When you need this

Ordering at a busy American bar is fast. The bartender says "What can I get you?", you have about three seconds, and then they move on to the next person. So have your order ready before you reach the front, and keep it short: "Could I get..." plus the drink. The same phrases work whether you're ordering a beer, a mocktail or a glass of water.

Three habits will make you look like you've done this before. Have your ID in your hand if you're under about forty, because you'll probably be carded. Decide whether to pay for each drink or "start a tab," which means the bar keeps your card and you pay once at the end. And tip: in the US, a dollar or two per drink, or about twenty percent of the tab, is expected even for a soda.

Phrases

the bartender's standard question

the most natural way to order

the other common way to order

asking which beers are served from a barrel

asking about mocktails and alcohol-free options

the bartender checking your age

pay once at the end instead of every drink

asking to pay the tab and finish

the extra money is the tip

asking for tap water, usually free

ordering the same drink again

declining another drink

Say it out loud

Tap a sentence to hear it. Say it after the voice.

Practice · 3 min

Order it. What you want on the left, one natural line on the right.

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Say it today

Use it once in a real conversation before tomorrow. Out loud counts, even to yourself.