you.

食券 (shokken) — the meal ticket. Ramen shops, gyūdon chains, soba stands and many cheap lunch places run on a 券売機 (kenbaiki), a ticket vending machine just inside the door. You buy first, then sit, then hand the ticket over. Staff may say 先に食券をお買い求めください (saki ni shokken o o-kaimotome kudasai) — "please purchase a ticket first" — while pointing. Useful buttons to recognise: 大盛り (ōmori, large portion), 並盛 (namimori, regular), 替え玉 (kaedama, an extra portion of noodles ordered mid-meal at Hakata-style ramen counters). Many older machines are cash only.

お通し (otōshi) — the izakaya table charge. Sit down at an izakaya and a small dish you did not order will land in front of you within a minute. It is not a gift. お通し functions as a seating charge, typically a few hundred yen a head, and it is how many izakaya cover the table instead of listing a cover fee. In Kansai the same practice is usually called 突き出し (tsukidashi). It is generally not refusable, and the charge appearing on your bill is normal rather than a mistake. Knowing this in advance is the difference between a pleasant evening and a suspicious one.

While you are there, two more izakaya words: 飲み放題 (nomihōdai) is all-you-can-drink for a fixed time, and 食べ放題 (tabehōdai) is all-you-can-eat. Both come with a time limit announced when you order.

Calling staff over without being rude

This is the single biggest behavioural difference from restaurants in Europe or North America, and getting it wrong makes the whole meal harder.

In most Japanese restaurants, staff do not check on your table. Nobody will drift past to ask how everything is. The system assumes you will signal when you want something, and until you do, leaving you alone is the courtesy.

The signal is: raise one hand and say すみません (sumimasen), loudly enough to carry.

• すみません (sumimasen) — "Excuse me." Polite. The most useful word in the language.
• すみません、注文いいですか (sumimasen, chūmon ii desu ka) — "Excuse me, can I order?" Polite.
• お願いします (onegai shimasu) — works alone as a summons if a server is already looking your way.

This is not rude, not impatient, and not a foreigner shortcut — it is what everyone in the room is doing. What is genuinely awkward is sitting silently trying to catch an eye, because no eye is looking for yours.

Many izakaya and family restaurants remove the ambiguity with a call button on the table marked 呼び出し (yobidashi) or 店員呼出. Press it once; a chime sounds and someone comes. Pressing it repeatedly is the one impolite option here.

Staff arriving will say:

• ご注文はお決まりですか (go-chūmon wa o-kimari desu ka) — "Are you ready to order?" Keigo.
• ご注文をどうぞ (go-chūmon o dōzo) — "Please go ahead." Keigo.
• かしこまりました (kashikomarimashita) — "Certainly." Keigo, humble. The confirmation after every request.
• 少々お待ちください (shōshō o-machi kudasai) — "One moment, please." Keigo.

If you are not ready yet: もう少し待ってください (mō sukoshi matte kudasai) — "a little longer, please." Polite.

Three ways to order and when to use each

All three are correct and all three are polite. The differences are small but real, and using them deliberately makes you sound noticeably more fluent than someone repeating one pattern.

〜をください (~ o kudasai) — "Please give me ~." Polite. The most direct of the three. Built on くださる, the respectful verb for giving to you. Best when you are pointing at a specific item.

• これをください (kore o kudasai) — "This one, please."
• ラーメンをください (rāmen o kudasai) — "Ramen, please."

〜をお願いします (~ o onegai shimasu) — "~ please, if you would." Polite, softer. Literally requests a favour, so it feels a shade more deferential, and it works as a standalone "please".

• 餃子をお願いします (gyōza o onegai shimasu) — "Gyōza, please."
• お水をお願いします (o-mizu o onegai shimasu) — "Water, please."

〜にします (~ ni shimasu) — "I'll go with ~." Polite. This one reports a decision rather than making a request, which is why it is what you say to your own table as much as to the server.

• 私はカレーにします (watashi wa karē ni shimasu) — "I'll have the curry."
• じゃあ、これにします (jā, kore ni shimasu) — "Right, I'll take this one." Casual opener plus polite ending.

Note the particle change: ください and お願いします take を, while にします takes に. The に here is the same "landing on a point" に that marks destinations. If those choices feel arbitrary, they are not — our particles guide unpacks を and に properly.

Two closing moves that make ordering go smoothly:

• 同じものをください (onaji mono o kudasai) — "The same thing, please." Polite. Perfect when someone else has ordered well.
• 以上です (ijō desu) — "That's all." Polite. Says the order is finished, so the server stops waiting. Staff will often check first: 以上でよろしいですか (ijō de yoroshii desu ka) — "Is that everything?"

Asking questions about the menu

• おすすめは何ですか (osusume wa nan desu ka) — "What do you recommend?" Polite. Genuinely answered, not deflected, and it is the fastest route to the dish the kitchen is proud of.
• これは何ですか (kore wa nan desu ka) — "What is this?" Polite. Point at the menu.
• これはどんな料理ですか (kore wa donna ryōri desu ka) — "What kind of dish is this?" Polite.
• 英語のメニューはありますか (eigo no menyū wa arimasu ka) — "Do you have an English menu?" Polite.
• 辛いですか (karai desu ka) — "Is it spicy?" Polite.
• 一番人気は何ですか (ichiban ninki wa nan desu ka) — "What's the most popular?" Polite.
• どのくらいの量ですか (dono kurai no ryō desu ka) — "How big is the portion?" Polite.

The frame 〜は何ですか covers most of these, and it is worth learning as a slot you drop nouns into rather than as five separate sentences. The same frame does heavy work outside restaurants too, which is why it turns up in our 40 travel phrases.

Allergies and food you cannot eat

Say these early — at the point of ordering, not when the dish arrives — and say them to the person taking the order.

• 〜アレルギーがあります (~ arerugī ga arimasu) — "I have a ~ allergy." Polite. 卵アレルギーがあります (tamago — egg), 落花生アレルギーがあります (rakkasei — peanut), 甲殻類アレルギーがあります (kōkakurui — crustacean).
• 〜が食べられません (~ ga taberaremasen) — "I can't eat ~." Polite. 豚肉が食べられません (butaniku — pork). This is the negative potential form, and note that it takes が, not を.
• 〜は入っていますか (~ wa haitte imasu ka) — "Does it contain ~?" Polite. 肉は入っていますか (niku — meat).
• これには何が入っていますか (kore ni wa nani ga haitte imasu ka) — "What is in this?" Polite.
• 〜抜きでお願いします (~ nuki de onegai shimasu) — "Without ~, please." Polite. ネギ抜きでお願いします (negi — spring onion).
• ベジタリアンです (bejitarian desu) — "I'm vegetarian." Polite.
• ビーガンです (bīgan desu) — "I'm vegan." Polite.

One warning that matters more than any phrase here: ベジタリアンです alone is often not enough. Japanese stock, 出汁 (dashi), is usually made with katsuobushi — dried bonito — so miso soup, simmered vegetables and most noodle broths contain fish even when nothing on the plate looks like fish. The question to ask is:

出汁に魚は使っていますか (dashi ni sakana wa tsukatte imasu ka) — "Is fish used in the stock?" Polite.

And a tip that beats pronunciation entirely: write the allergen down in Japanese and show your phone screen. A written word survives a loud kitchen and a shift handover; a spoken one in an unfamiliar accent may not.

During the meal

いただきます (itadakimasu) — Polite. Said just before you start eating, hands together or not. It is not addressed to anyone in particular — it acknowledges the food and everyone involved in getting it to you. Say it even eating alone; Japanese people do.

Food arrives with:

• お待たせしました (o-matase shimashita) — "Sorry to keep you waiting." Keigo, humble.
• 失礼します (shitsurei shimasu) — "Excuse me." Polite. Said while reaching over you to place dishes.
• 熱いのでお気をつけください (atsui node o-ki o tsuke kudasai) — "It's hot, please be careful." Keigo.
• ごゆっくりどうぞ (go-yukkuri dōzo) — "Take your time." Keigo.

Saying it is good, with the register difference that matters:

• おいしいです (oishii desu) — "It's delicious." Polite. Safe everywhere, with anyone.
• おいしい (oishii) — Casual. Fine with friends.
• うまい (umai) — "Tasty." Casual, blunt, male-coded. Very common among friends and at counters, and heard as honest praise there, but it is the wrong register to aim at a stranger serving you. If in doubt, use おいしい.
• おいしかったです (oishikatta desu) — "It was delicious." Polite. The past tense, for when you are leaving.

Things to ask for mid-meal:

• お水をください (o-mizu o kudasai) — "Water, please." Polite.
• お冷ください (o-hiya kudasai) — "Cold water, please." Polite. お冷 is the restaurant word for chilled water, and using it makes you sound like a regular. Tap water and the hot towel, おしぼり (oshibori), are free and standard.
• ご飯のおかわりをお願いします (gohan no okawari o onegai shimasu) — "A refill of rice, please." Polite. おかわり is the word for a second helping of anything.
• 取り皿をください (torizara o kudasai) — "Small plates, please." Polite. For sharing dishes, which is the default at izakaya.
• すみません、これは頼んでいません (sumimasen, kore wa tanonde imasen) — "Sorry, I didn't order this." Polite. Said with a smile; mistakes happen and staff fix them immediately.

And one you will be asked near the end of the evening: お下げしてもよろしいですか (o-sage shite mo yoroshii desu ka) — "May I clear this?" Keigo. Answer はい、お願いします, or まだ食べています (mada tabete imasu) — "I'm still eating."

At izakaya, listen for ラストオーダーのお時間です (rasuto ōdā no o-jikan desu) — "It's last orders." Keigo.

Paying and splitting the bill

First, the structural thing: in many Japanese restaurants you do not pay at the table. A slip called the 伝票 (denpyō) is left face-down on your table or in a small holder. You carry it to the register, レジ (reji), by the door and pay there. In izakaya and nicer places, you can ask at the table instead.

• お会計お願いします (o-kaikei onegai shimasu) — "The bill, please." Polite. The standard, works anywhere.
• お勘定お願いします (o-kanjō onegai shimasu) — "The bill, please." Polite, more traditional. Common in izakaya and sushi restaurants.
• お会計はレジでお願いします (o-kaikei wa reji de onegai shimasu) — what staff say: "Please pay at the register." Keigo.

Splitting the bill, which staff will usually ask about directly:

• お会計はご一緒ですか、別々ですか (o-kaikei wa go-issho desu ka, betsubetsu desu ka) — "Together or separately?" Keigo.
• 別々でお願いします (betsubetsu de onegai shimasu) — "Separately, please." Polite.
• 一緒でお願いします (issho de onegai shimasu) — "Together, please." Polite.
• 別々に払えますか (betsubetsu ni haraemasu ka) — "Can we pay separately?" Polite. Ask this first at small places.

Be ready for a no. Plenty of small restaurants cannot split a bill on their till, and the usual solution is that one person pays and everybody settles up afterwards, often with the word 割り勘 (warikan), "splitting it evenly".

• カードは使えますか (kādo wa tsukaemasu ka) — "Do you take cards?" Polite.
• 現金のみです (genkin nomi desu) — "Cash only." Polite. Still common at small and old establishments; the same cash-first habit that governs festival food stalls.
• 領収書をお願いします (ryōshūsho o onegai shimasu) — "A formal receipt, please." Polite. For expenses; different from the till receipt, レシート.

Do not tip. There is no tipping culture in Japan, service is not priced on the assumption of it, and money left on a table will usually be run out to you in the street. Saying ごちそうさまでした warmly does the job a tip would do elsewhere.

Leaving and what to say on the way out

ごちそうさまでした (gochisōsama deshita) — Polite. Literally "it was a feast", and the counterpart to いただきます. Say it twice if you like: once at the table when you finish, and again to staff as you pass the register on the way out. This is the phrase that most changes how a meal ends. It is short, warm, and the one visitors most often skip.

Casual version among friends: ごちそうさま (gochisōsama).

Add if you mean it:

• おいしかったです (oishikatta desu) — "It was delicious." Polite.
• ありがとうございました (arigatō gozaimashita) — "Thank you." Polite, past form.

What you will hear back:

• ありがとうございました (arigatō gozaimashita) — "Thank you." Keigo.
• またお越しくださいませ (mata o-koshi kudasaimase) — "Please come again." Keigo. お越し is the respectful noun form of coming, and ませ is the polite imperative ending you only ever hear from service staff.

Neither needs an answer. A nod is complete.

The whole meal in one table

Readings and glosses for every line are in the sections above.

The bottom line

Seven stages, and roughly a dozen phrases carry all of them: 何名様ですか answered with a number, すみません to summon, これをください to order, 以上です to close, 〜は入っていますか to check, お会計お願いします to pay, and ごちそうさまでした to leave. Everything else is decoration on that skeleton.

The three things that most change the experience are not phrases at all. Raise your hand and speak up — nobody is coming otherwise. Expect お通し at an izakaya, and expect the ticket machine at a ramen counter. And say ごちそうさまでした on the way out, because it costs one second and it is the difference between a transaction and an exchange.

What breaks down at the table is speed, not vocabulary — a phrase you have only read has to be assembled while a server stands there waiting. Closing that gap needs output rather than input: say each of these out loud, in a full sentence, until assembly time drops to nothing. That is the specific job SoraSpeak does — unscripted spoken practice in the browser with an AI Japanese teacher and corrections in simple English, on a free daily tier. It is new, Japanese-only, and it complements real conversation rather than replacing it.

For listening input between meals, NHK News Web Easy runs short daily stories in simplified Japanese with furigana and audio, and the Japan Foundation publishes learner materials built around real situations rather than grammar order.

Next, the counter you will stand at far more often than a restaurant one: Japanese konbini phrases covers the convenience store script, which is shorter and a good place to get your first repetitions. The wider situational set is in our 40 travel phrases and the daily conversation phrases list, and if kana is still the bottleneck, start with the hiragana and katakana guide.

🗣️ Order, ask, pay and thank — out loud, before a server is waiting on you. Practise speaking Japanese free →

SoraSpeak is an independent Japanese speaking-practice app. Example sentences are written for learners; natural usage can vary by context and region.

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