If you’re a foodie visiting Turkey, you have plenty of delicious foods to try! To do that, you should know how to order food in Turkish restaurants!
Although waiters usually understand English in major tourist areas, it’s a good idea to learn useful phrases for ordering food in Turkish. Waiters working at small restaurants may not speak English, plus it’s an opportunity to impress your local friends!
Ordering Food In Turkish
In this blog post, you’ll learn what to say when calling the waiter, ordering food from the menu, and paying the bill. So, let’s get started!
Entering The Restaurant (Restorana Giriş)
When entering any business in Turkey, it’s good etiquette to say hi to the people working there. After greeting them, you can talk to the receptionist (if there is one) to find a suitable table for you. If there’s no receptionist, you can simply sit at any free table.
Here are some useful phrases you can use when entering a restaurant:
| English | Turkish |
|---|---|
| Hello! | Merhaba! |
| Have a good day at work! | Kolay gelsin! |
| Good evening! | İyi akşamlar! |
| Good morning! | Günaydın! |
| I have a reservation. | Rezervasyonum var. |
| I don’t have a reservation. | Rezervasyonum yok. |
| Can we get a table for two? | İki kişilik bir masa alabilir miyiz? |
| Is there a table available for two? | İki kişilik boş masanız var mı? |
| Do you have a free table? | Boş masanız var mı? |
If you want to learn conversational Turkish phrases to get by in Turkey, try the Ling app! It’s available on both the App Store and Play Store. You’ll get a free 7-day trial if you download it now!
Calling The Waiter (Garson Çağırmak)
After you choose a table and sit down, you can call the waiter (garson) to ask for a menu (menü). Nowadays, many restaurants and cafes have an online menu that you can access by scanning a QR code on the table. But if it is not available, you need to ask for a menu.
You can simply call the waiter by raising your hand; many Turkish people do that. You can also add a phrase from the table below:
| English | Turkish |
|---|---|
| Excuse me? | Bakar mısınız? |
| Can I see the menu, please? | Menüyü görebilir miyim lütfen? |
| May I get a menu, please? | Bir menü alabilir miyim, lütfen? |
| I would like to order. | Sipariş vermek istiyorum. |
| Can I order? | Sipariş verebilir miyim? |
| I’m waiting for my friend to order. | Sipariş vermek için arkadaşımı bekliyorum. |
Selecting Food From The Menu And Ordering (Menüden Sipariş Vermek)
Once you get the menu, it’s time to select a dish and order it. You can simply point to the food on the menu and say, “bundan istiyorum,” meaning I want this. If you want to ask questions about a specific dish on the menu, you follow a specific diet, or you have an allergy (alerji), you can find useful phrases to talk to the waiter in the table below.
| English | Turkish |
|---|---|
| Do you have any vegetarian dishes? | Herhangi bir vejetaryen yemeği var mı? |
| I will have this one, please. | Bundan alacağım. |
| How spicy is it? | Bu ne kadar acı? |
| Do you serve any cold dishes? | Soğuk yemek servis ediyor musunuz? |
| Is there any dish we could share? | Paylaşabileceğimiz bir yemek var mı? |
| What do you recommend? | Ne önerirsiniz? |
| Can I have a glass of water, please? | Bir bardak su alabilir miyim lütfen? |
| Do you have any desserts? | Hiç tatlı var mı? |
| What is the soup of the day? | Günün çorbası nedir? |
| What does this dish contain? | Bu yemeğin içinde ne var? |
| I am allergic to nuts. | Kabuklu yemişlere alerjim var. |
| Do you have a gluten-free dish? | Glutensiz yemeğiniz var mı? |
| Do you have a halal menu? | Helal yemek menünüz var mı? |
| Does it contain meat? | Et içeriyor mu? |
If you want to learn more about Turkish food and cuisine, I’ve written a blog post about it as well!
Paying The Bill (Hesap Ödemek)
In Turkey, it’s common for one person to pay the whole bill themselves as a generous gesture. But I think paying fifty-fifty is always the best for everyone at the table. When it comes to paying the bill, you call the waiter to ask for it. Then again, you can also go to the cashier (kasa) and pay before leaving.
Here are some useful phrases you can use to pay the bill:
| English | Turkish |
|---|---|
| Can we pay separately? | Ayrı ödeyebilir miyiz? |
| I will pay the bill. | Hesabı ben ödeyeceğim. |
| We will pay in half. | Yarı yarıya ödeyeceğiz. |
| The bill, please. | Hesap lütfen. |
| Can you bring the bill? | Hesabı getirebilir misiniz? |
| Do you accept credit cards? | Kredi kartı geçiyor mu? |
| How much is all of it? | Hepsi ne kadar? |
| I will pay in cash. | Nakit ödeyeceğim. |
Final Words
Are you ready to go to a Turkish restaurant and order food confidently? Ordering food in Turkish is as simple as this. Even if you don’t speak like a native, I’m sure everyone will understand you and smile at you. After all, you’re showing an effort to speak their native language as a foreigner, which is something locals appreciate.
By the way, if you’re thinking about going on a date at a Turkish restaurant, you may want to know the best restaurants in Istanbul for dinner dates!
And if you’re a foreigner living in Turkey, make sure to check out other blog posts on Ling’s Turkish blog so you can learn more about the Turkish culture and language!
