How to Order in Japanese: The Restaurant Phrases That Matter
By SHOKU NOREN Team · Facts last verified August 2026 · How we check
In shortYou need surprisingly little Japanese to order well: state your party size on entry (futari desu — two people), summon staff with sumimasen, point at the menu with kore o kudasai (this, please), ask for the recommendation with osusume wa?, and hand the whole decision over with omakase de (chef's choice). Add toriaezu nama (a draft beer to start) for izakaya credibility and mizu kudasai for water. Staff meet you more than halfway — a handful of phrases delivered with a smile outperforms an hour of phrasebook study.
Here is the liberating truth about restaurant Japanese: twenty phrases cover ninety percent of every meal, staff meet effort more than halfway, and pointing is a fully accepted grammar. This is the working kit — pronunciation, timing, and what you'll hear back.
Walking in
You'll be hit with a chorus of irasshaimase! (ee-rah-shai-mah-seh — "welcome"). It needs no reply — just a nod. Then state your size:
Yoyaku shiteimasu (yoh-yah-koo shteh-mass) — I have a reservation — plus your name.
Wait to be led to a seat; self-seating is rare.
Summoning and ordering
Sumimasen! (soo-mee-mah-sen) — excuse me. The universal summons: clear voice, raised hand. Not rude — expected. (Many izakaya have a call button; use it shamelessly.)
Kore o kudasai (koh-reh oh koo-dah-sai) — this, please — while pointing at menu or display. The single most useful sentence in Japan.
Counting: kore o futatsu — two of this. Hitotsu, futatsu, mittsu — one, two, three.
Toriaezu nama de (toh-ree-ah-eh-zoo nah-mah) — "a draft beer to start" — the ritual izakaya opener that buys you time and instant credibility; see how izakaya work.
Ijou desu — that's everything.
Mizu kudasai — water, please. (Free, always.)
The power moves
Osusume wa? (oh-soo-soo-meh wah?) — what do you recommend? Staff pride runs deep; asking is a compliment and reliably surfaces the kitchen's best.
Omakase de onegaishimasu — I leave it to you. The full surrender, and at counters the whole point. Works for sake too — see ordering sake.
Kore wa nan desu ka? — what is this? Asked while pointing; answers may arrive via gesture and enthusiasm.
What you'll hear back
Shousho omachi kudasai — one moment please.
Kashikomarimashita — understood/certainly (the elegant acknowledgment).
Sold out: sumimasen, kirashite orimasu — apologies, we're out. Point at something else.
The meta-rule
Delivery beats vocabulary. A smiled, butchered sumimasen, kore o kudasai outperforms fluent-but-cold every time — Japanese service culture responds to goodwill signals, and attempting the language is the strongest one there is. For the companion scenes, see paying the bill, dietary requests and talking at the sushi counter — and for menus with no pictures at all, how to read a Japanese menu.
Frequently asked
What do you say when entering a restaurant in Japan?
You'll be greeted with irasshaimase (welcome) — it needs no reply. State your party size: hitori desu (one person), futari desu (two), san-nin desu (three), yo-nin desu (four). If you have a booking: yoyaku shiteimasu, plus your name. Staff will then guide you — follow, and wait to be seated rather than choosing your own table.
How do you order food in Japanese?
Summon staff with a clear sumimasen (excuse me) — it is polite, expected, and many izakaya even have call buttons. Then point and say kore o kudasai (this, please) or kore to kore (this and this). Numbers: hitotsu (one), futatsu (two), mittsu (three) — as in kore o futatsu kudasai, two of this. To finish: ijou desu (that's all).
How do you ask for a recommendation in Japanese?
Osusume wa nan desu ka? — what do you recommend? — or simply osusume wa? with a rising tone. At counters, the power move is omakase de onegaishimasu: I leave it to you. Chefs and staff take genuine pride in recommendations; asking is a compliment, not an imposition, and it reliably gets you the best thing in the kitchen that day.
Do restaurant staff in Japan speak English?
In tourist-facing Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, increasingly yes — and picture menus, English menus and tablet ordering are widespread. But the old houses and local counters where the best eating happens often run Japanese-only. The phrases in this guide, delivered imperfectly with goodwill, are genuinely enough: staff meet effort more than halfway, and pointing remains a universal language.
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