Restaurant Ordering phrases and words in English
The phrases that turn a meal out into native-sounding English — order like a regular, dodge the menu nerves, and pick up the food idioms people drop at every table from the chippy to the fancy place.
10 phrases · meanings & example sentences
“Hits the spot”
Said of food or drink that satisfies you exactly when you needed it — the spot being some imagined target your craving was aiming for. Used way beyond the table now for anything that lands perfectly: a song, a nap, the right joke at the right moment.
- Cold beer after that hike absolutely hits the spot
- I wasn't even that hungry but those fries hit the spot
- Quiet night in after a mad week — exactly what I needed, hit the spot
“On the house”
When the restaurant gives you something for free — the house being the business itself picking up the cost. Used anywhere someone covers something as a gesture of goodwill, not just food and drink.
- They messed up the order so dessert was on the house
- First round's on the house since you're regulars
- He fixed my bike and wouldn't take a penny — said it was on the house
“I'll have what they're having”
A diner's shortcut: skip the menu and just order whatever looks good at the next table. It became a famous line and now works as playful shorthand for wanting whatever someone else is clearly enjoying — a mood, a drink, a life.
- That plate looks unreal — I'll have what they're having
- She's been glowing all week. Whatever she's having, I'll have what she's having
- You two look way too relaxed. I'll have what you're having
“The works”
Everything that can possibly go on it — every topping, every extra, the full version with nothing left off. Born at the burger and hot-dog counter, now used for the complete, no-expense-spared version of anything.
- One burger with the works — cheese, bacon, the lot
- They booked the wedding with the works, fireworks and all
- Spa day with the works. Massage, sauna, the whole thing
“To die for”
So good you'd (jokingly) give anything for it — the kind of over-the-top praise food earns when it's genuinely excellent. Stretches easily to anything gorgeous or irresistible: a dress, a view, a house.
- Their chocolate tart is to die for, get two
- She's got a kitchen to die for
- The view from that table is honestly to die for
“Put it on my tab”
A tab is the running total a bar or restaurant keeps so you pay at the end instead of each round. Putting something on your tab means you're covering it — used literally, and figuratively for 'I owe you, I'll settle up later'.
- Get whatever you want, put it on my tab
- You grabbed lunch last time — put this one on my tab
- He's done me three favours this month. All on my tab now
“Eyes bigger than your stomach”
When you order far more than you can actually eat because it all looked so good — your eyes wanted everything, your stomach couldn't keep up. Used for any time ambition outruns capacity, at the table or off it.
- Three courses and a side? Your eyes are bigger than your stomach
- I ordered the sharing platter for one. Eyes bigger than my stomach again
- Signed up for five classes this term — eyes bigger than my stomach, clearly
“Doggy bag”
A container for the food you couldn't finish, to take home — supposedly for the dog, though everyone knows it's for you. Asking for one is a tiny, very common bit of restaurant English that trips up learners.
- Could we get a doggy bag for this? It's too good to waste
- Half the pizza's coming home — doggy bag it
- She always doggy-bags the leftovers and has them for breakfast
“Food coma”
The heavy, sleepy, can't-move feeling after eating far too much — your body too busy digesting to do anything else. A coma here is pure exaggeration, but it's exactly how a big Sunday lunch leaves you.
- After that roast I went straight into a food coma on the sofa
- Don't plan anything after the buffet, it's full food-coma territory
- Thanksgiving is just everyone in a collective food coma by 3pm
“My treat”
A warm, casual way to say you're paying — you're treating them, so they don't reach for their wallet. The polite move when you've invited someone or want to do something nice, and a phrase learners constantly need but rarely get taught.
- Put your card away, this one's my treat
- You've had a rough week — dinner's my treat
- Order the good wine, my treat tonight
