The German-speaking lands have a very developed café culture. Let’s look at the German words and phrases that you need for the perfect café experience!
During the day, in a German or Austrian café, you’ll typically find a delicious range of Gebäck (das, pl. is the same, pastries), Kuchen (cakes) available and also alcoholic drinks. If a café is Selbst-Bedienung (self-service) a sign will say this but most are table service (Service am Tisch or Bedienung am Tisch).
If you see an empty table you can ask Ist dieser Tisch frei? (Is this table free)
Look at die (Speise-) Karte (menu) and decide what you want.
To take your order in German in a café, the waiter might say Was möchten Sie bestellen? or Darf ich Ihre Bestellung aufnehmen?
If you want to call der Kellner (waiter) or die Kellnerin (waitress), you can call Herr Ober! or Fräulein! though this is now quite formal.
To order, you might say Ich hätte gerne einen Milchkaffee (I’d like a coffee with milk) or Ich möchte einen Milchkaffee (another way of saying I’d like a coffee with milk) or Ich nehme einen Milchkaffee (I’ll have/get a coffee with milk).
At home, too in mid afternoon, people may stop for Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake).
The drink – der Kaffee – and das Café (the place) are pronounced the same way.
Here’s some useful café vocabulary:
| Haben Sie einen Tisch frei? | Do you have a table available? |
| Was darf ich Ihnen bringen? | What may I bring you? |
| Was möchten Sie bestellen? | What would you like to order? |
| Darf ich Ihre Bestellung aufnehmen? | May I take your order? |
| Ich hätte gerne… | I’d like… |
| Ich nehme… | I’ll have… |
| Ich möchte… | I would like… |
| …ein belegtes Brot | …a sandwich |
| …ein Stück Kuchen | …a piece of cake |
| …ein Bier, bitte | …a beer, please |
| …eine Cola | …a coke |
| X schmeckt gut | X tastes good |
| Die Rechnung, bitte. | The bill, please. |
| Geht das zusammen? | Are you paying together? |
| Stimmt so | Keep the change (Literally: It’s ok as it is) |
When you’re in a group and have had table service at a café, restaurant or bar, the staff may ask Wie möchten Sie bezahlen? (How would you like to pay?). This is not a question about whether you want to pay cash or card but whether you would like to pay together or separately. You can say Wir bezahlen zusammen (We’re paying together) or Wir bezahlen getrennt (We are paying separately).
Make your preference clear when you ask for the bill, because at some establishments the staff will need to prepare separate printouts if you pay getrennt. Other times, the waiter or waitress will simply go round the table collecting the money and informally cross the items off a common receipt.
Related posts
Hello and goodbye in German: key phrases
The 50 most common German verbs
The 50 most common German adjectives
Must-know phrases for agreeing and disagreeing in German
German cases made simple (without endless tables)
“Wollen Sie einen Deckel?” (Do you want a lid? – heard at Frankfurt airport Starbucks.)
I was planning to add some extra phrases to this post at some stage, Brad, but I’d never in a million years have thought of that one 🙂