What If You Sit Down at a Korean Restaurant and No One Comes to Take Your Order?



A customer pressing a call button on a table at a Korean restaurant.

You walk into a Korean restaurant, sit down, and open the menu.

There is a small button on the table, and there may be a self-order kiosk near the entrance. Some restaurants take orders at the counter before you sit down.

Should you have ordered before sitting down? Should you press that button? Or should you keep waiting?

I started noticing these moments when I went to restaurants with friends from other countries. I watched them stop at the entrance, hesitate over the menu, or stare at the call button without pressing it. Sometimes they just sat there, waiting for a signal that never came.

First, Figure Out How This Restaurant Takes Orders

Watch the customers around you. Are they ordering at the counter first, entering their order on a machine near the entrance, or sitting down and waiting?

If the machine is labeled 키오스크 (kiosk) or 셀프 주문 (self-order), you may need to order and pay there first.

Calling the Staff Is Normal in Korea

The staff may be moving quickly between tables, and no one comes over right away. For a first-time visitor, the waiting can start to feel uncertain.

If there is a call button on the table or beside the seat, it may be labeled 벨 (bell) or 호출 (call). Press it once, and a chime sounds. Then wait for a staff member to come over.

A friend of mine from Canada flinched the first time he pressed the button. The staff came over, took the order, and left. By the end of the meal, he was pressing it without thinking.

If there is no call button, raise your hand slightly when you make eye contact with a staff member and say:

저기요. (Jeogiyo.)
Excuse me.

You Don't Need Perfect Korean to Order

When a staff member comes over, you don't need to speak in full sentences in Korean.

If the item you want is on the menu, point to it and say:

이거 주세요. (Igeo juseyo.)
This one, please.

You can use your fingers to show how many you want. If something is difficult to explain in words, you can also show a translation app screen.

After you order, banchan may arrive before your food. If you're not sure what those small dishes are, see our guide to banchan.

After the Meal, Find Where to Pay

Should you wait for the bill? Will a staff member come to the table? Or should you go to the counter?

If you already paid at a kiosk, there is no separate payment step after the meal. Otherwise, many restaurants have you pay at the counter near the entrance.

At a small restaurant, the staff may already know which table you were sitting at. At a larger restaurant, you can tell them your table number or hand over the small paper order slip if one was left on your table. If there is no slip, you can point to where you were sitting.

If you need to, you can say at the counter:

계산할게요. (Gyesanhalgeyo.)
I'd like to pay.

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