Sending Food Back & Complaints
These phrases will help you clearly and politely resolve issues with your meal, from pointing out a mistake to speaking with the manager.
Key Phrases
Unnskyld, har du et øyeblikk? Det er noe feil her.
neutralExcuse me, do you have a moment? There is something wrong here.
A polite but direct way to flag down a busy waiter.
Jeg tror jeg har fått feil rett, for jeg bestilte fisk.
neutralI think I have received the wrong dish, because I ordered fish.
Uses the present perfect 'har fått' to describe a current situation.
Beklager, men dette er ikke det som jeg ba om.
politeI am sorry, but this is not what I asked for.
Softer approach using 'beklager' (sorry) to point out the restaurant's mistake.
Maten min har dessverre blitt helt kald mens jeg ventet.
neutralMy food has unfortunately become completely cold while I was waiting.
A clear, factual complaint without being overly aggressive.
Biffen er litt for rå for meg. Kan den stekes litt mer?
casualThe steak is a bit too rare for me. Can it be cooked a little more?
Uses the passive 'stekes' (be cooked) which is very common in spoken requests.
Denne kyllingen er ikke gjennomstekt, og det er faktisk litt farlig.
neutralThis chicken is not cooked through, and that is actually a bit dangerous.
Use this when undercooked food poses a genuine issue, like with poultry.
Vi mangler fortsatt sausen som vi bestilte for en stund siden.
neutralWe are still missing the sauce that we ordered a while ago.
A firm reminder when staff has forgotten something you already asked for.
Unnskyld, jeg har ikke fått salaten som hører til hovedretten.
politeExcuse me, I haven't received the salad that belongs to the main course.
A polite way to point out that a side dish was omitted.
Beklager, men denne fisken smaker ikke ferskt. Jeg kan ikke spise den.
neutralSorry, but this fish doesn't taste fresh. I cannot eat it.
Direct and honest; appropriate when the food is genuinely bad.
Dette glasset er ikke rent. Kan jeg få et nytt, er du snill?
politeThis glass is not clean. Can I get a new one, please?
'Er du snill' literally means 'are you kind', used here as 'please'.
Kan jeg få snakke med daglig leder? Vi er ikke fornøyde.
neutralCan I talk to the general manager? We are not satisfied.
'Daglig leder' is the standard term for the person running the restaurant.
Jeg vil gjerne snakke med hovmesteren om maten vi har fått servert.
politeI would like to speak to the head waiter about the food we have been served.
More formal, often used in higher-end restaurants.
Vi forventer at denne retten blir strøket fra regningen.
politeWe expect that this dish will be removed from the bill.
A firm but polite use of the passive voice to demand a refund.