SkarpSkarp
Get the App

Chapter 4 of 9

Eating Out: Cafés, Restaurants, and Street Food

Focus on ordering food and drinks, understanding common menu language, and handling typical interactions in cafés and restaurants.

15 min readen

New Words and Phrases: Eating Out

In this step you will learn key words and phrases to order food and drinks in cafés, restaurants, and at street stalls. Pay attention to polite endings and useful menu words.

WordPronunciationTranslationExample
메뉴ME-nyumenu메뉴 좀 볼 수 있을까요?(Could I see the menu, please?)
주문하다ju-mun-ha-dato order뭐 주문하실 거예요?(What are you going to order?)
추천해 주세요chu-cheon-hae ju-se-yoPlease recommend (something for me).대표 메뉴 좀 추천해 주세요.(Please recommend a signature menu item.)
덜 맵게 해 주세요deol maep-gae hae ju-se-yoPlease make it less spicy.김치찌개 덜 맵게 해 주세요.(Please make the kimchi stew less spicy.)
포장할게요po-jang-hal-gge-yoI’ll take it to go. / I’ll get it for takeout.이거 포장할게요.(I’ll take this to go.)
여기서 먹고 갈게요yeo-gi-seo meok-go gal-gge-yoI’ll eat here.아니요, 여기서 먹고 갈게요.(No, I’ll eat here.)
계산서 주세요gye-san-seo ju-se-yoThe bill, please.죄송한데 계산서 좀 주세요.(Excuse me, could I have the bill, please?)
한 잔 / 한 개han jan / han geone cup/drink / one piece/item아메리카노 한 잔이랑 떡볶이 한 개 주세요.(One Americano and one tteokbokki, please.)

Language Pattern: Polite Requests and Counters

1. Using 주세요 for polite requests

주세요 (ju-se-yo) means "please give (me/us)" and is used after a noun or a noun phrase when ordering.

Pattern:

  • [Noun] + 주세요 = "Please give me [noun]."

Examples:

  • 물 주세요.
  • mul ju-se-yo
  • "Water, please."
  • 메뉴 좀 주세요.
  • ME-nyu jom ju-se-yo
  • "Please give me the menu."

You can also add a small action phrase before 주세요:

  • 덜 맵게 해 주세요.
  • deol maep-gae hae ju-se-yo
  • "Please make it less spicy."

2. Softening with 좀 (jom)

좀 (jom) literally means "a little," but in requests it works like "please" or "could you" to sound softer and more polite.

Place 좀 before 주세요 or the verb:

  • 메뉴 좀 볼 수 있을까요?
  • ME-nyu jom bol su i-sseul-kkayo?
  • "Could I see the menu, please?" (softer than without 좀)
  • 추천 좀 해 주세요.
  • chu-cheon jom hae ju-se-yo
  • "Please (kindly) recommend something."

3. Basic counters for food and drinks

Korean uses counters after numbers. For this module, focus on two very common ones:

  1. 잔 (jan) – counter for cups/glasses (drinks)
  2. 개 (ge) – counter for general items (dishes, bread, snacks, etc.)

Pattern:

  • [Number] + [Counter] + 주세요

Use native Korean numbers for small quantities:

  • 1: 하나 (ha-na) → 한 (han) before counters
  • 2: 둘 (dul) → 두 (du)
  • 3: 셋 (set) → 세 (se)

Examples:

  • 아메리카노 한 잔 주세요.
  • a-me-ri-ka-no han jan ju-se-yo
  • "One Americano, please."
  • 김밥 두 개 주세요.
  • gim-bap du ge ju-se-yo
  • "Two gimbap, please."
  • 물 세 잔이랑 콜라 한 잔 주세요.
  • mul se jan-i-rang kol-la han jan ju-se-yo
  • "Three waters and one cola, please."

4. For here or to go

Staff will often ask:

  • 포장해 드릴까요?
  • po-jang-hae deu-ril-kkayo?
  • "Shall I pack it to go?" / "Is this for takeout?"

You can answer:

  • 포장할게요.
  • "I’ll take it to go."
  • 여기서 먹고 갈게요.
  • "I’ll eat here."

Practice Dialogue: At a Café and Street Stall

In this dialogue, a customer orders at a café and then gets street food. Notice how they use 주세요, 좀, counters, and phrases for here/to go.

At a café, then at a tteokbokki street stall.

Barista

어서 오세요. 여기서 드세요, 포장하세요?

Welcome. Will you eat/drink here, or is it to go?

Customer

여기서 먹고 갈게요. 메뉴 좀 볼 수 있을까요?

I’ll eat here. Could I see the menu, please?

Barista

네, 여기 있습니다. 인기 메뉴 추천해 드릴까요?

Sure, here you go. Would you like me to recommend a popular menu item?

Customer

네, 추천해 주세요. 그리고 아이스 아메리카노 한 잔 주세요.

Yes, please recommend something. And one iced Americano, please.

Barista

그럼 라떼도 많이 드세요. 라떼 한 잔 더 드릴까요?

Then people also drink a lot of latte. Shall I add one latte?

Customer

네, 라떼 한 잔이랑 아메리카노 한 잔 주세요.

Yes, one latte and one Americano, please.

Later at Stall Owner

떡볶이요? 많이 매운데 괜찮으세요?

Tteokbokki? It’s quite spicy; is that okay?

Customer

덜 맵게 해 주세요. 떡볶이 한 개랑 튀김 두 개 포장할게요.

Please make it less spicy. I’ll take one tteokbokki and two fried snacks to go.

Stall Owner

네, 알겠습니다. 계산서 주세요?

Okay, got it. Would you like the bill/receipt?

Customer

네, 계산서 좀 주세요.

Yes, the bill, please.

Check Your Understanding: Ordering and Requests

Answer this question to check your understanding of polite ordering language and counters.

You want to say politely: "Two coffees, please." Which is the best Korean sentence?

  1. 커피 두 잔 주세요.
  2. 커피 두 개 해 주세요.
  3. 커피 둘 주세요.
  4. 커피 잔 두 주세요.
Show Answer

Answer: A) 커피 두 잔 주세요.

The correct answer is "커피 두 잔 주세요." (keo-pi du jan ju-se-yo). For drinks, the correct counter is 잔 (jan), and native number 2 becomes 두 (du) before counters. Then add 주세요 to make a polite request. The other options either use the wrong counter, wrong number form, or incorrect word order.

Key Terms

개
general counter for items, dishes, snacks, etc.
잔
counter for cups or glasses of drinks
좀
a little; used to soften requests, similar to "please" or "a bit"
메뉴
menu; commonly used in cafés and restaurants to refer to the list of items
한 개
one piece/item; general counter phrase for one item
한 잔
one cup/glass; counter phrase for one drink
주세요
please give (me); polite request form used when ordering
주문하다
to order; used for ordering food, drinks, or products
포장할게요
I’ll take it to go; literally "I will pack it"; used for takeout
계산서 주세요
the bill, please; used when you are ready to pay
추천해 주세요
please recommend (something); polite way to ask staff for suggestions
여기서 드세요?
Will you eat/drink here?; common staff question in cafés and restaurants
포장해 드릴까요?
Shall I pack it to go?; what staff might ask about takeout
덜 맵게 해 주세요
please make it less spicy; useful if you cannot eat very spicy food
여기서 먹고 갈게요
I’ll eat here; used to answer the for here/to go question