How to Order at a Restaurant in China: Point, Tick, Share, Pay

How to order at a Chinese restaurant: the short version

1. 1Book or queueBook by phone or WeChat mini program, or take a queue number at the front desk.
2. 2Say how many几位？ – hold up your fingers or say 两位 (two).
3. 3Point to orderAt the display by the door, or tick the paper menu at your table.
4. 4Order riceIt is not included: ask for 米饭 (mǐ fàn) by the bowl.
5. 5ShareDishes come one by one and everyone eats from all of them.
6. 6Pay, no tip服务员，买单！ – WeChat Pay, Alipay or cash. Tipping is not expected.

Eating at a Chinese restaurant: the ten steps

1. 1

   Find a restaurant and say how many you are · 找饭店 · 几位

   Sit-down restaurants line the streets and fill whole floors of shopping malls; you can book by phone or through a WeChat mini program. At the door, staff ask 几位？ (jǐ wèi, how many?): hold up your fingers or say 两位 (liǎng wèi, two). Popular places hand out queue numbers at the front desk; if you miss your call, you are moved back a few places, not to the end.

2. 2

   Order at the display: point at the real dish · 点菜区

   Many restaurants have an ordering area by the entrance: sample plates of the dishes, a picture board with prices, sometimes the day’s specials. Point at what you want and a waiter writes it down – the friendliest way to order if you can’t read Chinese, because you see the finished dish.

3. 3

   Get a table – and its number · 入座

   A waiter takes you to a table. If you don’t like it, ask for another. Every table has a number, and everything you order and pay is booked to that number.

4. 4

   Order more from the menu · 看菜单点菜

   At the table you can keep ordering from the menu – sometimes with pictures, mostly just names and prices, sometimes on a tablet or by QR code. Rice is ordered separately, unlike in Chinese restaurants in Europe. If a dish has sold out, the waiter tells you.

5. 5

   Wait for the dishes · 等上菜

   Dishes usually take 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the dish and how busy the kitchen is. They come to the table one by one as they are ready, not in courses.

6. 6

   Tableware, tea and napkins · 餐具

   The tableware is usually on the table before you sit down. In Guangdong people rinse it with hot tea or water first. Plain hot water is usually free; some restaurants charge ¥1–2 for napkins – that is normal, not a trick.

7. 7

   Eat – chopsticks, no time limit · 用餐

   Chopsticks are standard; ask for a knife and fork – not every restaurant has them. Nobody hurries you, but many restaurants close between lunch and dinner, for example 11:00–15:00 and 17:00–24:00. Leftovers can be packed to take away; some restaurants charge for the boxes.

8. 8

   If you drink, don’t drive · 酒后不开车

   China punishes drink-driving hard: 20 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood is already an offence, 80 mg is a crime. That is why designated drivers (代驾 dài jià) wait outside restaurants in the evening.

9. 9

   Ask for the bill and pay · 结账

   Call a waiter – 服务员，买单！ (fúwùyuán, mǎi dān) – or go to the till. Pay with WeChat Pay, Alipay or cash. Tipping is not expected; a service charge, where there is one, is printed on the bill.

10. 10

    Read the bill – and get parking validated · 账单 · 停车

    You get a printed bill. If the restaurant shares a car park with the mall, ask after paying to have your parking fee reduced or waived – they need your number plate.

Eating out in China vs the US: the biggest differences

The same meal, two routines. What surprises American visitors most – and what Chinese visitors find odd in the US.

• Getting a table

  In ChinaWalk in, or take a queue number at the front desk and wait by the door; book by phone or WeChat mini program.

  In the USA host seats you; bookings by phone or an app such as OpenTable.

• Ordering

  In ChinaPoint at sample dishes by the door, tick boxes on a paper menu, or scan a QR code. Waiters write down what you point at.

  In the USA server takes the order at the table, often with questions about sides and dressings.

• Who eats what

  In ChinaDishes are shared: everyone eats from every plate. Order roughly one dish per person.

  In the USEach person orders an entrée for themselves.

• Portions

  In ChinaMany dishes come small (小份) or large (大份); small is meant for 2–3 people.

  In the USOne size per dish, usually generous.

• Rice and sides

  In ChinaNot included: rice is ordered separately, by the bowl.

  In the USSides usually come with the entrée; bread is often free.

• Water and drinks

  In ChinaPlain hot water is usually free; iced tap water is not the norm. Drinks are ordered like dishes.

  In the USIced water arrives free and is refilled; soda refills are often free.

• Pace

  In ChinaDishes arrive one by one as they are ready, not in courses. Rice often comes last unless you ask.

  In the USAppetizer, entrée, dessert – one course after another.

• Getting attention

  In ChinaCall 服务员 (fúwùyuán) or wave – normal, not rude.

  In the USThe server checks on your table; calling out is unusual.

• The bill

  In ChinaAsk for it – 买单 – or pay at the till with your table number. WeChat Pay, Alipay or cash.

  In the USThe check comes to the table; you pay there, mostly by card.

• Tax and tip

  In ChinaNo tip. Menu prices are final – no tax added; a service charge only if printed on the bill.

  In the USSales tax is added on top, and a tip of about 15–20% is expected.

• Small extras

  In ChinaSome places charge ¥1–2 for napkins or for takeaway boxes.

  In the USNapkins and to-go boxes are free.

• Leftovers

  In ChinaAsk to pack them: 打包 (dǎ bāo). Normal everywhere.

  In the USAsk for a to-go box. Normal everywhere.

• Alcohol and driving

  In ChinaOffence from 20 mg per 100 ml of blood (0.02%) – a crime from 80 mg. Designated drivers (代驾) wait outside.

  In the USLimit 0.08% in most states. ID checks for alcohol under 21.

Tipping in China, and the small extra costs

No tip, no tax line: what is printed on the menu is what you pay. A few small things work differently from Europe or the US.

Price levels at the restaurant we photographed, a mid-range seafood-dumpling chain: vegetable dishes ¥15–42, meat¥22–99, seafood ¥19–159, cold dishes ¥12–39, dumplings and other staples ¥22–139a plate.

Drink-driving in China: the two thresholds

Measured as alcohol in the blood. A breath test is converted at 1 : 2200. For comparison, much of Europe allows 0.5 ‰ – China’s first threshold is 0.2 ‰.

Sources: thresholds from the national standard GB 19522—2024, table 1 (text published by the Beijing traffic police); penalties from the Road Traffic Safety Law, article 91 (full text), and the Criminal Law, article 133-1. Checked 10 October 2026.

Chinese words you will need in a restaurant

Menus, bills and the waiter’s questions use the same handful of words. Screenshot this list before the trip.

Want to know what you are ordering? Our dish pages explain the classics, from jiaozi dumplingsto hot pot – and the regional cuisines page shows what each part of China cooks.