Why ask these questions?
Before ordering, you may need more information: which dish is good, what it contains, whether it is spicy or vegetarian, or whether the option you want is available on the menu at all. This rule teaches four specific questions that fill those information gaps, rather than placing an order itself.
Each question prepares you for the next step—ordering with I'd like.../Can I have...?, covered in a related rule. Here we are only finding out what to order.
Before I order, I always ask what the chef recommends.
Before I order, I always ask what the chef recommends.
The question comes before the order: first find out, then choose.
I want to know if the soup is vegetarian before I choose it.
I want to know if the soup is vegetarian before I choose it.
This illustrates the purpose of the questions: gathering facts about a dish.
Asking for advice: What do you recommend?
What do you recommend? is a standard polite question when a customer has not yet decided. Recommend is an ordinary main verb, not be, so form the question with auxiliary do: What + do + you + recommend.
You can narrow the question to a particular category: What do you recommend for dessert? A phrase after recommend is not obligatory.
What + do + you + recommend (+ for + category)?
What do you recommend for the main course?
What do you recommend for the main course?
Do comes immediately after What, and recommend stays in the base form.
What would you recommend tonight?
What would you recommend tonight?
Would replaces do for a slightly more polite tone; the question order itself remains the same.
Asking about a dish's characteristics: Is/Are ...?
When the dish has already been named and you want to know one of its characteristics, such as whether it is spicy, vegetarian, or sweet, use a simple question with be: Is/Are + subject + adjective?
Move is/are before the name of the dish; do is unnecessary. Use is for the singular (this dish) and are for the plural (these noodles).
Is/Are + [dish] + [adjective]?
- adjective —
- A word describing what someone or something is like: happy, tired, interesting.
Is the mushroom soup vegetarian?
Is the mushroom soup vegetarian?
Is comes before the subject the mushroom soup, with the adjective at the end.
Are the dumplings spicy?
Are the dumplings spicy?
Plural dumplings requires are, not is.
Asking what a dish is: What is/are ...?
If a dish's name is unfamiliar, ask what it is: What is + [name]? This asks about the dish's identity rather than one of its characteristics.
Do not confuse this with a question about a characteristic: What is the soup? asks what kind of soup it is, while Is the soup spicy? asks about one quality of an already identified dish.
What is/are + [dish name]?
What is this dish called?
What is this dish called?
This is an expanded version of the same type of question about identity.
What are those little dumplings on the menu?
What are those little dumplings on the menu?
Use are because dumplings is plural. The question asks what the dish is, not how it tastes.
Asking about availability: Do you have any ...?
To find out whether something is available, ask Do you have any…? Any may be followed by a plural noun (desserts) or an uncountable noun (rice).
Have is an ordinary main verb here. It is not be, so form the question with do rather than am/is/are.
Do/Does + [subject] + have + any + [noun]?
- subject / S —
- The grammatical subject: who or what the clause is about; the verb agrees with it. In The book was written, the book is the subject, although someone else does the action.
- noun —
- A word naming a person, thing or idea: student, book, happiness.
Do you have any gluten-free desserts?
Do you have any gluten-free desserts?
Do opens the question, and have stays in the base form.
Does the kitchen have any nut-free options today?
Does the kitchen have any nut-free options today?
The third-person singular subject the kitchen requires does instead of do.
The most common error: mixing be and have
A very common beginner error is starting a question with Are/Is and then also using have: Are you have...? This mixes two different ways of forming a question.
The choice is simple: if the main verb is be, as when asking whether a dish is spicy or vegetarian, invert it directly: Is/Are + subject. If the main verb is another verb (have, recommend, mean, and so on), use auxiliary do/does.
be questions: Be + subject...? Other verbs: Do/Does + subject + verb...?
- subject / S —
- The grammatical subject: who or what the clause is about; the verb agrees with it. In The book was written, the book is the subject, although someone else does the action.
- verb / V —
- A word for an action or state, such as work or be. The pattern determines its form.
Do you have a table for two, or is it fully booked?
Do you have a table for two, or is it fully booked?
The first part uses have with do; the second uses be without do because be is the main verb there.
Is the chef vegetarian, or does the menu just have vegetarian options?
Is the chef vegetarian, or does the menu just have vegetarian options?
The contrast is is without do for be, but does have because have requires do-support in this pattern.
Politeness and a natural tone
Excuse me and please can soften an approach. With recommend, What would you recommend? is natural. To ask about ingredients, you can use Could you tell me…? Do not mechanically replace do with a modal in every question, because the meaning may change.
There is no obligatory politeness formula. Direct Do you have...? is also natural and is not an error when the conversational tone is neutral.
Excuse me, what would you recommend for someone who doesn't like spicy food?
Excuse me, what would you recommend for someone who doesn't like spicy food?
Excuse me softens the approach; would adds politeness to the question with recommend.
Could you tell me if this dish has any dairy in it?
Could you tell me if this dish has any dairy in it?
This is an indirect, more polite formulation of the same question about ingredients.
Common mistakes
Incorrect:Are you have any vegan pizza on the menu?
Correct:Do you have any vegan pizza on the menu?
Have is a main verb. In this question pattern, do not combine be directly with it; use auxiliary do.
Incorrect:What means this word on the menu?
Correct:What does this word on the menu mean?
Mean is an ordinary main verb. Form this question with auxiliary do/does, as with other main verbs, and leave mean after the subject.
Incorrect:Spicy is this curry?
Correct:Is this curry spicy?
In this be question, put be first, then the subject, and the adjective at the end. Do not place the adjective before be in this pattern.
Incorrect:What do you recommends for dessert?
Correct:What do you recommend for dessert?
After do, use the base form recommend without -s. What comes first in the ordinary question asking for advice.