Several hurdle acts in unfamiliar foreign countries come to mind, one of which is “entering a restaurant to eat.
Beginning with whether you have a reservation and how many people are here, when you are seated, call the person in charge of your table and order your food and drinks. If there are options for cooking methods, let them know what you want, and whether the drinks will be brought immediately or later. After the meal is over, you check the bill, give your credit card, calculate the tip, write it on the receipt and send it to ……. I can understand why you might shy away from this because the context is different from when you eat out in Japan.
So, what you should try for your first time in Hawaii is to make reservations in advance and purchase vouchers (meal coupons) for restaurants.
Bertra, a well-established company known for arranging local tours and activities overseas, also offers many marine activity and sightseeing spot tours in Hawaii, and one of its categories is “Restaurants (meal tickets and advance reservations).
The service allows customers to select in advance “where and what to eat,” including course meals at listed well-known restaurants, and to make a payment (payment) after confirming the date and time of the visit.
The well-designed part of this system is that it allows you to skip almost all of the procedures described at the beginning of this article. The voucher includes not only the cost of the meal but also the tip, so no money is exchanged (however, additional orders will incur a separate tip). As stated in the voucher, you may get up and leave the restaurant when you are finished eating.
So, I actually purchased this voucher and tried to see if I could eat in Hawaii without speaking English. I made a reservation for lunch at Wolfgang’s Steakhouse (2301 Kalakaua Ave, Honolulu, HI) on the 3rd floor of the Royal Hawaiian Center.
I don’t know if I really said a single word, but I did say “hello” and “thank you,” and the lunch I reserved this time had a choice of “classic cheeseburger,” “grilled fish sandwich,” “loco moco,” or “grilled chicken Caesar salad” as the main dish, and I also had to choose a drink from the menu. The drinks also had to be selected from the menu, so I had to mention at least the names of them, but I was able to leave the restaurant “almost without saying a word” about anything more complicated than that.
The restaurant knows that you have a voucher reservation, so when you show them the screen, they immediately guess and show you to your seat. As is common in restaurants overseas, after the dishes you have selected have been delivered, the person in charge of your table will ask you, “How’s everything? （You can answer, “It’s good,” or “It’s fine.
Once you have gained some experience, you can move up to take-out or enter a restaurant without relying on a voucher.
© Source travel watch