When you enter a restaurant, the restaurant staff will say “Welcome” to you, typically by saying “어서오세요” (Welcome).
Usually, in my case, I say ‘hello’ and respond with “안녕하세요” (Hello).
Sometimes the staff will ask you: “몇 분이세요?” which means “How many people are in your party?”
Then, you can reply with: “[number]명이에요” which means “[number] people.“
For example:
“3명이에요” means “3 people.”
[We usually say 이요, but “이요” is not considered standard Korean)
Ex: “3명이요”
The staff will then introduce you to a seat, or you can sit where you want.
Ordering:
In Korea, it is common to get the attention of the server by saying “저기요” (jeogiyo) or calling them “사장님” , which means “sir” or “boss”.
Alternatively, some restaurants have a button on the table to press to call for service.
To order, you can say: “[Food name] 주세요” which means “Can I have [food name], please?”
Assuming you order 국밥(gukbap), you can say: “국밥 3개 주세요” , which means “Three orders of gukbap, please.”
In the case of tteokbokki, the serving size is called “인분” (serving), so you can say: “떡볶이 3인분 주세요”, which means “Three servings of tteokbokki, please.”
What’s the difference between 인분 vs 개?
인분 (serving) is a Korean word that is used to describe the portion size of food meant to serve one person. In contrast, 개 is a counting word used for general counting purposes in Korean.
Payment:
To pay, you can get up and go to the checkout counter. If no one is there, you can say “계산할게요” = “I’ll pay” or “Can I have the check?”
Unlike in some other countries, Korea does not have a tipping culture, but you can give a tip if you want. However, it is rare to give a tip in Korea.