Guide • Japanese phrases
How to order at a Japanese family restaurant when you can’t read the menu
Japanese family restaurants like Saizeriya, Gusto, and Jonathan’s are friendly and affordable — but the menu can feel like a wall of kanji when you first sit down.
This guide gives you a few simple phrases to get seated, ask for recommendations, tweak your order, and handle the bill politely, even if you can’t read a single character.
The situation
You walk into a family restaurant and a staff member greets you with a quick phrase. You’re handed a menu full of pictures and Japanese text, maybe with a tiny English section. You want something safe and tasty, and you might need to ask for a small change like no onions or a different drink.
Staff are used to serving visitors and will usually try to help, but having a few core phrases makes the whole experience smoother and much less stressful. Here are the moments to prepare for: getting seated, ordering, making small changes, and paying.
Key Japanese phrases
These phrases focus on being clear and polite rather than perfect. You can mix them with pointing at the menu or showing photos in TabiTalk.
“Table for two, please.”
futari desu. ２人です。
When you walk in, staff may ask how many people you have. Just saying futari desu (“There are two of us”) with a little gesture is enough. Swap futari (two people) for hitori (one), sannin (three), and so on.
“What do you recommend?”
osusume wa arimasu ka? おすすめはありますか？
Use this when you’re overwhelmed by choices. It literally means “Is there a recommendation?” Staff might point to a seasonal menu, a popular dish, or a set meal that’s easy for first-timers.
“I’d like this, please.” (while pointing)
kore onegai shimasu. これお願いします。
Point to the picture or item number on the menu and say kore onegai shimasu. This soft, polite phrase works in almost any restaurant and saves you from having to pronounce long dish names.
“Without onions, please.”
tamanegi nuki de onegai shimasu. 玉ねぎ抜きでお願いします。
Nuki de means “without”. You can swap tamanegi (onion) for other ingredients: chīzu nuki de (no cheese), mayonēzu nuki de (no mayo). Use it right after kore onegai shimasu while you’re still pointing at the dish.
“Is this vegetarian / does this have meat?”
kore wa niku ga haitte imasu ka? これは肉が入っていますか？
Literally: “Does this have meat in it?” Even if your Japanese is limited, this question plus a little gesture towards the menu item usually gets a clear yes/no answer or an alternative suggestion.
“Excuse me” (to call staff)
sumimasen. すみません。
In many family restaurants you press a call button, but if there isn’t one, a gentle sumimasen with a raised hand is the standard way to get attention. It’s polite and very normal in Japan.
“Could we have the bill, please?”
okaikei onegai shimasu. お会計お願いします。
Use this when you’re ready to leave. Some places have you bring the bill to the register; others pay at the table. In either case, this phrase is understood everywhere.
See it in TabiTalk, a Japanese learning app for everyday life in Japan.
In TabiTalk, the “Family restaurant” scenarios walk you through arriving, ordering, and paying, with audio and small notes on politeness and nuance.
Short TabiTalk walkthrough showing how to handle ordering at a Japanese family restaurant when you can’t read the menu.
Practise this (and more) in the app
If this is exactly what you need, TabiTalk gives you interactive drills and camera help for this and more.
If you want a deeper look at how TabiTalk works as a Japanese learning app for life in Japan, the full guide walks through the philosophy, the Ask → Translate → Practise loop, and how restaurant scenarios connect to the rest of your daily life.
You can:
- Practise full restaurant role-plays before you sit down.
- Tap phrases to hear audio, see romaji/kana, and check what “What does this mean in Japanese?” in context.
- Use the camera to read menus and signs when there’s no English available.
Install TabiTalk on iOS or Android and turn family restaurants into low-stress, actually-fun Japanese practice.