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I have heard these words used when dining in a person's home, but I am not
sure if it's appropriate to use them in a restaurant.
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2017-01-18T18:30:23.167
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question
usage expressions culture food word-usage
Are 頂きます and ご馳走さま used when eating in public?
頂きます is a way of honouring the food you are about to eat, as well as
everything that made it possible for you to eat this food (the nature that
provided it, the person preparing it, etc.). It is _never_ inappropriate to
say 頂きます before eating or drinking something, no matter the place or occasion.

ご馳走様でした is only slightly different. Its origins lie in thanking whoever
prepared the food (e.g. see [About ご[馳走]{ちそう}: two “runs” would give you “a
feast”?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/172/1628) and [Etymology of
ごちそうさまでした](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/9622/1628)). Of course, this
makes it extremely appropriate for the restaurant situation and you will hear
it from people thanking the chef, kitchen staff or waiters for the meal.
Still, I would say that many people treat it in fact as a counterpart to 頂きます,
with the same sentiment of thanking not only the cook, but everything that
made it possible for you to have this meal, making it also _never_
inappropriate to say ご馳走様でした, even if you prepared the food yourself.
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2017-01-18T19:00:46.590
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2017-01-19T11:36:38.077
2017-04-13T12:43:44.260
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answer
As a manner of cultural context, it's always _appropriate_ to use these two
greetings in public, but it's not exactly standard. The only Japanese people
I've met who use them in restaurants have specific personalities and are very
eager to appease whoever they talk to.

I sometimes hear ご馳走さん used by single men, especially in ramen shops. I do not
hear ご馳走さま at all. いただきます is generally used by children. Usually I hear
nothing from couples or groups. In family-run countryside shops, more
friendliness may be appropriate than in urban fast food chains.

Personally, regardless of who I am dealing with, I say nothing when I receive
the meal, and どうも after I pay my bill, as part of my quest to make どうも the
standard word for all urban interaction.
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answer