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JAPANESE RESTAURANT PHRASES
One of the biggest draws of Japan is its food. Japan is a haven for foodies, with everything from beautiful fried chicken to mouth-watering fish dishes.
In this lesson, you’ll learn about some useful Japanese phrases to use in restaurants in Japan.
いっらしゃいませ || WELCOME
いっらしゃいませ irrashaimase
When you come to Japan, you’ll hear this literally all the time.
This is what is belted out when you enter an establishment here.
It means something similar to welcome. You don’t need to respond when you hear it!
をください || PLEASE
をください wo kudasai
This is your bread and butter for ordering in Japan. You simply say what you’d like to order followed by をください wo kudasai and you have successfully said ___ please.
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| メニューをください。 | Menyuu o kudasai. | Please give me the menu. |
| お水をください。 | Omizu o kudasai. | Please give me water. |
| これをください。 | Kore o kudasai. | Please give me this. |
| 注文用紙をください。 | Chuumon-youshi o kudasai. | Please give me an order form. |
| お会計をください。 | Okaikei o kudasai. | Please give me the bill. |
おすすめ || RECOMMENDATIONS
おすすめ osusume
No lesson about restaurant Japanese would be complete without teaching how to ask for recommendations.
The word for recommendation in Japanese is おすすめ osusume.
So, if you want to ask for the waiter’s recommended dish, you could ask:
おすすめがありますか?
Do you have any recommendations?View More Examples:
| すみません、おすすめは何ですか？ | Sumimasen, osusume wa nanidesu ka? | Excuse me, what do you recommend? |
| おすすめの料理がありますか？ | Osusume no ryouri ga arimasu ka? | Do you have any recommended dishes? |
| これがおすすめですか？ | Kore ga osusume desu ka? | Is this recommended? |
| おすすめのデザートは何ですか？ | Osusume no dezāto wa nanidesu ka? | What is the recommended dessert? |
| おすすめの飲み物はありますか？ | Osusume no nomimono wa arimasu ka? | Do you have any recommended drinks? |
__放題 || ALL YOU CAN__
__放題 __houdai
It’s mind-blowing when you come to Japan that so many places offer all-you-can-eat/drink sets for so cheap. It’s not hard to find 2 hours of all-you-can-drink for a measly 2500 yen.
放題 means all-you-can. When you affix the stem of a verb, it makes it all-you-can-X. Let’s look at some examples:
| To eat | 食べる taberu | 食べます tabemasu | 食べ tabe | 食べ放題 tabehoudai |
| To drink | 飲む nomu | 飲みます nomimasu | 飲み nomi | 飲み放題 nomihoudai |
| To play (darts, billiards, etc) | 遊ぶ asobu | 遊びます asobimasu | 遊び asobi | 遊び放題 asobihoudai |
View More Examples:
| ビールは飲み放題ですか？ | Biiru wa nomihoudai desu ka? | Is beer all you can drink? |
| これは食べ放題のメニューに含まれていますか？ | Kore wa tabehoudai no menyuu ni fukumareteimasu ka? | Is this included in the all-you-can-eat menu? |
| 飲み物が飲み放題なのは何時までですか？ | Nomimono ga nomihoudai na no wa nanji made desu ka? | Until what time is the all-you-can-drink option available? |
| お酒は飲み放題でも、ソフトドリンクは別料金ですか？ | Osake wa nomihoudai demo, sofutodorinku wa betsuryoukin desu ka? | Is soft drink separate from the all-you-can-drink option for alcohol? |
単品 || INDIVIDUAL ITEM
単品 tanpin
This nifty little word is a useful rascal. It means individual item in Japanese and is an absolutely essential term to learn.
The context in which you would use this is when you want to order something outside of a course meal, or a set that it otherwise comes in.
For example, in an 居酒屋 izakaya you might be on an 飲み放題 nomihoudai all-you-can-drink course which doesn’t include beer.
So, if you wanted to order a beer, you could say:
ビールをください、単品で
Can I have a beer, by itself.View More Examples:
| この料理、単品でお願いします。 | Kono ryouri, tanpin de onegaishimasu. | This dish, please as a single item. |
| 単品で注文することはできますか？ | Tanpin de chuumon suru koto wa dekimasu ka? | Is it possible to order a la carte? |
| メニューの中から単品で選びたいです。 | Menyuu no naka kara tanpin de erabitai desu. | I would like to choose a single item from the menu. |
| 今日は単品でお願いします。 | Kyou wa tanpin de onegaishimasu. | Today, I’ll order a la carte. |
| 前菜は単品でお願いいたします。 | Zensai wa tanpin de onegaishimasu. | For the appetizer, I’d like to order it as a single item. |
別々|| SPLIT THE BILL
別々 betsu betsu
This means separately or individually. You use 別々betsu betsu when asking to split a bill, or talking about ordering things separately. Here are some examples of common uses:
| 別々にお願いします。 | Betsubetsu ni onegaishimasu. | Separate (bill), please. |
| この料理を別々に注文できますか？ | Kono ryouri o betsubetsu ni chuumon dekimasu ka? | Can we order this dish separately? |
View More Examples:
| 飲み物は一緒にするのではなく、別々にお願いします。 | Nomimono wa issho ni suru no dewa naku, betsubetsu ni onegaishimasu. | For the drinks, please order them separately, not together. |
| 別々のお会計でお願いします。 | Betsubetsu no okaikei de onegaishimasu. | Separate bills, please. |
| 前菜は別々に注文してもいいですか？ | Zensai wa betsubetsu ni chuumon shitemo ii desu ka? | Is it okay to order the appetizers separately? |
がありますか || DO YOU HAVE?
がありますか ga arimasu ka
This is how you ask Do you have ___?
This can be used for everything from asking for a menu to getting yourself a knife and fork if you aren’t so comfortable with chopsticks.
Take a look at the examples below for some ideas of how you can use it.
| ベジタリアンメニューがありますか？ | Bejitarian menyuu ga arimasu ka? | Do you have a vegetarian menu? |
| 季節の特別メニューがありますか？ | Kisetsu no tokubetsu menyuu ga arimasu ka? | Do you have any seasonal specials? |
| デザートがありますか？ | Dezāto ga arimasu ka? | Do you have desserts? |
| 子供向けのメニューがありますか？ | Kodomo-muke no menyuu ga arimasu ka? | Is there a menu for children? |
| 無糖の飲み物がありますか？ | Mutou no nomimono ga arimasu ka? | Do you have unsweetened drinks? |
SUMMARY
- いっらしゃいませ irrashaimase is like Welcome to our restaurant and doesn’t require a response.
- をください wo kudasai is the bread and butter of ordering in Japan and means ___ please.
- おすすめ osusume is the Japanese word for recommendation.
- 放題 houdai means all-you-can and can be used for terms like all-you-can-drink or all-you-can-eat.
- 単品 tanpin means individually and can be used to specify you want to buy something out of a set menu.
- 別々 betsu betsu means separately and can be used to split a bill, or order things separately.
- がありますか ga arimasu ka means Do you have? and can be used for a range of situation in a restaurant.
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FAQs
How to say please in Japanese?
Please in Japanese is added at the end of a sentence.
You simply say what you’d like to order followed by をください wo kudasai and you have successfully said ___ please.
How to ask for recommendations in Japanese?
The word for recommendation in Japanese is おすすめ osusume.
So, if you want to ask for the waiter’s recommended dish, you could ask:
おすすめがありますか? osusume ga arimasu ka?
Do you have any recommendations?
How to say do you have… in Japanese?
がありますか can be used for everything from asking for a menu to getting yourself a knife and fork if you aren’t so comfortable with chopsticks.
ベジタリアンメニューがありますか？bejitarian menyuu ga arimasu ka? Do you have a vegetarian menu?
デザートがありますか？dezāto ga arimasu ka? Do you have desserts?
How to ask to split the bill in Japanese?
別々 betsu betsu means separately or individually. You use it when asking to split a bill, or talking about ordering things separately:
別々にお願いします。betsubetsu ni onegaishimasu. Separate (bill), please.
Where can I find more lessons like this?
Check out our Japanese Grammar Bank, where you’ll find lessons for levels A1, A2 and B2.
Can I study Japanese with LTL?
Yes you can!
We offer group and individual classes in Tokyo, for the duration of your choice.
You can even stay with a homestay family to really immerse yourself in the Japanese culture and discover a Japanese’s family lifestyle.
If you prefer to study from the comfort of your own home, have a look at our online Japanese classes.