How to order food in German
Just a little reminder before you dive into German cuisine and traditional German dishes: Like everywhere else it is important to be polite and friendly. Just start the conversation with a simple “Hallo”, “Guten Tag” or “Guten Abend”.
Since you want something from the other person it is also appropriate to use “Bitte” (please) and “Danke” (Thank you) or “Vielen Dank” (Thank you very much).
Phrases to order
If you are asking yourself, “How can I order in German?”, make sure to keep the following phrases in mind. They are like magic and people will love that you are asking in German.
While the person in the restaurant, bakery or bar will most likely ask “Was darf es sein?”, “Was möchten Sie?” (What would you like?) or just a simple “Bitte?” (Please?), you can use one of these phrases:
- Ich hätte gern ein (neutral) / eine (female) / einen (male) …
That’s the classic one and means “I would like to have a/an…”. You can also say: “Ich möchte gern ein/eine/einen …” which has the same meaning. The little word “gern” doesn’t have an equivalent in English but it makes the phrase a bit more polite and friendly. You can find that word in lots of German phrases.
Ich nehme ein/eine/einen… (I’ll have a/an…)
Für mich ein/eine/einen… (For me a…)
You can use this one when you are with other people so that you can indicate that you are the next one ordering.
Now let’s see the various dishes that you can order in a typical German menu in the next section.
German menu
Menus in German-speaking countries are usually divided into the sections “Vorspeisen”, “Hauptgerichte”, “Nachtisch” und “Getränke”. Let’s have a closer look at what they include:
1. Vorspeisen
These are the starters that you will have before your main course. You can find soups, salads, bread with dips, etc. Known as the country with the greatest bread diversity, you can try more than 3000 different types of bread in Germany.
2. Hauptgerichte
In this menu section, you will find all the main dishes including meat, fish, lots of vegetarian options and, of course, popular German dishes.
3. Nachtisch
You can see this in the menu section also called “Nachspeise” or like in other languages “Desserts”. That is the section when you are looking for something sweet. How about a classic German Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte?
4. Getränke
If you would like to drink something, you are right in this menu section. You can find all drinks divided into alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
Ready to try one of the 5000 different kinds of German beers? Here are two easy phrases on how to order a beer in German:
- “Ich hätte gern ein Bier.”
- “Ich nehme ein Bier, bitte.”
What would you like to order in German?
In case you have the menu in your hands and still don’t know what to order, here is a list of traditional German dishes you should try for your local experience:
1. Bratwurst
You can find a huge variety of sausages in Germany but the Bratwurst is the all-time classic, as street food, main course at the restaurants with some mashed potatoes and Sauerkraut, or for BBQ’s with family and friends.
2. Currywurst
Berlin’s specialty served as sliced sausage with a spicy curry ketchup.
3. Schnitzel
The world-famous Schnitzel, also known as “Wiener Schnitzel” as it comes originally from Vienna’s cuisine. This thin slice of meat is originally made of veal, breaded and fried.
4. Kartoffelsalat
The classic german potato salad is made either with mayonnaise or a vinegar dressing. You can find Kartoffelsalat as garnish for Schnitzel, Bratwurst, at every BBQ or even at Christmas dinners. Potato salad and sausages is a popular dish For Christmas Eve in Germany.
5. Brezel
This famous snack is best served when it comes fresh out of the oven with some salt and butter. You can order Brezel at almost every bakery and Biergarten. Because this is the place where most people consume Brezel.
6. Sauerkraut
It is a kind of cabbage and served as a side dish in traditional German kitchen.
Placing your order in German
Once you have decided what kind of Vorspeise, Hauptgericht, Nachtisch and Getränk you would like you are finally ready to place your order in German:
- Ich hätte gern ein Schnitzel.
- Ich hätte gern eine Bratwurst.
- Ich nehme ein Bier, bitte.
- Für mich eine Cola, bitte.
- Ich hätte gern einen Nachtisch.
