How to order at a Korean restaurant: call bells, side dishes, paying and tipping

By the Real Korea 101 editorial team · Published November 13, 2026 · Sources checked November 13, 2026

Short answer: At a typical Korean restaurant you sit down, press the call button on the table (or say "Yeogiyo!") when you are ready to order, and pay at the counter on your way out. The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) says tipping is not needed and that asking for more water or side dishes costs nothing extra. More and more restaurants also use kiosks, self-service water and side dish stations, and pay-first systems, so the one habit worth building is reading the notices near the door and on the table.

Before you sit: three things to check

Korean restaurants run in a few different ways, and the notices they post tell you which one you are in. The KTO's 2023 Guide to Translating Korean Food includes a list of standard English notices for restaurant menus and walls, which is a good map of what you might see. Look for answers to three questions:

1. Where do I order? At the table, at a self-order kiosk, or on an order sheet. The KTO notices include "Please use the self-order kiosk in the restaurant to place an order" and "Please fill out an order sheet placed on each table and hand it to a server."
2. When do I pay? Notices range from "All the menu items will be available after paying for them" (pay first) to "You can pay at the counter on your way out after you finish your meal" (pay after).
3. What is self-service? A common notice is "Water, side dishes and rice are self-served."

KTO's VISITKOREA site says that more and more restaurants use self-service systems for water and side dishes or unmanned ordering machines, and that at restaurants without these, staff will help you.

Ordering: call bell, kiosk or "Yeogiyo"

VISITKOREA describes a few table features that surprise first-time visitors:

• Call bell: a button on the table that you press when you need a server. VISITKOREA warns that the sound may be louder than you expect.
• Cutlery drawer: a small drawer built into the table with spoons, chopsticks and napkins.
• Built-in grill: tables with a charcoal grill in the middle for barbecue, where you cook at the table. Some places have staff grill the meat for you.
• Storage seats: chairs whose lids open for bags and coats, partly to keep food smells off your clothes.

If there is no bell, VISITKOREA suggests simply calling out "Yeogiyo!" (Excuse me!) when you want to order more or ask a question. The National Institute of Korean Language (NIKL) uses the same word in its phrase sheet for visitors, with the server answering "Jumunhasigetseumnikka?" (Would you like to order?).

Spoons matter more in Korea than in many other chopstick cultures. VISITKOREA notes that the spoon is used for rice, soup and mixing, and that it is fine to use your spoon if chopsticks are difficult.

Servings and minimum orders

Menus often price dishes per serving (인분, inbun). NIKL's phrase sheet shows the pattern: "Bulgogi i-inbun juseyo," which means "Two orders of bulgogi, please."

Some restaurants set a minimum. The standard notices in the KTO guide include "[Dish] can be ordered starting from two servings" and "Please order one menu item per person." The guide's own sample menu uses bulgogi as the example of a dish that starts at two servings. These are individual restaurant rules, so a dish with a minimum at one place may not have one elsewhere.

Side dishes, water and refills

A Korean meal usually comes with banchan, the small side dishes such as kimchi and seasoned vegetables. NIKL's phrase sheet explains that rice and soup are served to each person, while the main dishes and side dishes go in the middle of the table to share. VISITKOREA adds that you can eat the side dishes in any order and combination you like.

On refills, VISITKOREA states that requests for extra water or side dishes don't incur additional charges. Two cautions from the KTO notice list keep this in perspective:

• Rice is often a separate item. Notices such as "You must order bowls of rice separately" and "000 won extra for a bowl of rice" exist because a bowl of rice is not always part of the price.
• Add-ons are not side dishes. Notices such as "There is an extra charge for additional menu items" and "Fried rice must be ordered separately" cover things like extra noodles or fried rice at the end of a hot pot. Some places also limit refills ("Refills are allowed up to 0 times").

Not sure what a dish on the menu is? Our list of 30 Korean dishes with official English names explains the common ones.

Paying the bill

In a pay-after restaurant, the KTO notice wording describes the usual routine: you pay at the counter on your way out after the meal. In pay-first places, you pay at the kiosk or counter when you order. Another standard notice reads "For those paying in cash, please use the counter," which tells you the kiosk takes cards only.

For cards, VISITKOREA says most businesses in Korea accept credit cards, including Visa, MasterCard and American Express, but advises checking first because some stores may not. Its shopping page also mentions prepaid travel cards such as Tmoney and Wowpass at affiliated shops, and notes that traditional markets and street shops may only accept cash, so carry a little Korean won.

One more useful notice from the KTO list: "All the prices on the menu include VAT." When a menu says this, the listed price is what you pay.

Tipping

You do not need to tip. VISITKOREA says there is no need to tip at Korean restaurants, and NIKL's visitor phrase sheet says "There is no need to leave a tip." There is no need to calculate a percentage or leave cash on the table at an ordinary restaurant.

Simple Korean for restaurants

These phrases come from the restaurant page of NIKL's Practical Korean Expressions for Foreigners, with the romanization it uses.

The same sheet lists single words that work on their own when pointing at a menu: banchan (side dish), mul (water), gyesan (pay) and gyesanseo (the check).

Restaurant rules vary. When a posted notice differs from this guide, follow the notice.