76 Must-Know Restaurant Slangs
Are you an expert at these restaurant terms? It's a whole new language of its own!
2-top, 4-top: Refers to the number of guests you seat at a table.
5 Out: When a chef yells out "5 out!" it means that the dish they are working on will be ready for plating in 5 minutes.
86ed: Sometimes, the kitchen will run out of an ingredient in a menu item. This means it’s 86ed. Usually, the manager or the kitchen staff will alert servers so they don’t offer it or can inform guests.
Adam and Eve on a raft: This refers to two eggs—poached or scrambled—on toast.
All-day: The term "All Day" refers to the total number of items that need to be sent out from the kitchen. The term is usually used at the end of a long sentence.
Al Dente: The term is used when evaluating the correct degree of doneness, particularly pasta.
À la carte: Refers to when a customer orders an individual dish from the menu.
À La Minute - When something is made à la minute, it’s made fresh as opposed to being part of a large batch that was made earlier in the day.
Back of the house (BOH): The back of the house staff are people who work in the “back” of the restaurant. These people are the chefs, kitchen prep, and storage area staff.
Bev nap: A small, square napkin for drinks.
Busser: Refers to the staff that cleans up the dishes, napkins, and other debris from a table, and clears it off for the next guests.
Bump it: Removing an order from the cook’s kitchen display system screen once it’s made.
BYOB: Bring Your Own Bottle
Campers: Refers to guests who linger at their table after they’ve finished their meals and paid the check.
Charcuterie: Refers to a specific kind of cooking that is focused primarily on the preparation of meats such as sausage, ham, and bacon.
Comped: A dish is comped when it is given to a guest for free.
Cooked to Order: This is a type of dish that is cooked to a customers’ specific instructions. Not something that is pre-prepared.
Cut: When a server has been cut from serving more tables.
Dead plate: Refers to a plate that has been in the window and under the heat lamps for too long.
Drop: Begin cooking the accompanying item.
Drop the check: When the server presents the guest with their check at the end of the meal.
Double-sat: This is when a host seats a server’s section back-to-back.
Double shift: When a restaurant employee works two shifts in a row.
Deuce: This is a table in a restaurant that only has two seats.
Dupe: A dupe is information that gets passed to the kitchen from the front of the house staff so the chefs know what to prepare.
Expo: The person in charge of prepping the plates and making sure their presentation is on point before it leaves the kitchen.
FIFO: This refers to prepped food items: First in, First out.
Fire: The head chef in the kitchen uses this term to let everyone know it’s time to start cooking or prepping a dish.
Flash: When a particular meat is undercooked, a chef might "flash it" in an oven to raise the temperature slightly and cook it fully.
Food runner: this person’s job is to run the food to the table.
Front of the house (FOH): The front of the restaurant – the dining room, waiting area, and the bar. This is where the customer-facing employees are: the servers, hostesses, bartenders, etc.
FSR: Full-Service Restaurant.
Gueridon Service: This term usually refers to tableside food preparation. Requires a gueridon (trolley) to be used to transport ingredients to a guest table where a dish is prepared live for the customer.
Happy Hour: Happy hours are ways for restaurants to drive more traffic during their off-peak hours. Most of the time happy hour offers include free drinks, a free dish, discounts, or even a free meal.
Heard: When the FOH and BOH are in sync.
In the weeds: If a server is swamped with a lot of tables to serve at once or has a lot of people to serve.
In the window: When an order is ready to be taken out from the kitchen to a guest’s table, chefs will put it “in the window” – which is the warming area between the kitchen and the serving station.
KDS: This stands for Kitchen Display System; a system in kitchens that displays orders on a screen to chefs.
Last call: This is a warning that bartenders and servers use to notify customers when the kitchen or bar is about to close.
Mise en place: Refers to preparing all of your ingredients and cooking tools prior to actually cooking a dish and is typically done before service starts.
No-Show: A guest that makes a reservation at your restaurant and then doesn't show up.
Omakase: Refers to when customers let the chef choose the course of their meal as opposed to ordering each dish a la carte.
On Deck - What food is coming up next.
On the fly: A server may forget to put an order in or a guest may not like their meal. Under these circumstances, the kitchen may need tot to make a dish as soon as they possibly can – this is “on the fly.”
One star: A customer who makes it their mission to find negative things to say in a review.
OTS - On the side.
Overhead: Overhead refers to any additional factors that go into calculating food costs at your restaurant.
Party: A group of restaurant guests.
Pick up: When a server or bartender starts working with a guest that was being served by a different employee.
POS: Point of sale; the system that wait staff uses to place orders and where each sale is recorded.
Push it: Sell the item that the person is referring to.
QSR: Quick-Service Restaurant.
Run: The act of bringing something to a table.
Runner: The person “running” food to the table.
Scripting: Informing diners of the special and successfully selling the special.
Shorting: When a supplier charges a restaurant a larger amount than the cost of the products they've received.
Side work: This is prep work performed by the FOH staff.
SOS: Sauce on the side.
Sub: to substitute one menu item for another.
Stretch it: This is when the kitchen makes the most of an ingredient.
Starter: The same thing as an appetizer or entrée.
Station: A set number of tables that a server is assigned.
Straight up: When a diner orders something exactly the way it is on your menu.
Table d’Hôte: A multi-course set menu that is offered at a fixed price.
Table turns: This is the amount of time a table has between seating and paying. Sometimes you will also hear it referred to as “turn time.”
Top: The number of people at a dining party.
Ticket: When an order is entered into the restaurant POS, it prints out a ticket that alerts the kitchen of the order.
Turn and Burn: To turn tables very quickly, usually a result of a busy restaurant with a long waiting list.
Upsell: A technique that servers use to get customers to purchase higher average ticket items.
Use first: The inventory that needs to get used first so that it doesn’t go to waste.
Walk-in: Most commonly refers to a walk-in refrigerator.
Walkout: A diner who leaves the restaurant without paying.
Waxing the table: A term used to infer giving VIP treatment to a table.
Well: Refers to inexpensive house liquors.
Wheelman: The kitchen expeditor.
Working: Food that is in the process of being prepared.
