Some of the most practical German words that you can use immediately upon arrival in a German-speaking country (don't forget that German is spoken in Austria and Switzerland too!) are related to ordering food. When you first enter a restaurant, the waitstaff may invite you to take a seat:
Nehmen Sie bitte Platz.
Please have a seat.
Caption 35, Das Lügenbüro - Die Bewerbung
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You may then be offered a menu:
Die Speisekarte, bitte schön. -Danke schön.
Here's the menu. -Thank you.
Caption 7, Abendessen - mit Marko
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Note that another word for menu is das Menü, and sometimes Speisekarte is shortened simply to die Karte. When you are ready to order, you may inform the waitstaff:
Wir würden gerne bestellen, bitte.
We would like to order, please.
Caption 47, Melanie und Thomas - im Restaurant
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Those of you with dietary restrictions may wish to discuss some menu items:
Kichererbsenbuletten sind das, ist auch vegetarisch, rein vegan ist das... ohne tierische Produkte.
Those are chick pea burgers, it's also vegetarian, it's purely vegan... without animal products.
Captions 26-28, Jonathan Johnson - Nahöstliches Essen in Berlin
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Then there are several ways you can express your order to the waitstaff:
Ich hätte gerne eine Berliner Kartoffelsuppe.
I would like a Berlin potato soup.
Caption 21, Abendessen - mit Marko
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Dann nehmen wir doch die Apfelküchle mit Vanilleeis.
Then we'll take the apple pies with vanilla ice cream after all.
Caption 43, Melanie und Thomas - im Restaurant
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Before you begin eating:
Zu Beginn der Mahlzeit sagen wir „guten Appetit“.
At the beginning of the meal we say "Enjoy your meal."
Caption 19, Tisch decken - mit Eva
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And when you are ready to pay, you can simply say bezahlen, bitte or die Rechnung, bitte. If you wish to pay with a credit card, you may ask:
Kann ich auch mit Kreditkarte bezahlen?
Can I also pay with a credit card?
Caption 7, Diane - auf dem Weihnachtsmarkt
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If you need a receipt for tax or expense account purposes, after you pay you can ask for eine Quittung, bitte. As for tipping in Germany, you may want to read this Yabla lesson!
Further Learning
There are a lot of Yabla German videos related to food. Here are a few for you to start with!
Apfelpfannkuchen: mit Alina und Sabine
Grillzeit: Grill anzünden und los geht's
Jonathan Johnson: Nahöstliches Essen in Berlin
Kochhaus Berlin: Rucola-Salat-Rezept