Ordering in Germany (restaurant, waiter, dinner)
Sign up for free to get all information about private lessons and our available group courses (A1, A2, B2, B2, C1, C2)
Sign up for freeLesson outline
Hide- 1.How to order food in Germany
- 2.Ordering food in German
- 3.List of food in German
- 4.List of drinks in German
- 5.How do you ask for the bill in German?
- 6.Exercises
- 6.1.Ordering food and drinks: Fill in the blanks part 1
- 6.2.Ordering food and drinks: Fill in the blanks part 2
- 6.3.Ordering food and drinks: Multiple Choice Exercise
How to order food in Germany
Imagine you want to order some food and drinks in a German restaurant and the waiter does not speak any English - Wouldn't it be great to know at least the basic vocabulary to order food and drinks in German? Of course, it would! Therefore I will show you in this lesson how to order food and drinks in a German-speaking country. Have fun! :)
Have a question?
Take online language lessons with a professional teacher
- Native & verified teachers
- Free trial lesson
- Learning materials included
Georg C. 
Luciana A. 
Corina C. 
Mira M. 
Ekaterina W.
Laura P. 
Manuel S.
Maria R.
Colomba L.
Donatella P.
Ordering food in German
First, the waiter/waitress will ask you probably one of the following questions:
| English | German |
|---|---|
| Have you chosen already? | Haben Sie schon gewählt? |
| What would you like to order? | Was möchten Sie bestellen? |
| What would you like to drink? | Was möchten Sie trinken? |
| What would you like to eat? | Was möchten Sie essen? |
| Would you like a starter? | Möchten Sie eine Vorspeise? |
You don't know yet what to drink and to eat or you want to have a recommendation? The following phrases will help you to express yourself:
| English | German |
|---|---|
| One moment, please | Einen Moment bitte |
| I don't know yet | Ich weiß es noch nicht |
| What can you recommend? | Was können Sie empfehlen? |
| What is the daily special? | Was ist das Tagesangebot? |
Ready to order? Then you have two options:
- I would like... = Ich möchte...
- I will have... = Ich nehme...
List of food in German
In order to be able to understand a German menu, I will teach you how the most common food products of a German menu are called!
- the menu = die Speisekarte
- the starter = die Vorspeise
- the main dish = das Hauptgericht
- the side dish = die Beilage
- the dessert = die Nachspeise
| English | German |
|---|---|
| the soup | die Suppe |
| the salad | der Salat |
| the bread | das Brot |
| the vegetables | das Gemüse |
| the potatoes | die Kartoffeln |
| the French fries | die Pommes frites |
| the rice | der Reis |
| the pasta | die Nudeln |
| the dumpling | der Knödel |
| the sauce | die Sauße |
| the pork | das Schweinefleisch |
| the beef | das Rindfleisch |
| the chicken | das Huhn |
| the turkey | die Pute |
| the lamp | das Lamm |
| the sausage | die Wurst |
| the fish | der Fisch |
| the seafood | die Meeresfrüchte |
| the carrot | die Karotte |
| the mushroom | der Pilz |
| the cabbage | der Kohl/das Kraut |
| the tomato | die Tomate |
| the apple | der Apfel |
| the banana | die Banane |
| the orange | die Orange |
| the sugar | der Zucker |
| the salt | das Salz |
| the pepper | der Pfeffer |
List of drinks in German
Also, you should learn how the different drinks are called!
| English | German |
|---|---|
| the water | das Wasser |
| the sparkeling water | das Mineralwasser |
| the beer | das Bier |
| the wine | der Wein |
| the white wine | der Weißwein |
| the red wine | der Rotwein |
| the sparkling wine | der Sekt |
| the juice | der Saft |
| the apple juice | der Apfelsaft |
| the orange juice | der Orangensaft |
| the lemonade | die Limonade |
| the milk | die Milch |
| the tea | der Tee |
| the coffee | der Kaffee |
| the espresso | der Espresso |
How do you ask for the bill in German?
Also, you should learn the following expressions:
| English | German |
|---|---|
| The bill, please | Die Rechnung bitte |
| I would like to pay, please | Ich möchte gerne bezahlen |
| together | zusammen |
| separately | getrennt |
| the tip | das Trinkgeld |
Why don't you try out our fun and interactive exercises? Practice your vocabulary skills!
Exercises
- Ordering food and drinks: Fill in the blanks part 1
- Ordering food and drinks: Fill in the blanks part 2
- Ordering food and drinks: Multiple Choice Exercise
Ordering food and drinks: Fill in the blanks part 1
Ordering food and drinks: Fill in the blanks part 2
Ordering food and drinks: Multiple Choice Exercise
Exercises
- Ordering food and drinks: Fill in the blanks part 1
- Ordering food and drinks: Fill in the blanks part 2
- Ordering food and drinks: Multiple Choice Exercise