Food & Restaurants

Ordering, asking for recommendations, and the case traps that come with "with" and "without." This page assumes you've at least started genitive — a lot of restaurant Russian runs on it.

Getting seated and the menu

Russian	Literal	Means	Notes
Сто́лик на дво́их, пожа́луйста	"Little-table for two, please"	"A table for two, please"	сто́лик is a diminutive of стол, standard in restaurant contexts.
Меню́, пожа́луйста	"Menu, please"	"Menu, please"	меню́ is an indeclinable neuter noun — never changes form.
Мо́жно меню́?	"[Is it] possible menu?"	"Could I get the menu?"	Softer, more common than a bare imperative.
Что вы посове́туете?	"What you would-advise?"	"What do you recommend?"	Formal; посове́туете is future/conditional-feeling but is actually plain future of a perfective verb used politely.
Что здесь вку́сное?	"What here tasty?"	"What's good here?"	вку́сное is neuter to agree with an implied что.
Я вегетериа́нец / вегетериа́нка	"I [am] vegetarian (m/f)"	"I'm vegetarian"	No verb "to be"; -ец for men, -ка for women.

Pattern

«Мо́жно + noun?» is a universal soft-request template: Мо́жно меню́?, Мо́жно во́ду?, Мо́жно счёт? Grammatically the noun after мо́жно often sits in the accusative if it's the direct object of an implied verb — but in practice this fixed phrase gets used so often it barely feels like grammar anymore.

I want / I'd like

Russian	Literal	Means	Notes
Я хочу́...	"I want..."	"I want..."	Direct — perfectly fine, but a little blunt for a waiter. Common with friends: Я хочу́ пи́ццу.
Я хоте́л(а) бы...	"I wanted (m/f) would..."	"I would like..."	The бы + past-tense form is the polite conditional — softer than хочу́, the default for ordering politely.
Мы хоти́м...	"We want..."	"We'd like..." (casual)	Plural of хочу́ — irregular verb, see present tense.
Мне, пожа́луйста, борщ	"To-me, please, borscht"	"I'll have the borscht, please"	Dative мне + noun in the accusative — the standard way to order, no verb at all.
Принеси́те, пожа́луйста...	"Bring, please..."	"Could you bring..."	Formal imperative of принести́ (perfective) — used for things brought after the food arrives, e.g. more bread.

Pattern

«Мне, пожа́луйста, X» is the single most useful ordering template on this page — it works for literally any food or drink. Мне, пожа́луйста, чай. Мне, пожа́луйста, во́ду. No verb conjugation to worry about, just swap the noun (in the accusative for feminine nouns like во́ду — masculine/neuter inanimate nouns look the same as the nominative).

Pattern

Хочу́ vs хоте́л(а) бы is a register dial, not a right/wrong choice: хочу́ is what you'd say to a friend or at a casual counter; хоте́л(а) бы is what you'd say to a waiter in a sit-down restaurant. When in doubt in a restaurant, use бы.

Ordering specifics: with and without

Russian	Literal	Means	Notes
С молоко́м	"With milk"	"With milk"	с + instrumental — молоко́ → молоко́м.
Без са́хара	"Without sugar"	"No sugar"	без + genitive, always — са́хар → са́хара.
С са́харом, без молока́	"With sugar, without milk"	"With sugar, no milk"	Shows both patterns side by side: с = instrumental, без = genitive — they never share a case.
Ко́фе с молоко́м	"Coffee with milk"	"Coffee with milk" (like a latte)	Standard café order — the instrumental noun always follows с directly.
Без льда, пожа́луйста	"Without ice, please"	"No ice, please"	лёд → льда in the genitive — note the vowel drops (fleeting vowel) and ё becomes е.
С ли́моном	"With lemon"	"With lemon"	ли́мон → ли́моном, instrumental.
Побо́льше/поме́ньше о́строго	"A-bit-more/a-bit-less spicy"	"Extra spicy / not too spicy"	о́строго is genitive after the comparative quantity words.

Pattern

The с/без case trap: с ("with") always takes the instrumental; без ("without") always takes the genitive. They never take the same case, even though English "with X / without X" feels symmetrical. Get this pair solid and you can order any drink combination: с са́харом и без молока́ ("with sugar and without milk").

During and after the meal

Russian	Literal	Means	Notes
Прия́тного аппети́та!	"[Wishing] pleasant appetite"	"Bon appétit!"	Genitive of wish, like Споко́йной но́чи — the implied verb "I wish" governs the genitive.
О́чень вку́сно!	"Very tasty"	"This is delicious!"	вку́сно used adverbially/predicatively — no noun needed.
Я сыт / сыта́	"I [am] full/satisfied (m/f)"	"I'm full"	Short-form adjective — сыт for men, сыта́ for women; note stress shift.
У меня́ анафилакси́я на...	"At me [is] anaphylaxis to..."	"I'm severely allergic to..."	Use for serious allergies — на + accusative names the trigger.
У меня́ анне́ргия на ара́хис	"At me [is] allergy to peanuts"	"I'm allergic to peanuts"	у меня́ + genitive-flavored possession construction — see genitive; swap ара́хис for any allergen.
Счёт, пожа́луйста	"Bill, please"	"Check, please"	The standard, always-safe way to ask for the check.
Мо́жно счёт?	"[Is it] possible bill?"	"Could we get the check?"	Slightly softer alternative.
Мы пла́тим по́ровну	"We pay equally"	"We're splitting it"	пла́тим is 1st person plural present of плати́ть.
Я угоща́ю	"I treat"	"It's on me"	угоща́ю from угоща́ть — offering to pay for someone else.

Pattern

«У меня́ + noun» is the go-to construction for stating you have something — including a condition like an allergy — because Russian has no verb "to have" in the way English does. У меня́ есть вопро́с ("I have a question"), У меня́ анне́ргия ("I have an allergy"). See genitive for the full pattern.

Tea and coffee etiquette

Russian	Literal	Means	Notes
Хоти́те ча́ю?	"[Do you] want tea?"	"Would you like some tea?"	ча́ю is a partitive genitive form (rather than plain genitive чая) — used for "some of," common with tea/coffee/soup.
С удово́льствием	"With pleasure"	"I'd love some"	Instrumental of удово́льствие — the standard warm acceptance.
Нет, спаси́бо, я не хочу́	"No, thanks, I not want"	"No thanks, I'm good"	Perfectly polite; refusing a first offer isn't rude, but expect to be asked again.
Вода́ с га́зом	"Water with gas"	"Sparkling water"	С + instrumental again — same с pattern as с молоко́м.
Вода́ без га́за	"Water without gas"	"Still water"	Без + genitive — matches the с/без pattern above exactly.

Pattern

Russian hospitality runs on offering food/drink more than once — a single "no thanks" is often not taken as final. Хоти́те ча́ю? is a genuine offer, not small talk, and it's completely normal to be asked again a few minutes later.