SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/pt-garcom

How do you get a waiter's attention in a Brazilian restaurant?

Garçom, por favor!

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  1. Mesa, por favor!
  2. Garçom, por favor! ✔
  3. Chave, por favor!

Why: Garçom means waiter in Brazil, and por favor makes it polite. In Portugal, call the empregado de mesa with Faz favor! Mesa is a table and chave a key.

Huh, didn't know that: The FSI dialog uses Garçom, a conta, por favor to ask for the bill.

The dad joke
I called out garçom, and my hunger came running.
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References

Answer: Garçom, por favor!. Garçom means waiter in Brazil, and por favor makes it polite. In Portugal, call the empregado de mesa with Faz favor! Mesa is a table and chave a key.

  1. FSI Brazilian Portuguese FAST, Volume 2 (Foreign Service Institute) fsi-language-courses-media.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/languages/Portuguese/FAST/Volume%202/FSI%20-%20Portuguese%20FAST%20-%20Volume%202.pdf
    Garçom, por favor!
    Checked 2026-10-11.
  2. Wiktionary: garçom en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=gar%C3%A7om&action=raw
    # [[waiter]] {{gloss|a server in a restaurant or similar}}
    Checked 2026-10-11.

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That's stuff everyone should know.