Czech phrases
for restaurants

Short answer. The key Czech restaurant phrases are Dobrý večer, máte stůl pro dva? (good evening, do you have a table for two?), Dám si kávu s mlékem. (I'll have a coffee with milk) and Můžete mi přinést účet? (could you bring me the bill?); this page has 26 phrases, from getting a table to the bill and tipping. Ask for the bill with Zaplatím, prosím, and tell the waiter the total with the tip, usually around 10 %, when you pay.

Cafés, weekday lunches and evenings in the pub are where you need Czech every single day. You can read a menu with a translation app, but the waiter asks questions out loud and fast: for here or to go, together or separately, any dessert. The good news: restaurant conversations almost always follow the same script. Learn a few answers in advance and you can order on your own instead of pointing at the menu.

Below, the phrases are grouped by situation: getting a table, ordering, special requests, at the table and paying. All of them come from Talkfirst's Czech decks, so you can practise them out loud straight away. If you are just starting, read basic Czech phrases first: it covers greetings, politeness and how to read Czech letters.

Phrases for restaurants and cafés

Getting a table

Ordering food and drinks

Special requests

At the table

The bill and the tip

Czech has a formal "you", and that is what you use with waiters; they address you the same way: Dáte si i dezert?, Platíte dohromady, nebo zvlášť? None of these phrases change with the speaker's gender, so they work for everyone.

Dialogue: at a café

The most common conversation is a quick order at the counter: a coffee, something to go with it, for here or to go, and how you will pay. The barista's lines come from the "At a café" scene that Talkfirst's AI conversation partner plays out with you, out loud. Notice Horkou, prosím: it answers a question about kávu, so it takes the same ending.

Tips for eating out in Czechia

Order with Dám si… It is the most natural way to order: Dám si kávu, Dám si polévku, Dám si pivo. The waiter asks with the same verb: Co si dáte?, "What will you have?". Feminine nouns ending in -a switch to -u after it, so káva becomes kávu.

On weekdays, look for the polední menu. Many restaurants offer a lunch menu: a soup and a few main dishes that change every day. It is quicker and cheaper than ordering from the regular menu, which is why Jaká je dnes polévka? is a question you hear at lunchtime all the time.

Water is not always free. Tap water in Czechia is safe to drink, but if you ask for voda in a restaurant you are more likely to get a bottle of mineral water on the bill. Sparkling is perlivá, still is neperlivá. If you want tap water, ask for it directly, but be ready for it to be refused or charged.

In the pub, you share tables. In a hospoda there is often no empty table, and sitting down with strangers where there is room is perfectly normal. Ask Je tady volno? first. When your beer runs low, the waiter will often bring the next one unasked and mark each one on a slip of paper on your table. When you clink glasses, say Na zdraví! and look each other in the eye.

Ask for the bill with Zaplatím, prosím. It literally means "I will pay", and the waiter takes it as a request for the bill. They will almost always ask Platíte dohromady, nebo zvlášť?: paying separately is completely normal, and the waiter works out who had what.

Say the tip out loud. People usually round up, or add around 10 % if they were happy. Money is not usually left on the table in silence: when you pay, you tell the waiter the total you want to pay including the tip, and they take that amount or key it into the card terminal. And a word worth knowing on any menu: čerstvý means "fresh", as in Ryba je čerstvá.

How to learn these phrases

There is no phonetic respelling here on purpose; the phrasebook hub explains why. Play each phrase on its flashcard and repeat it out loud, and learn the reading rules from the beginner's guide. Two rules to start with: the stress is always on the first syllable, and the accent mark over a vowel means it is long, not stressed.

Learn whole phrases rather than single words, and swap the details. Once you know Mám alergii na ořechy, say the same about whatever you are allergic to. Dám si kávu s mlékem turns into an order for anything on the menu. One phrase becomes a template for dozens of situations. More topics are in the Czech phrasebook by topic, for example Czech for shopping.

Questions and answers