Restaurant Terms & Slang: Speak the Language of Restaurateurs

Not only does this sound amazing and impress customers, but restaurant slang is also an efficient way for a hospitality business to communicate key information and requests. The wide array of industry terms used in kitchens and bars everywhere standardizes and, once you’re used to it, simplifies communication across teams.

So, whether you’re just curious about restaurant slang, or you’re looking to learn the terminology so you can use them in your restaurant, today, we’re taking you through some classic restaurant jargon. We’ll cover:

• Why these restaurant terms matter

• The origins of restaurant slang

• Ordering terms

• Food preparation terms

• Service updates and communication

Ready to learn some new words? Once finished here, you’ll have a sizzling hot selection of restaurant terms you can take into any kitchen. Let’s get stuck in!

Why these restaurant terms matter

Okay, so the restaurant slang sounds great, but before you start work learning all the terms and teaching them to the team, it’s important to know why you’re doing it. How does restaurant slang actually help a restaurant?

• Fast communication during busy service. Restaurant slang condenses otherwise lengthy instructions into quick, recognizable phrases. In a fast-paced environment, this speed helps teams relay orders and updates without skipping a beat in their own work.

• Reduced confusion between teams. Standardized terms create a shared vocabulary that your whole team can follow. When everyone understands the same shorthand, orders and requests are less likely to be misunderstood.

• Improved organization. Clear, concise language helps staff coordinate tasks smoothly, from calling orders to flagging issues like sold-out (or 86’d!) items. This keeps the kitchen reliable and service running on time.

• Builds a team culture. Restaurant jargon is a fantastic part of hospitality culture. Getting to learn and use the terms helps your staff feel like part of the team. Restaurant slang creates a shared language that boosts camaraderie, even when things get hectic and stressful.

• Keeps communication discreet. Slang allows staff to discuss operational details without confusing or alarming guests that might overhear.

The origins of restaurant slang

Restaurant slang has developed over many decades as hospitality workers created shorthand ways to communicate during service. Many of the terms you’ll see here first appeared in the United States in the early 20th century, especially in diners and bars where speed was an essential part of trade and the tone of the restaurant more informal.

One of the most famous examples is “86”, which means an item or ingredient is sold out and can’t be served. 86 dates back to the 1930s, when 86 was the numerical code for out of stock. Instead of writing out of stock, the cooks would write 86, which was quicker and easier to write. The term spread, but the meaning remains the same. 86’d? Out of stock.

Restaurant slang has also evolved from several different sources. Some phrases developed from rhyming slang, while others emerged from chef culture, military-style kitchen hierarchy, or regional bar traditions that took off in a big way.

Today, restaurant jargon generally falls into a few categories: order instructions, food preparation terms, and service updates and communication between front-of-house and back-of-house teams. Let’s take a look at some examples of each: 

Restaurant Glossary

Order Instructions

All Day. “All day” helps chefs understand how many of a specific dish need to be prepared. Say a restaurant has ten orders which have come in quickly, and a total of fifteen cheese sandwiches between all the orders. Rather than running through each order ticket, you just tell the chef “fifteen cheese sandwiches all day!”, and they can get cooking!

Fire. “Fire” is the command to begin cooking an order or dish immediately. It’s commonly used when the timing is right for a course to start cooking. Like calling out “Fire two steaks!” once the starters are almost finished at the table, ensuring the main course reaches the table at the correct time.

Hands. When a cook or expeditor calls “hands,” they’re asking for literal hands … i.e servers or food runners to come collect dishes and deliver them to guests while they’re still hot.

Hold. “Hold” on an order instructs the kitchen team to drop one ingredient from a dish. For example, “Hold the onions!” means prepare the food without onions. It’s essential lingo when accommodating customer preferences or allergies.

On the Fly. “On the fly” indicates an urgent order, usually required to correct an earlier mistake, complimentary dish, or an order change. For example, if a server forgot to ring in fries for a burger order, the kitchen might be asked to make them “on the fly.”

Pick Up. A chef might call “Pick up” to alert a server that a dish is ready to head to the table. It might be accompanied by a table number from the order ticket, so the server knows where the dish is going. So, “Pick up, table five”!

SOS (Sauce on the Side). SOS, in a restaurant context is not a panic call. It just means “sauce on the side.”. This might be printed on tickets or called through to the chef, so they know the guest wants their sauce separated from the main item. Simple, short, effective. No saving required.

Sub. “Sub” means to switch out one ingredient for another. A common sub order would be switching salad for fries or vice versa. This shorthand helps kitchens quickly identify modifications without rewriting the entire order.

Two-Top / Four-Top / Six-Top. This catchy phrase refers to a table by the number of seats, not the table number itself. Hosts and servers use this shorthand when discussing seating arrangements or table availability. Instead of saying table-for-four, you shorten it to four-top.

Walking In. When a server calls out “walking in,” they’re announcing a new order entering the kitchen. This alert helps cooks prepare for incoming orders and helps prevent orders being missed.

Food Preparation Terms

Chef Mike. If you were told you have a Chef Mike in your home, you could probably figure out who it was … that’s right, the microwave! A kitchen team might refer to Chef Mike when asking for something to be microwaved. 

Dead Plate. If a plate is said to be de, it means it was waiting too long to be taken to the table, and is no longer suitable for serving. The plate is declared dead, and the kitchen will need to remake the dish.

Dragging. If a station is “dragging,” they’re behind schedule and behind the other parts of the kitchen, slowing down order flow. Either that station can push to catch up, or other stations can adjust their timings to match the delayed item.

Dying. To avoid a dead plate, a chef might call out that an order is dying, prompting a server to come immediately to take it to the table.

Mise en Place. A French phrase meaning “everything in its place”, restaurants use this before service begins. Proper mise en place ensures chefs have chopped vegetables, measured ingredients, and have tools clean and in position, readying themselves to cook quickly during busy service.

Push. If the chef calls for a push, it means they want the team to focus for a short period to clear some orders. Essentially, it means they need to rush a few dishes because they’re falling behind.

Refire. A “refire” is when the kitchen must remake a dish due to an error, customer complaint, or dietary issue. E.G “refire on the salad for table 12”. Refires are typically prioritized so the customer doesn’t wait too long for the replacement dish.

Window / Pass. The “window” or “pass” is the area where finished dishes are placed before being served. When servers come to pick up the order, they should be automatically going to the pass.

Service Updates & Communication

86. Perhaps the most famous restaurant slang term, an “86’d” item is sold out or unavailable. For example, “86 the salmon” means there’s no more salmon, so don’t sell any.

Behind. When you’re carrying sharp equipment or hot food in a crowded workspace, it’s important to be coordinated, aware, and communicative. Calling out “Behind” may not be exciting slang, but it’s an important safety call when you’re passing close to someone and out of their vision.

Campers. A camper, or a group of campers, is when a guest occupies a table for a long period after finishing their meal (without making further orders). It isn’t necessarily a negative term, though it can mean they’re having a negative impact on table turnover, which affects the restaurant’s revenue.

Chit. A “chit” is shorthand for an order ticket. The back of house team reads the chits to know what food to prep. So if a chef asks “where’s the chit?”, for example, they’re asking for the order ticket that has all the details of the order.

Comp. To “comp” something means providing it without charge, which a restaurant will usually do in response to a complaint or to make up for a mistake (or as part of a loyalty scheme). For example: “Comp their desserts for the delay.”

Corner. If your restaurant has a blind corner anywhere, using a corner call can help prevent accidents and spilt dishes. It alerts people coming from the opposite direction so staff (and customers!) can avoid running into each other.

Cover. A “cover” is a single diner being served. Restaurants track covers to measure how many guests they serve during a shift. So a table with four covers on it, is a table with four guests, each eating one meal.

Heard. “Heard” means “I acknowledge and understand the instruction.” It’s used as confirmation in noisy kitchens where simple responses like “yes” might be missed.

In the Weeds. If a staff member says they’re “in the weeds,” it means they’re overwhelmed with tasks and struggling to keep up. It likely means there’s been a rush of orders and they could use some help or some extra time. Maybe a server has too many tables or a cook has too much on their plate.

Walk-In. A “walk-in” refers to a guest or group arriving without a reservation. In busy restaurants, hosts often announce walk-ins so the team can adjust seating plans and table flow.

Other Restaurant Slang Phrases You Should Know

Low Boy. When a chef asks you to grab something from the low boy, there’s no need to go looking for a member of staff. The low boy is the under-the-counter fridge needed to keep key ingredients like sauces and garnishes cool but within reach. Most chef stations will have one so chefs don’t have to leave their station to fetch something as simple as a sauce.

Hot Behind. We mentioned the behind warning earlier on. An extension of that same warning, calling out “hot behind!” is a call for extra caution and spatial awareness from the team when carrying a hot pan or dish. In a crowded environment, these calls are really important for preventing burn injuries and spillages.

Run Food. Run food is precisely what you’d expect. A call to run food is a call to deliver the plated dishes from the kitchen to the diners.

Table Turn. If the restaurant needs a table turn, it needs a server or busser to clear and clean the table, resetting it for the next group and, if there are people waiting, seating the next group to fully turnover the table and have new guests ready to order.

Side Work. “Side work” refers to all the little things that a restaurant needs to stay on top of to provide top-quality service. These tasks are usually done before, during, and after service, including polishing cutlery, refilling the condiments, restocking napkins, and cleaning the service areas.

Kill It. In the kitchen, kill it means stop making it, or stop serving it. E.G “Kill the lasagne” would mean the lasagne is no longer required. It could mean bin it, or it could mean stop what you’re doing, or if a chef tells the front of house team to kill the lasagne, it could even mean to 86 the lasagne entirely.

Drag / Dragging Tickets. If your customers have been waiting for the food a little longer than you’d like, you likely have a drag in the kitchen, meaning one or more stations are behind, and the BOH team need to catch up. If only a few tickets are dragging, chefs can prioritize those orders to get the restaurant back on track.

Burn the Pass. If the kitchen has finished dishes but the servers have been too busy to deliver the food to the tables, the FOH team will need to burn the pass to catch up. This means clearing a backlog of finished dishes at the service window, getting one or more servers to take all the dishes over to the table before they spoil.

Staging. Staging is when the kitchen organizes a table or party's orders so they all leave the kitchen together. Say a table orders two salads, two fish and chips, and a pie. The salads may be prepared first, but they need to stay in the kitchen until the rest of the food is ready. The orders only head to the pass when everything is prepped and ready to go.

Turn and Burn. A turn and burn approach to service is typically used during busy periods, when the restaurant focuses on seating diners at speed, serving them quickly, then turning over the table for the next guests to serve as many covers as possible at each table.

We’re in the Window. When a dish is “in the window,” it means it’s plated and waiting at the pass to be picked up by a server. Kitchens often call out “Table two in the window!” so FOH knows food is ready to be delivered.

On Deck. If a kitchen has three waffles on deck, it means that’s the next order in the queue. It doesn’t mean you need to stop what you’re doing and prep them right away, but when you’re finished with your current order, you’ll need to make three waffles!

Get everyone in your business speaking the same great language

Over many decades, restaurant slang has evolved into a fun vocabulary of quirky terms that chefs and barstaff utilize to speed up comms across the business. From classics like 86 (that you need to be clued in on), to intuitive but essential caution calls like “behind”, knowing your restaurant slang is crucial to coordinating as a team and running your kitchen efficiently and effectively.

Beyond the simple efficiency of it, restaurant jargon helps make people feel like they belong at work, and also ensures guests don’t follow as much of the stress going on behind the scenes. Finally, implementing these restaurant terms in your business makes it more a part of the great restaurant tradition!

Another key restaurant tradition to implement in your business is an effective restaurant POS system, which helps bring your team together, working on one system, in much the same way as restaurant slang. Take a look at Epos Now's website to find out more!