These days, there is so much restaurant slang and new restaurant terms to know. Restaurant owners need to keep, so here’s a running list of important terms.

30+ Terms Restaurant staffs Need to Know

The restaurant and hospitality industry is a whole other beast when it comes to lingo, slang, and essential terms to know. Add a dash of French in there, and restaurant slang starts to feel like a new language entirely. Whether you're new to the restaurant industry and want to get ahead or are a restaurant owner who feels behind the times, we've got you with this list of 30-plus restaurant terms (in alphabetical order) you need to know.

Let's hear a "Yes, Chef!" and read on.

À la Carte
When a menu item comes à la carte, it means without any sides or additional things. Restaurant guests order each dish separately.

All-Day
The term all-day is restaurant lingo for the total number of orders needed. As orders pour in, chefs will call them out and tally them up at the end with an "all-day." So, if one chit has three ham and cheese sandwiches and another has four, it would be seven ham and cheese sandwiches all day. It can also mean the total number of available dishes, such as "100 beef all day." Once they're gone, that's it.

Behind
Restaurants can be tight places, especially on the line. Chefs and servers alike will call out "behind" to warn others they are passing through. You might also hear "corner," which lets others know someone is around a blind corner — maybe with full hands.

Bump it
This term is not a chef's favorite. ‘Bump it’ means to remove an item from a kitchen display system (where servers punch in orders) after it has been prepared.

Campers
You know when a dining party comes in, eats, and then takes forever to settle up and leave? Worse yet, maybe they don't even eat and just have a drink they nurse at a table, meaning no one else can be seated there. Those are campers.

Chef's Table
Not every restaurant has a Chef's Table. If they do, it means there is a table either beside or in the kitchen where guests seated there can watch the chefs at work. It may or may not be accompanied by a tasting menu, a set menu of smaller portions served over several different courses.

Chits
You know that tick-tick-tick you hear in cooking shows or coming from the back of the house during a shift? That's the printer, which is pumping out chits or tickets. They are crucial to keep the flow of the restaurant going. Chefs use them to know what they're making, and servers use them to know what they're running and to where. When chits go missing, disaster strikes.

Comp
If something is "comped" or you've been told to "comp" something, it means to give it to the customer for free. From a singular item to an entire free meal, it simply comes off the bill if you comp something.

Cross-Sell
A cross-sell is when a server suggests items that pair well with what a customer ordered, such as a glass of chardonnay with their fish. The goal, like with upselling, is to raise the average cost of the check at the end of the meal.

Cupcaking
Slang for an employee who is spending time flirting with guests.

Cut
This is not when a chef makes a mistake! Cut is actually a Front of House term. Once a restaurant slows down and a server is no longer needed, they will get cut from their shift. 

Cut and Run

If a guest cuts and runs, it means they left without paying their check. You may also hear the term “dine and dash,” which indicates the same.

Dead Plate
When a plate sits too long under a heat lamp or on the pass, it becomes a "dead plate" and needs to be redone. Nothing pisses off a chef more than a dead plate. 

Deuce
Similar to a 2-top, a deuce is simply a table of two.

Double-Sat
Often, servers work in sections of the restaurant. They'll have a set of tables to serve for the night. When a host or hostess seats guests, they usually try to spread them out between sections so servers are neither overwhelmed nor left standing around. If a server gets double-sat, it means more than one table was sat in their section back-to-back.

Double-Shift
If someone works shift back-to-back, it's called a double shift, or "a double."

Fire
There are all sorts of ways to communicate between the front of house and back of the house, and the restaurant term "fire" is one of them. So, no, it doesn't mean someone's job is at risk. When servers submit orders, they can hold, straight-fire, or fire them. This is how courses are made. Hold means don't make it right away, straight fire means to do it all at once as soon as the order arrives, and finally, fire means to start cooking that course, for example, "Fire on course 2, chef!" After something is fired, you might also hear the term "drop," which is another sign for a chef to start cooking.

FOH/BOH
FOH and BOH stand for front of house and back of house. Your FOH includes servers, runners, bussers, bartenders, and hosts — all customer-facing employees. The back-of-house staff includes chefs, line cooks, the chef de partie, and the dishwasher. Anyone not typically "seen" by the customers.

Hands
Once a plate is on the pass, a chef will yell, "hands," meaning the plate is ready to run.

Heard
Saying "heard" indicates that someone has heard the feedback or request from another staff member and will make the required changes or take on the task.

High Maintenance

A high-maintenance guest makes a lot of requests, asks a lot of questions, asks for modifications to their plates, and is generally a lot of work to serve and cook for. Just like in the regular world, if someone or something is high maintenance, it means it’ll take a lot more effort and a lot of patience.

In The Weeds

Often experienced when understaffed or with a new staff member, being in the weeds means you’re having a hard time keeping up — either serving or cooking. It’s a tough spot to be in for anyone.

Joiner
In the restaurant industry, a joiner isn't a piece of equipment or material — it's when someone joins a table later.

Low Boys
Like a walk-in cooler but smaller, the low boys in a kitchen are short storage coolers or fridges, usually under a prep table or shelf at about waist height.

Mise En Place

The literal translation of mise en place is “everything in its place.” Chefs use this term, or the shortened version, “mise” to indicate everything is prepped for the plate or service.

On The Fly
Mistakes happen. If something is needed on the fly, it usually means without ringing it in and stopping whatever you're currently doing to prioritize it. "I forgot the aioli for table 7. Can I get one on the fly?"

On The Line
If someone is on the line, it means they're a line cook at work.

Reso
Short for reservation, a reso is when someone books a table in advance for a specific date, time, and number of guests.

Run
When food items are ready, they need someone to run them to the intended table, usually a server or a runner. It doesn't mean they physically run (that would be dangerous in a restaurant setting), but they carry them from the pass to the guest.

Side Work
Also known as side duties, side work is the tasks the FOH staff do outside of serving customers. Side work includes polishing glasses and cutlery, doing roll-ups, folding napkins, and anything else needed to set up the dining room for service.

The Pass
When a plate is ready to run, the chef will pop it onto the pass for a server or food runner to take to the table. It’s a ledge or window between the kitchen and FOH.

Upsell
Like cross-selling, upselling is when servers try to get a customer to add more items or purchase more expensive items than their original order — like when someone suggests you go with yam fries instead of regular ones.

Walk-In
The exact opposite of a reso, a walk-in is when a guest does precisely that — walks into the restaurant without a reservation, hoping to dine.

Waxing a Table
If someone is waxing a table, they are giving a guest VIP service or extra attention — usually because they're a special guest or tip well.

Well Brand
The well or rail brand refers to inexpensive house liquors. They are the go-to's for cocktails unless the guest otherwise specifies or the server upsells them. "Is the well vodka good for your Bloody Mary, or would you prefer Tito's?"

2-Top, 4-Top, 5-Top, and So On…
Whenever someone gives you a number plus the word "top," it indicates a table with a corresponding number of seats. Two people coming in would be a 2-top, five is a 5-top. The same goes for table sizes. If you have a table with six chairs, that table is a 6-top.

86'd
Straightforward: If something is 86, they're out of it. For example, "86 cheesecake" would mean a restaurant ran out of cheesecake for that service. Similarly, if you're short-staffed and a menu item is heavily involved, a head chef could say something like, "I've 86'd ribs for today," letting staff know not to order them for tables.

There are so many more restaurant lingo and restaurant slang that could be included in this list. How many did you know? 

If you’re looking for more, we suggest checking out a few great culinary documentaries. They’re an engaging, easy way to pick up terms and watch them in action. Plus, you get even more inspiration and food ideas for your own restaurant!

These are a few favorites:  

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