How to Order Food at a Restaurant in English Basic English Phrases
Oh a great tie everybody welcome back to
our weekly live stream my name is Alisha
and today we’re going to talk about how
to eat at a restaurant for today’s
lesson I’m going to talk about how to
make reservations I’m going to talk
about ordering at the restaurant asking
questions making complaints and getting
the bill so today’s goal is to go
through the flow of visiting a
restaurant there’s a lot to do so I hope
that there’s a lot of stuff that we can
review as well I see we’re loading our
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please like and share the video so that
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from this link I’ll show you the
food-related one a bit later today so
please check out this link for your free
stuff as always this week great it looks
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more time to join today’s lesson as I
said today’s lesson is about eating at a
restaurant eating at a restaurant so as
you join please do send a message in the
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good though okay so if you’re just
joining as I said today’s lesson is on
eating at a restaurant eating at a
restaurant I am going to begin today’s
lesson over here with some reservation
related phrases so when I say
reservation I’m gonna focus for this
lesson on making a phone reservation to
begin your trip to a restaurant and I
want to focus in this part on
prepositions so prepositions remember
are those short little words like of 2 4
5 and so on those are prepositions I’m
going to focus on those and on a couple
small pronunciation points that I hope
can help you make your reservations more
smoothly so let’s begin ok first the
first step in making a reservation
calling to make a reservation yes I know
there are internet reservations but
sometimes it’s still easier just to call
and make the reservation ok so first I’d
like to make a reservation I’d like to
make a reservation first point for
today’s lesson is in this sentence I’d
like to make a reservation my point
right here is this I’d I’d I apostrophe
D this is the reduced form of I would
I’d like to make a reservation I would
like is what this means
I’d so first point here I’d like next
point here is this - sometimes learners
forget this - I’d like to I’d like to
make up reservation so as I said I want
to focus on these
little connecting words a lot in this
lesson I’d like to make a reservation so
a mistake I often hear is learners
forget to pronounce this
it’s not I like that’s a totally
different grammar pattern but I’d like
I’d like I’d like to make a reservation
please keep in mind reservation
reservation is different from
appointment reservation is different
from appointment we use reservation for
hotels and restaurants appointment is a
word we use for like hair salons or for
the doctor’s office a dentist’s office
an appointment we use restaurant
sorry reservation for restaurants okay
Arturo hey there assess make a
reservation or a booking you can use
booking I’d like to make a booking I
suppose but booking I feel like is used
more in travel we also use the verb to
book so I’ll add it here to book do book
or to make a reservations we can use
that yes but we tend to use book a
little more often when we’re reporting
this to someone else you could use like
I’d like to book a table here perhaps
but I use book personally more when I’m
talking to my friends about the
reservation like I booked this
restaurant or I booked a table at this
restaurant so yes to book something
means to make a reservation you can use
that but the pattern changes a little
bit so I wanted to focus on this one for
today but yes you can use that ok good
Diego says I’d like to make a
reservation for two
yes great so we’re going to move on to
the next part beef here B here is the
staff person the restaurant staff person
on
phone so we’ve said I’d like to make a
reservation hello I’d like to make a
reservation staff says okay for what day
and time you might hear date as well
that’s possible but here he preposition
is for for for what day you might also
hear like what day are you thinking
about what day are you thinking about or
what day do you have in mind what day do
you have in mind so there are a couple
of different patterns I think this one
is very general okay for what day and
time so your response then here needs to
include the date and the time and it’s a
good idea to include the number of
people so for people for Saturday the
17th at 6 p.m. for people for Saturday
the 17th at 6 p.m. so again I want to
focus on prepositions in this sentence
first 4 people 4 so we’re putting 4
before the date and time here’s my date
and time Saturday the 17th 17th means
the 17th of this month so it’s very
common to drop the month when you’re
making a reservation so this is probably
not like Saturday the 17th of December
it’s understood it’s the 17th of this
month also we’re using the here before
the date so if it were the 10th for
example like for the 10th at 6 p.m. for
the 12th for the 2nd so include your
article here your definite article the
before your date before your time then
include your preposition for time
at 6:00 p.m. not in not on at 6:00 p.m.
we use at to mark a specific point in
time so again this reads for people for
Saturday the 17th at 6:00 p.m. there are
three components we are connecting those
with prepositions and an article here so
you can try to send along another date
in the chat I will try to check it out
I’ll try to check that out nice one
Oh Weiss wrote three people for Friday
the fourth at 12 p.m. perfect
very nice very nice send a few more
examples so include floor and at before
your date for your time that’s a key
point for today okay while I wait for
your for your examples I want to mention
sometimes the restaurant cannot take
this reservation
sometimes this rest of the restaurant is
busy on this date or this time so in
those cases the response from the staff
is sorry we’re full at 6:00 sorry we’re
full so two points here first this we’re
we’re this is the contracted form of I’m
sorry we are we are so the staff person
will not say we are full or maybe they
will it’s not likely they’ll say sorry
we’re full full full F ull full means
all seats all tables in the restaurant
are full it means they’re occupied
someone has reserved someone has booked
that seat already you cannot use that
seat
sorry we’re full at 6:00 so we see this
preposition again here at 6:00 that
shows us this specific time 6:00 is full
so you can respond with a substitute
time or an alternative time how about
7:00 how about 7:00 here how about is a
suggestion pattern
how about seven okay finally let’s say
it’s okay seven is okay the restaurant
is not full seven is fine seven is fine
or seven is okay you’ll hear something
like that then can I have your name and
phone number can I have your name and
phone number so seven is fine can I have
your name and phone number
here can I have means please give me
please give me your name and phone
number please tell me your name and
phone number so in my case I would say
my name is Alicia
my phone number is one two three four
five six seven eight nine zero okay
there are some other examples coming in
shock Oh said I’d like to make a
reservation for Thursday the 14th at 7
p.m.
perfect oh that’s today isn’t it good ok
nice other ones Mohammed on Facebook
five people for Friday the 6th at 12
p.m. perfect very nice could I pronounce
there yes there th ey dari their their
practicum YouTube said sorry we’re full
at 6 p.m. yes exactly sorry were full at
6 p.m. you can include p.m. here
nice see 8 is fine ah always on YouTube
row 8 is fine can I have your address
address remember address is the place
you live the restaurant does not need
your address the restaurant should only
should ask only for your name and phone
number just your name and phone number
there’s no reason I can imagine why a
restaurant would ask for your address
okay um let’s see Jorge on facebook says
could I have your phone number or must
you say can no you may here could as
well could concerns a little bit more
polite could I have your phone number
please yes you will here could as well
okay junior a junior a long time to see
thanks for joining the chat great okay
can I repeat that please which part
which parts we can come back to some of
this but for now I’m going to take a
quick break so this is the first part of
today’s lesson making the reservation I
chose for today’s break to focus on over
here to focus on this PDF that we have
from the link below the video on YouTube
and above the video on Facebook this is
the dining PDF cheat sheet you can
download this and you can save this to
like your iPhone your iPad your computer
wherever so today we’re talking about
food on the first page of this are some
key phrases here is a phrase for
claiming your reservation I have a
reservation at 9 so when you arrive at
the restaurant after we’ve just talked
about making the reservation I have a
reservation at 9 right here is how you
claim your reservation then we’re going
to talk today about some of these other
phrases this one right here sorry this
one right here do you have a table for
two do you have a table for two this is
an expression that you can use if you
don’t have a reservation and you just
walk into the restaurant this right here
do you have a table for two do you have
a table for four four people two people
that is the expression we use to walk in
to a restaurant with no reservation so
these are very helpful basic phrases I’m
going to talk about some of these in
today’s lesson and some new ones too but
if you would like to get this I’ll show
this again later in some other points
there’s a lot if you’d like to pick this
up and some other PDFs we have a lot
more about other topics like singing
this one singing but I’m focusing on
food today please check the link below
the video on YouTube in the description
or check the link above the video if
you’re watching on Facebook if you’re
watching on Instagram check YouTube or
Facebook please to find the link okay
good so as I said today we’re talking
about eating at restaurants
I started this lesson by looking at how
to make a reservation for the second
part of today’s lesson I’m going to talk
about like asking questions how to ask
questions about the menu so you’ve come
to the restaurant you’ve claimed your
reservation I have a reservation at 7:00
for four people for example so part two
today will be this so if you’re just
joining please make sure to send some
example sentences in the chat and I’ll
try to check them of course we really
appreciate it if you like and share the
video too so other learners can find it
ok onward asking about the menu
I’ve prepared a couple questions here to
help you ask details about the menu I
know there are many people that have
specific food needs like there are some
things you can eat or you cannot eat so
we’re going to cover that today first
point I want to review I know many of
you know this expression but I want to
review two things if you arrived at the
restaurant and you want a recommendation
how do you ask for them there are two
common patterns first do you have any
recommendations so do not forget this s
many learners forget this s do you have
any any recommendations and we use any
here because we use any when we’re
asking information questions not some
don’t use some do you have any
recommendations use the plural form
there or another common pattern here
same exact meaning is what
do you recommend what do you recommend
so notice here there’s no s at the end
of this no recommends because recommend
in this pattern is used as a verb
recommendation here is used as a noun in
this pattern so these two sentences have
the same purpose the same meaning but
they have different grammatical
structures so please choose one of these
do you have any recommendations what do
you recommend one of those two is okay
don’t mix the two second then if you
need to ask about the ingredients so the
ingredients means the things a dish is
made with so the contents of the dish
what’s inside the food to ask about that
and maybe there are some others you can
send in the chat if you have other like
food needs ways to ask about that is
this vegan for example is this
vegetarian where is this is the dish so
how do you use this expression let’s
imagine you’re at the restaurant looking
at the menu and the waiter or waitress
comes to your table you point at the
thing on the menu and say is this vegan
is this vegan I pointed at beef is this
vegan so no this is beef in this case
I’m actually pointing at beef but this
is not vegan
so is this vegan no is this vegetarian
know what else is others a salad here -
is this vegetarian so maybe I don’t know
if there meat in this salad is this
vegetarian point at something and ask
this question is this vegan is this
vegetarian a second point here notice
the pronunciation is different between
these two words but they are spelled
similarly the eg and VG
here vegan vegan and vegetarian so the e
sound changes vegan and vegetarian so
remember
vegetarian has the same pronunciation as
vegetable vegetable vegan takes a
special pronounciation okay yes someone
else has another one Abdul wrote is this
kosher is this kosher yes great is this
kosher that’s exactly correct we can use
the same one is this dish vegan perfect
good I am vegetarian good yeah great
South I know many viewers have different
food needs
so vegetarian vegan kosher is all very
important I think ok on to this next one
I know this is something that’s of
course popular among some people but
also very important for others
gluten-free is the last one here is this
gluten-free gluten-free so this is a
common question to ask regarding bread
products bread related products
gluten-free okay what do you call people
who eat meat well we can say carnivore
carnivore person who eats meat or a
person who eats meat and vegetables is
an omnivore as well so omnivore or a
carnivore I’ll write that here so a
vegetarian you can say I’m vegetarian
actually yeah let’s make a vocabulary
list here this is a good one thanks for
your question so if you eat meat you are
a carnivore carnivore carnivore your
Spanish speakers out there may be
recognized this carne as in like carne I
think relating to meat so carnivore is
the English word for a meat eater and
omnivore is a person or a creature that
eats everything so Omni here Omni means
everything maybe you know the word
omniscient omnipresent Omni means
briefing all things everywhere so meat
fish plants everything great omnivore
vegetarian vegetables
one more pescetarian oops
pescetarian pescetarian for maybe french
speakers Pesce Pesce like Pescatore
relates to fish a pescetarian is someone
who eats fish so many people don’t eat
like red meat but they eat fish
that’s called a pescetarian pescetarian
so maybe you are pescetarian good ok
let’s move along x go on quick so onward
next point ordering let’s go to maybe
the most important point of the meal
ordering your food so I have two
patterns here I want to keep it simple
two patterns first can I have the food
item please can I have the food item
please so again we’re looking at the
menu here we see something we like hmm
can I have that salad please or can I
have the seafood please can I have the
chicken please so use the here because
you’re asking for a specific item this
thing right here that your restaurant
has on the menu I want this one that’s
why we use the if you just say can I
have chicken please it’s like which
chicken maybe there are a few other
chicken dishes on the menu or maybe it’s
not so clear to the server exactly which
dish you mean so use the food item or
the menu item name in this pattern can I
have the chicken burger please can I
have the veggie burger please so use
that before the food item to make your
request sound more natural okay
pratik on the in the YouTube chat says
can I have up order please
careful
if you are ready you lift at the menu
and you’re ready to order
say can I order please not can I have
order can i order we use 10 I have plus
this item for an object we want to
receive can I have this thing please can
I order is asking is this behavior okay
can i order so please be careful there
thanks for that point okay
can I have the roast beef please perfect
can I have a important point can I’ve
this I have we do not reduce this I have
can I’ve is well is not used can I have
the roast beef please can I have some
spicy food please so don’t reduce this I
this will not reduce too bad and I have
can I have when you make a request can I
have how do you say serviette the in
English I don’t know I don’t know I
don’t know I would recommend you check a
dictionary for that one
okay good can I have some Indian food
please good can I have a glass of water
perfect great great so a shoes so
shallow got our next one here can I have
or can I get when you’re ordering drinks
this is my second pattern can I get up
for example glass glass singular noun
your singular noun of water in this case
can I get a burger please or can I get
sandwich please so this is a more casual
way to make your order can I have
something please can I get get is a kind
of rougher way slightly rougher way more
casual way to make your request I feel I
would use can I get more in like a fast
food situation I go to like McDonald’s
working something like that can I get
the chicken sandwich I would use it
there so there I use this pattern the
food item please you can use this part
with can I get it’s okay to mix those
there so can I get sounds a little
rougher but when you order drinks keep
in mind there are drinks that are
uncountable nouns we cannot use like one
wine two wines three wines we have to
use a counter word glass of wine bottle
of wine someone wrote can I get a bottle
of Malbec yeah nice choice I like
Malbecs that’s delicious okay so to do
that
can I get or can I have a bottle of the
Malbec please for wine can I have a
bottle of that Chardonnay please
same thing for beer can I have a pint of
the Stout please that is my favorite can
I have a pint of the Vice please so use
the same request pattern and use your
counter words before your uncountable
nouns here this is how we do it okay can
I use could yes you can
so could I have something something
guests great can I get a couple of
drinks a couple of drinks
Fabiano can I get a couple of drinks
couple is too so make sure drink takes
the S the plural form can I get a couple
of drinks can I say let me get an ice
cream please I would say can I get an
ice cream can I get an ice cream please
don’t forget your and there cuz ice
cream starts with the vowel sound
okay I’ll finish today’s lesson over
here and then I’ll show you this one
more time making requests during the
meal these are very simple these are
very simple patterns I made when you
need to ask for something during the
meal can we or can I do something so
again we’re using this can I get can
I have pattern yes you can use could as
well it’s going to sound a little more
polite so can we have the dessert menu
can we have the dessert menu also no
dessert pronunciation of dessert make
sure desert desert so not desert desert
but desert desert can we have the
dessert menu can we see the wine list
so can I have a fork a knife a spoon a
napkin please
so you’ll see all of these sentences all
of these requests follow that same
pattern can we have can I have this
noun please so we’re also using the the
to refer to this restaurants dessert
menu this restaurants wine list the wine
list the dessert menu okay finally
complaining that’s done if you have a
problem at the restaurant these are two
ways that you can address this first
okay I have to go quickly first let’s
say you receive your food and it’s not
correct you’re like I ordered chicken
but this is beef so to explain that you
use this isn’t what I ordered this isn’t
what I ordered the past tense this is
not what I ordered this is not the food
I ordered here I ordered chicken or I
ordered salad this isn’t what I ordered
if the food is not correctly cooked use
this isn’t cooked
this isn’t cooked for example you order
beef and it’s totally raw very strange
situation ever but if it’s not cooked
correctly this isn’t cooked or if it’s
cooked too much
this is over cooked this is over okay so
those are a couple ways to make a
complaint all right
lastly then good I see lots of people
sending sentences this isn’t what I
ordered nice can I use could could you
bring the menu yes many of you are
asking can I use good can I use good the
answer is yes yes yes could I have the
menu please could I have the wine list
please yes the answer is yes go ahead
use good last thing to finish your meal
when you have eaten you’re ready to go
this sentence right here is how to
request your check same exact pattern
this is a key point for today can I have
the check please can I have the check
please
or could I have the check please you may
hear people use bill - can I have the
bill please
I prefer check I think maybe British
English speakers might use bill more
commonly but either it’s fine
so please use that to finish your meal
can I have the check please
and then you’re done great so we’ll end
there cuz I’m late ok I have to finish
someone says I’m starving now oh I hope
it’s not too late I hope you can go eat
so I hope that these expressions helped
you in making reservations ordering
asking questions and so on this is the
flow of visiting a restaurant so I hope
that it’s useful for you the next time
you visit a restaurant if you missed it
make sure to download your FREE Dining
cheat sheet which I showed you earlier
on the back our restaurant vocabulary
words as well as menu items so please
download this if you are interested in
getting some vocabulary that you can use
to talk about the menu at a restaurant
please check this out you can get this
from the link below the video on YouTube
or above the video on Facebook so check
this out for sure we’ll finish today’s
lesson but we’ll be back next week of
course as always so please join us next
week I’m very excited for next week’s
lesson next week it’s hard to see on the
screen but the next week’s next week’s
live stream is phrases to use when
giving a presentation so lots of you I
know are practicing or working on
English for career opportunities
so next week I’m going to focus on
presentation phrases it’s going to be a
bit different from a previous live
stream on a similar topic so please join
us next Wednesday February 20th 9 p.m.
Eastern Standard Time to talk about
presentation of phrases I’m excited
about this one
so I hope that this was a useful lesson
for you don’t forget to grab your free
stuff and thank you so much for sending
all of your example sentences in the
chat and your questions fantastic if you
have other questions please send those
in the chat I will check those as well
so thank you for liking the video thank
you for sharing the video and I hope
that you enjoy the rest of your week we
will see you again soon bye bye