Top 10 Restaurant Dishes and the One Choice Each Needs

A list of the ten most popular dishes tells you what other people eat. It leaves you on your own when the server asks “How would you like that?” That moment is where ordering stalls.

So this list does both. It names ten dishes you can find almost anywhere, and for each one it gives the single choice that dish always asks of you. I call it the one-choice rule: know your answer to that question and you’re ready to order.

What are the top 10 restaurant dishes?

The top 10 restaurant dishes in this guide are the burger, steak, pizza, tacos, ramen, fried chicken, pad thai, butter chicken, sushi rolls and Caesar salad. Each one turns up on menus across the country, and each one comes with a single choice you make when you order.

I picked these because you’ll meet them in most towns, and I have no sales figures behind the order. They’re grouped by the kind of choice they ask for. Below each dish is its question and a sensible default if you’ve never had to answer it before.

A list can’t see your evening, though. I build Today’s Mealow, so I tested it for this post with the location set to downtown Chicago. I said I was feeling good and wanted something bold with friends. It came back with a spicy grilled cheese melt, a buffalo chicken sandwich and a spicy chicken bowl, all within a short walk.

None of those three is on my top ten. For a night out with friends, a melt you can pass around the table suits me better than a steak I’d have to cut and guard. I keep the list for the moment I’m staring at a menu with no plan.

Dishes that ask how they’re cooked

• Burger: The question: how done? Medium is the usual default if you like some pink. Ask for medium-well or well done if you don’t.
• Steak: The question: how done, and which sauce? Pick your doneness first. The sauce can wait until the server lists them.
• Fried chicken: The question: on the bone or boneless? Bone-in pieces stay juicier. Tenders are easier to eat while you talk.

Dishes that ask how hot

• Pad thai: The question: what spice level? Thai places often use a scale. Start low; chili flakes on the table let you add more.
• Butter chicken: The question: how hot, and rice or naan? Butter chicken is usually mild already. Naan is better for scooping up the sauce.
• Tacos: The question: which filling? Carnitas, carne asada, chicken, fish. The salsa on the table decides the heat, so pick the filling for flavor.

Dishes that ask about the base

• Pizza: The question: what kind of crust? Thin, hand-tossed or deep dish changes the whole meal more than the toppings do.
• Ramen: The question: which broth? Shoyu is soy-based and clear, miso is cloudy and nutty, tonkotsu is rich pork. Choose the broth and the rest follows.
• Sushi rolls: The question: raw or cooked? A spicy tuna roll is raw fish; a California roll or a shrimp tempura roll is not.
• Caesar salad: The question: add a protein? Grilled chicken or shrimp turns a side into a main. Say it when you order, because it’s usually an extra.

What should I order at a restaurant if I can’t decide?

Stuck on what to order at a restaurant? Find a dish from the top ten on the menu, answer its single question, and order it. A familiar dish with your own answer attached is a safe order almost anywhere, from a diner to a noodle bar.

Here’s how that looks at a Thai place. You skim the menu and pad thai is there. Its question is the spice level. You say “two out of five, with chicken,” and you’re done before the menu gets heavy in your hands.

If the menu has none of the ten, use the same idea on a different dish. Ask the server which choice people usually get asked about, then answer it. For pasta menus, a guide to pasta shapes and sauces covers the shape question.

Which restaurant dish fits tonight if all ten sound fine?

When all ten restaurant dishes sound fine, let your situation pick, not the list. Who you’re with, how hungry you are and the flavor you want rule out most of them fast. A noisy group table suits tacos or pizza; a quiet dinner alone suits ramen.

A table for six wants something everyone can reach: tacos, pizza or a pile of wings. A dinner on your own suits a bowl you can finish at your own pace, like ramen or pho. If you’re very hungry, steak or a burger fills the gap. If you want to talk more than eat, a Caesar salad with chicken keeps your hands free.

What are some other popular restaurant dishes worth knowing?

Other popular restaurant dishes worth knowing include fish and chips, pho, chicken tikka masala, carbonara, bibimbap, burritos, gyros, dumplings and fish tacos. Each comes with its own single choice too, like broth or toppings, so the one-choice rule still works.

Bowls and noodles

• Pho: rare beef, well-done brisket, or both.
• Bibimbap: in a hot stone bowl or a regular one.
• Carbonara: with guanciale or the bacon version some places serve.
• Lo mein: which protein, since the noodles stay the same.

Things in bread or wraps

• Burrito: wet (sauced) or dry.
• Gyro: lamb-beef or chicken.
• Philly cheesesteak: which cheese, and onions or not.
• Fish tacos: battered or grilled fish.

Plates to share

• Dumplings: steamed or pan-fried.
• Nachos: which meat, and jalapeños on or off.
• Chicken wings: the sauce, from mild to hot.
• Fish and chips: cod or haddock, where both are offered.

Chinese takeout menus have a question of their own: which sauce. That’s a big enough topic that it has its own guide to ordering by the sauce.

Still choosing between ten good dishes? Today’s Mealow asks six questions, from the meal and your mood to who you’re with, then picks 3 dishes from real places near you.

Pick my dish for tonight

How do I order food in a restaurant without feeling awkward?

To order food in a restaurant without feeling awkward, say the dish name, then your answer to its one question, then anything you need left off. “The burger, medium, no onions.” That order of three parts covers almost every dish and leaves the server nothing to chase.

If you’re ordering in a group, decide who goes first and let the server lead after that. If you’re unsure what a dish is, ask “What comes with that?” It’s a normal question, and the answer usually settles the side dish too.

When you can’t pick the place at all, start one step earlier. A random restaurant picker chooses the kind of spot, and then the top ten list tells you what to order once you’re there.