8 phrases for ordering food at a Korean restaurant
Korean restaurants move fast, and the etiquette is built for speed: you call the server, you order for the table, and you pay on the way out. None of it needs more than a handful of set phrases, and the staff will meet you more than halfway once you try.
These eight follow one meal from the door to the till. They are all in polite 요 speech, which is the right level with restaurant staff of any age.
-
저기요.
jeogiyo.
Excuse me.
Literally: Over there.
How you call a server, said clearly across the room; it is not rude. 여기요 (yeogiyo, over here) works the same way. Many places have a call button on the table instead, and pressing it is expected, not lazy.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
두 명이요.
du myeongiyo.
Two people.
The answer to 몇 분이세요? (how many of you?) at the door. Count with the native numbers: 한 명, 두 명, 세 명, 네 명. The -이요 is the small polite tag that makes a bare noun into an answer.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
메뉴판 좀 주세요.
menyupan jom juseyo.
Could I have the menu, please?
좀 softens any request; 주세요 is 'please give'. Often there is no menu to hand over because it is painted on the wall or on a tablet at the table, so this is also the moment to ask 뭐가 맛있어요? (what's good here?).
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
김치찌개 하나 주세요.
gimchijjigae hana juseyo.
One kimchi stew, please.
The ordering pattern is dish, count, 주세요. For single dishes count 하나, 둘, 셋; for shared grills and stews sold by portion use 인분 with the Sino-Korean numbers: 삼겹살 이 인분 (two portions of pork belly). Most of those require a minimum of two.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
안 맵게 해 주세요.
an maepge hae juseyo.
Not spicy, please.
Or 덜 맵게 (deol maepge, less spicy). It works for dishes made to order; for stews and anything already in the pot the honest answer will be that they cannot. 안 매워요? (is it not spicy?) before you order saves the trouble.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
반찬 좀 더 주세요.
banchan jom deo juseyo.
More side dishes, please.
Refills of 반찬 are free and expected; nobody minds. Name the one you want for better results: 김치 좀 더 주세요. In newer places you may find a self-service bar instead.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
포장해 주세요.
pojanghae juseyo.
To go, please.
Literally: Please wrap it.
At a counter the shorter 포장이요 is enough; the opposite is 먹고 갈게요 (I'll eat here). Taking leftovers home is less usual than in the West, but asking 남은 거 포장돼요? is fine.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
계산할게요.
gyesanhalgeyo.
I'd like to pay.
In most Korean restaurants you pay standing at the counter by the door, not at the table, so say this as you walk up with the bill slip. Splitting is 따로 계산할게요 (separately), and some places will quietly refuse during a rush.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase →
Almost everything here ends in 주세요, and that is the pattern to take away: thing, then 주세요. Water, a spoon, the bill, more kimchi. Say the noun, add 주세요, and you can order in any restaurant in the country.