What does "SOS" mean in a restaurant kitchen?
Those who have not worked in a restaurant are unaware of much of what happens outside the table, including a specific language for communicating effectively.
Some of that jargon has already become part of everyday language: when someone says they're going to "eliminate" an item, they mean they're removing it from the selection. But there's one term that might surprise you if you hear someone shouting from the kitchen: SOS. In Morse code, it means help; in a restaurant, however, it's simply an acronym for "sauce aside."
When you ask for the sauce on the side, don't be alarmed if the waiter says "SOS" or if it appears handwritten on the bill. There's no emergency, and you're not being labeled a difficult customer. It's simply a shorthand way of communicating your request to the kitchen, easily audible over the noise of the restaurant.
Besides SOS, there's a whole dictionary of terms that employees use to communicate effectively. One of the first you'll hear is "top," which sometimes refers to a high table. However, more commonly, the host will mention a number, such as "two" or "four," to indicate how many guests each table seats. And if the table is for two, the group might be called "two."
If two waiters are serving a table and one announces that the other is a trainee, it means that the trainee is a new employee observing a more experienced colleague. And when you hear "You're doing great!", don't worry: the order isn't canceled, but rather the steak is ordered well-done. There's a touch of humor in this slang.
If you're dining late, the waiter might approach you to announce the last round, indicating that the kitchen or bar is taking the final orders before closing. Finally, when the waiter says they're going to the point-of-sale system to bring the check, they mean the machine where orders are recorded and bills are printed, not the manager.