Banchan Just Arrived at Your Table—Did You Order Any of This?

A server placing banchan dishes on a table at a Korean restaurant.

You sit down at a Korean restaurant, order a dish, and wait. But before it arrives, small plates are set on the table.

Some of the food looks like kimchi or seasoned vegetables, but you don't remember choosing any of it from the menu. The server doesn't explain much before walking away.

Did I order these too?

Can I just eat them?

Will they be added to the bill later?

These small dishes are called banchan.

The Banchan That Arrives First Usually Isn't Something You Ordered Separately

These small dishes are usually part of the meal.

The basic banchan served with your meal usually isn't charged separately.

But something served on a small plate may still be a separate item if it has its own name and price on the menu.

Once your food arrives, the banchan stays on the table.

You don't need to finish one plate of banchan before moving on to another. Just eat a little of whichever banchan you want with your rice or whatever you ordered.

If You Want More, Ask the Staff or Use the Self-Serve Station

As the meal goes on, one of the banchan plates may end up empty before the others.

Can I ask for more?

Will I be bothering the staff if I ask?

Basic banchan can often be refilled, usually at no extra charge. But whether you can get more depends on the restaurant and the dish.

Leaving an empty dish on the table doesn't always mean it will be refilled automatically.

If you know what the banchan is called, you can say:

Kimchi jom deo juseyo.
김치 좀 더 주세요.
“Could I have some more kimchi, please?”

If you don't know what it's called, point to the empty dish and say:

Igeo jom deo juseyo.
이거 좀 더 주세요.
“Could I have some more of this, please?”

At some restaurants, you get more banchan from a self-serve station instead of asking the staff.

If you see containers of banchan, tongs, and small plates, and other customers are going over to get more, you can do the same.

You don't need to take a lot at once. Take only as much as you plan to eat, and go back for more if you need it.

You Don't Have to Finish All the Banchan

Toward the end of the meal, you may notice that some banchan plates are almost empty while others are still nearly full.

Do I need to finish everything to be polite?

Is it rude to leave some behind?

You don't have to finish all the banchan that came with your meal.

Eat the banchan you want, and leave anything you don't like or aren't familiar with.

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