🎯 Situation

You walk into a restaurant or café in Germany. You need to know how to ask for the menu, order food, order drinks, and pay. These are the phrases that will help you enjoy German cuisine!

📋 Sample phrase table

Ordering food

German	Pronunciation (IPA)	English
Die Speisekarte bitte	/diː ˈʃpaɪ̯zəˌkaʁtə ˈbɪtə/	Can I see the menu, please
Ich hätte gern ...	/ɪç ˈhɛtə ɡɛʁn/	I'd like to order ...
Ich nehme ...	/ɪç ˈneːmə/	I'll have ...
Was empfehlen Sie?	/vas ɛmˈpfeːlən ziː/	What do you recommend?
Ohne ... bitte	/ˈoːnə ... ˈbɪtə/	Without ..., please
Mit ... bitte	/mɪt ... ˈbɪtə/	With ..., please
Ist das scharf?	/ɪst das ʃaʁf/	Is this spicy?

Drinks

German	Pronunciation (IPA)	English
Ein Bier bitte	/aɪ̯n biːɐ̯ ˈbɪtə/	One beer, please
Einen Kaffee bitte	/ˈaɪ̯nən ˈkafeː ˈbɪtə/	One coffee, please
Ein Wasser bitte	/aɪ̯n ˈvasɐ ˈbɪtə/	One water, please
Ein Glas Wein	/aɪ̯n ɡlaːs vaɪ̯n/	A glass of wine
Mit Milch	/mɪt mɪlç/	With milk
Ohne Zucker	/ˈoːnə ˈtsʊkɐ/	Without sugar
Noch ein ... bitte	/nɔx aɪ̯n ... ˈbɪtə/	One more ..., please

Paying

German	Pronunciation (IPA)	English
Zahlen bitte	/ˈtsaːlən ˈbɪtə/	The bill, please
Die Rechnung bitte	/diː ˈʁɛçnʊŋ ˈbɪtə/	Can I have the receipt
Zusammen	/tsuˈzamən/	All together
Getrennt	/ɡəˈtʁɛnt/	Separately
Stimmt so	/ʃtɪmt zoː/	Keep the change (tip)
Das war sehr lecker	/das vaːɐ̯ zeːɐ̯ ˈlɛkɐ/	That was very delicious

💬 Sample dialogues

Dialogue 1: Ordering food

Staff: Guten Tag! Was möchten Sie bestellen? (Hello! What would you like to order?)

You: Die Speisekarte bitte. (Can I see the menu, please.)

(After looking at the menu)

You: Ich hätte gern eine Suppe und ein Schnitzel. (I'd like a bowl of soup and a Schnitzel.)

Staff: Und zu trinken? (And to drink?)

You: Ein Wasser bitte. (One water, please.)

Staff: Kommt sofort! (Coming right up!)

Dialogue 2: Paying

You: Zahlen bitte! (The bill, please!)

Staff: Zusammen oder getrennt? (All together or separately?)

You: Zusammen bitte. (All together, please.)

Staff: Das macht achtzehn Euro fünfzig. (That comes to 18 Euro 50.)

You: Hier, zwanzig Euro. Stimmt so! (Here, 20 Euro. Keep the change!)

Staff: Vielen Dank! (Thank you very much!)

Dialogue 3: At the café

You: Einen Kaffee bitte, mit Milch, ohne Zucker. (One coffee, please, with milk, without sugar.)

Staff: Groß oder klein? (Large or small?)

You: Klein bitte. (Small, please.)

Staff: Zum Mitnehmen oder hier trinken? (To go or drink here?)

You: Hier trinken bitte. (Drink here, please.)

ℹ️ 📌 Quick memory tips

"Ich hätte gern" /ɪç ˈhɛtə ɡɛʁn/ — the most polite way to order. Using this phrase is always safe!
"Zahlen bitte" — the magic phrase when you want to pay. Raise your hand and say it!
"Stimmt so" /ʃtɪmt zoː/ = keep the change = tip. Germans usually tip around 5-10%.
In Germany, the staff brings the bill to your table. You pay at the table, not at the counter.
"Zusammen" (together) or "Getrennt" (separately) — the staff will always ask this when you're in a group!

ℹ️ 🔗 Next step

Congratulations! You've completed all 6 lessons of "Speak Right Away". Now you can greet people, introduce yourself, count numbers, ask for directions, go shopping, and order food and drinks in German!

Ready to study systematically? Start the A1 - Basic German program to take your skills to the next level!