How to Order Food Abroad When You Can't Read the Menu

You're in a small trattoria in Bologna. The menu is handwritten in Italian. The waiter is doing a fast walk-by. Your spouse is staring at you because you said you'd handle it. This is the universal traveler-eating-abroad scenario, and there is a real way through it.

The Bad Strategy Most People Use

The default move when you can't read a menu is to order whatever you recognize. In Italy that's pizza margherita. In Japan it's chicken teriyaki. In Mexico it's tacos. In France it's a croque monsieur.

Sometimes that works out. Often it means you flew across an ocean to eat the one dish on the menu that's also available in your hometown food court. Travelers regret this meal more than any other.

The good news is you don't have to default. You have a phone, you can probably make eye contact with a waiter, and you have other diners across the room. Six tactics, ranked from old-school to phone-first.

Tactic 1: Look at Other Tables

Before you sit down, glance at what other people are eating. If something looks great, ask your server "what is that?" when they come over. This is the oldest move in the book and it still works because restaurant staff are not embarrassed by it. They get this question every shift.

If pointing feels too direct, just describe it. "The orange thing in the bowl, with the cheese on top." Servers in tourist areas are used to charades-level English. They will figure it out.

Tactic 2: Order Like a Local Would

In most countries, locals order in a predictable shape: an appetizer to share, a main course, sometimes a side. The proportions and pacing are different but the structure is the same. If you don't know what to pick, ask the server what they would order if it were their first time. They have an answer ready.

"What's the most popular dish?" works fine but tends to surface the safe-for-tourists option. "What do you eat when you come in?" or "What's the chef's specialty?" gets you somewhere more interesting.

Tactic 3: Use Google Translate's Camera Mode

If you've never used it, this is the move. Open Google Translate, tap the camera icon, and point your phone at the menu. The app overlays English text on top of the foreign text in real time. It's not perfect, but it's free, it works in 100+ languages, and it gives you something to read.

The catch: literal translation. "Bistecca alla fiorentina" comes back as "Florentine steak." Technically right. Practically useless if you don't know that it's a 1.5kg T-bone meant for two people. Translation gets you the words. It doesn't always get you the food.

Tactic 4: Search the Dish Name in Google Images

If a dish name catches your eye, type it into Google Images. You'll see what it actually looks like. This is slow if you're scanning a whole menu (you'd have to do this for every line) but it works for one or two specific items you're curious about.

This works particularly well for cultural dishes that don't translate. "Pulpo a la gallega" might mean nothing to you. The image search shows you sliced octopus on a wooden board with paprika and olive oil. Now you know.

Tactic 5: Use a Picture Menu App

This is what we built MenuPics for, so I'll be honest about why. The Google Images move works for one dish, but not for a whole menu. MenuPics takes one photo of the menu and generates a realistic picture for every item, in seconds, in your language.

You walk in, snap the menu, and now you have a visual menu in English on your phone. You scroll, you spot what looks good, you order. The whole interaction takes less time than waving the waiter over.

It's especially useful in countries where the alphabet alone is a barrier (Japan, Thailand, Greece, China, Korea, Israel) because translation apps still leave you with strange-sounding words you have no mental picture for. A photo answers in half a second.

Tactic 6: The Combo Move

The pros do all of the above at once.

1. Snap the menu with a picture menu app while you're settling in.
2. Run a translation pass on the items that don't have visual recognition (drinks, allergen notes, daily specials handwritten at the bottom).
3. Glance around the room to confirm portion sizes and the vibe of dishes you're considering.
4. Ask the waiter one specific question when you order, not five vague ones.

This sounds like a lot. It takes about 90 seconds. Then you order with confidence and you can put the phone away for the rest of the meal.

The Phrases That Actually Help

Most travel guides give you a list of food vocabulary. Skip that. Here are the four phrases that move the needle.

• "What is this?" in the local language. Point at the menu, say the phrase, and the waiter will explain. Servers will use small words for foreigners.
• "What do you recommend?" Most servers in tourist-friendly cities have a memorized answer. They've recommended the same three things 400 times this week.
• "Same as them, please" while pointing at another table. Genuinely a fine move. They will laugh and write it down.
• "I have an allergy" in the local language. If you have any food allergy, learn this exact phrase before you leave. It will be more important than any dish vocabulary.

How to Avoid the Tourist Trap Menu

One side note. In a lot of European tourist areas, restaurants print English menus that are different from the local menu, and they cost more. If the menu shows up only in English with photos of every dish, you might be in a tourist trap. Ask for the local menu (a "menu del giorno" in Italian, "menú del día" in Spanish, "plat du jour" in French). It's usually cheaper and more interesting.

This is the rare case where the menu without pictures is the better menu. Use a picture menu app to read it.

What About Allergies and Dietary Restrictions?

This is the part where I get serious. If you have a real food allergy (gluten, peanuts, shellfish, sesame), the language barrier is not a joke. A few tactics that travelers with allergies actually use:

• Carry a printed allergy card in the local language. Apps like Equal Eats or Allergy Translation generate these. Hand it to the server when you sit down.
• Use the dietary filter on apps like Spokin or Picknic for vetted restaurants in major cities.
• Learn the local phrase for your allergy and say it out loud, even if you've handed over a card.
• If a server seems uncertain, choose a different dish or a different restaurant. The risk is not worth it.

For more on this, see how to spot hidden allergens on a restaurant menu.

The Bottom Line

You don't need to speak the language to eat well abroad. You need a way to picture the food, a way to translate the words, and the willingness to point at something across the room. All three are now in your pocket.

Snap the menu. Translate the unfamiliar bits. Look at what other tables are eating. Ask the waiter one specific question. Order. Eat. Move on. The whole point of traveling is to eat things you can't get at home, and the language barrier is the smallest obstacle between you and that experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

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