Learn how to attract the attention of a waiter
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| Finally, you're at the table and at your seat. Now it's time to order! In today's lesson, we'll cover how to ask for a menu and then order your food and drinks. |
| Normally, to get the waiter's attention you can just raise your hand and simply say Συγγνώμη! (Signómi!) - "Excuse me," and then ask for a menu by saying Παρακαλώ το μενού. (Parakaló to menú) - "The menu, please." |
| Let's hear again the entire sentence, Παρακαλώ το μενού. (Parakaló to menú) |
| Παρακαλώ το μενού. (Parakaló to menú) |
| Παρακαλώ (Parakaló) means "please." Pa-ra-ka-lo. |
| Παρακαλώ (Parakaló) |
| This is finally followed by το μενού (to menú), which in English means "the menu." Το (To) is neutral for "the." |
| Once you have looked at the menu, you can finally call the waiter for the order. |
| A typical Greek menu is composed of ορεκτικά (orektiká) - "appetizers," which can be a large variety of dishes from salads to small fish), κυρίως πιάτο (kíríos piáto)- "main dish," which can be fish or meat), and επιδόρπιο (epidórpio) - "dessert." |
| First, in 99% of cases, they will ask you what you would like to drink first. Τι θέλετε να πιείτε; (Ti thélete na píite?). |
| Τι (Ti) means "what," θέλετε (thélete) - "you want," να (na) - "to," and finally πιείτε (piíte) - "drink." |
| Now let's break it down and hear it one more time, Ti the-le-te na pi-i-te? |
| Τι θέλετε να πιείτε; (Ti thélete na píite?) |
| Now let's hear some typical beverages the Greeks have with dinner: |
| Μπίρα (Bíra) - "Beer" |
| Ούζο (Úzo) - "Ouzo" |
| Ρετσίνα (Retsína) - "Greek white wine" |
| Let's break down these words and hear them one more time. |
| Bíra - Bi-ra. Μπίρα (Bíra) |
| Úzo - U-zo. Ούζο (Úzo) |
| Retsína - Re-tsi-na. Ρετσίνα (Retsína) |
| In Greece, the waiter rarely asks the customer what they want. However, you can always ask for recommendations and the house specials! |
| Τι προτείνει το κατάστημα; (Ti protíni to katástima?). |
| This literally means "What does the establishment recommend?" |
| Let's have a quick look at the bits and pieces of this phrase. |
| In Greek, the word ti (ti) means "what" in English. We follow this with the word for "recommend" which is προτείνει (protíni). "The establishment" is το κατάστημα (to katástima). |
| Τι προτείνει το κατάστημα; (Ti protíni to katástima?) |
| Τι προτείνει το κατάστημα; (Ti protíni to katástima?) |
| This would be the equivalent for "What are the recommendations" in English. |
| When you order in Greece, you usually just say the name of the dish you want. However, there is a polite way of saying "I would like" followed by the name of the things you want to eat. This is Θα ήθελα (Tha íthela). |
| Θα ήθελα (Tha íthela) |
| Let's break down these words and hear them once again: tha i-the-la. |
| Θα ήθελα (Tha íthela) |
| Now let's hear about some good dishes you can find on a typical Greek menu. |
| Χωριάτικη σαλάτα (Horiátiki saláta) - The traditional Greek salad. |
| Σουβλάκι (Suvláki) - Small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer. |
| Μουσακάς (Musakás) - A baked aubergine based dish with minced meat and white sauce. |
| Καλαμαράκια (Kalamarákia) - Battered fried squid pieces. |
| Τζατζίκι (Jajíki) - Yogurt based dressing with garlic and cucumber. |
| Let's break down these words and hear them one more time. |
| Horiátiki saláta - Ho-ria-ti-ki sa-la-ta. Χωριάτικη σαλάτα (Horiátiki saláta) |
| Suvláki - Su-vla-ki. Σουβλάκι (Suvláki) |
| Musakás - Mu-sa-kas. Μουσακάς (Musakás) |
| Kalamarákia - Ka-la-ma-ra-kia. Καλαμαράκια (Kalamarákia) |
| Jajíki - Ja-ji-ki. Τζατζίκι (Jajíki) |
| Let's imagine you would like to order Σουβλάκι (Suvláki) and Τζατζίκι (Jajíki). You should say to the waiter, Θα ήθελα ένα σουβλάκι κι ένα τζατζίκι. (Tha íthela éna suvláki ki éna jajíki). - "I would like a souvlaki and some tzatzíki." |
| Θα ήθελα ένα σουβλάκι κι ένα τζατζίκι. (Tha íthela éna suvláki ki éna jajíki) |
| Θα ήθελα ένα σουβλάκι κι ένα τζατζίκι. (Tha íthela éna suvláki ki éna jajíki) |
| Θα ήθελα (Tha íthela), as we have seen, means "would like." You simply follow it with the name of the food you are ordering. Please note that, before σουβλάκι (suvláki) and τζατζίκι (jajíki), you find the indefinite neuter article ένα (éna) - "a," and it is very important to separate masculine articles from feminine and neuter articles in Greek. |
| Okay, to close out today's lesson, we'd like for you to practice what you've just learned. I'll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you're responsible for shouting it out loud. You'll have a few seconds before I give you the answer, so Καλή τύχη (kalí týchi), which means "good luck!" in Greek. |
| "The menu, please." - Παρακαλώ το μενού. (Parakaló to menú) |
| Παρακαλώ το μενού. (Parakaló to menú) |
| Παρακαλώ το μενού. (Parakaló to menú) |
| "What would you like to drink?" - Τι θέλετε να πιείτε; (Ti thélete na píite?) |
| Τι θέλετε να πιείτε; (Ti thélete na píite?) |
| Τι θέλετε να πιείτε; (Ti thélete na píite?) |
| "Ouzo" - Ούζο (Úzo) |
| Ούζο (Úzo) |
| Ούζο (Úzo) |
| All right, that's going to do it for today! |
| Remember to stop by GreekPod101.com and pick up the accompanying PDF. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. Αντίο! (Antío!) |
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