Cactus Language Blog

Gutten appetit - Essential German words and phrases for eating out

Posted by simonager under German, Learning a language

Traditionally in Germany lunch (mittagessen) is the biggest meal of the day, while dinner (abendessen) tends to be smaller. Most restaurants (Restaurant/Gaststätte) do serve larger dinners as well. Breakfast (Frühstück) also tends to be quite substanstial even in cheap hotels. Some people have a second breakfast (zweites Frühstück), a smaller version of the first breakfast mid way through the morning as well.

German food is usually filling with a lot of meat (Fleisch), particularly chicken (Hühnchen) and pork (Schweinefleisch). Offal is also quite popular, as is pickled cabbage (Sauerkraut) in place of fresh vegetables, and sausage (Wurst), which is eaten as a snack or part of a meal. Parts of Austria and Southern Germany are famous for their cakes and pastries, such as apple strudel (Apfelstrudel) and Königstorte, a rum-flavoured fruit cake.

To reserve a table at a restaurant, you say Ich möchte einen Tisch reservieren. If you want to specify when and for how many people you want to make the reservation, you could say, Ich möchte für sieben/acht Uhr einen Tisch für zwei/drei/vier Personen reservieren (I’d like to reserve a table for two/three/four people at seven/eight o’clock).

If you haven’t made a reservation, you could say Tisch für …, bitte (table for …, please) when you arrive at a restaurant. Another useful phrase is Ist dieser Tisch frei? (Is this table free?). Once you have your able, you might want to ask Kann ich bitte die Speisekarte / Weinkarte sehen? (Can I see the menu / wine list please?) or Die Speisekarte / Weinkarte, bitte (The menu / wine list, please). If you’re not sure what to choose, you could say Was empfehlen Sie? (What do you recommend?).

The easiest way to ask for something is to say whatever it is followed by bitte (please). You also can add Ich möchte / Ich hätte gern (I’d like) at the beginning of the request. For example, das Tagesmenü, bitte (the set menu, please); ein Beefsteak, bitte (a hamburger, please); das Brathuhn, bitte (the roast chicken, please); ein Bier, bitte (a beer, please); die Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, bitte (the Black Forest gateau, please); ein Tee / Kaffee (mit Milch/Sahne), bitte (a tea / coffee [with milk/cream], please).

At the end of your meal you will probably want to ask for the bill – die Rechnung, bitte. Bills usually include tax and service charges, so there’s no need to leave a tip (Trinkgeld), unless the service has been exceptional, in which case a tip of about 5% is appropriate.

About the author
Simon Ager runs a company that provides information and advice about languages mainly via the website www.omniglot.com.

Tags:culture, food, Germany, germna, vocabulary