The Art of Eating Out: Learn Essential English Phrases for Dining and ordering food

Ever wondered why some people seem to effortlessly glide through the dining experience, while others stumble over menus? Join us as we take you on a virtual tour of La Casa Mia, an Italian restaurant where we role-play a typical dining experience. From the warm greeting at the door to the final request for the bill, we promise to equip you with all the English phrases and expressions you will need to impress your friends and enjoy your dining experience to the fullest.

We start by discussing greetings and how to politely request for items on the menu. We also discuss how to specify dietary requirements and the correct way to book a table! Moving on to the main course, we'll guide you through polite and culturally sensitive ways to order food. But the learning doesn't stop there! We then move on to how to ask for the bill. By the end of this episode, you'll be ready to enjoy your next dining experience with the confidence of a seasoned food connoisseur. Let's get started, shall we?

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Everyone likes eating out at restaurants. Knowing how to order correctly can impress your friends and make the difference between an average and an amazing dining experience when you are in an English speaking country. Hi there, everyone in today's lesson is all about how to order food in English. Now, ordering food in English is easy if you follow these simple tips. Watch and listen to the characters, and I hope you'll enjoy them so much, because I made an effort to impress you. And don't forget to click on the like button and subscribe if you haven't done so. So are you ready? Let's get started. Look and listen. Here we go.

Speaker 1: 0:57

Start with greeting. Usually, when you go to the counter to order, they will say hello and they might ask how are you today? You always want to return their hello and ask how are you? If they don't say hello first, when you get to the counter, it sounds most natural to order by saying hi, can I get a cup of coffee? This is the best way to start an order because it shows respect for the employee. You can choose any friendly greeting to start off the conversation, like hello, hi, hey or how's it going. Ask if you can get something.

Speaker 1: 1:39

Being polite goes a long way in any language. When most native speakers order something, instead of saying I want something, they'll ask can I get a cup of coffee? This sounds less demanding and can help the flow of the conversation. Firstly, if they don't have what you want, it sounds more natural to change your order. Second, it makes you sound more polite to the person. You're ordering For him or to go.

Speaker 1: 2:14

In some countries, the expression for taking your food with you outside the restaurant is to go or take out. However, to go is usually used for both drinks and food and anything else you might consume, while take out is only used for food. To go is far more commonly used by English speakers. When you want to order your food and take it with you, there are few options. Can I get this to go? I'd like the spaghetti and meatballs to go, please? Yeah or yes. If you're in a formal restaurant, hotel, cafe, you will want to use yes. If you're in any casual dining place, it's not necessary.

Speaker 1: 3:14

If your answer is yes to any question, you can nod your head up and down a little and reply with yep, yep, sure, or an mm? Mm sound. It's all about the tone or how you say it. Another note is that when you do use yes to answer a question about adding anything. You want to say yes, please.

Speaker 1: 3:45

How to make a request while ordering. When making polite requests, the models could and would are very useful. Starting your request with these two models immediately makes your request a lot more polite. Another word that's often used when making a polite request is please, please pass the sauce the waiter might use. What can I get you or what would you like to have? You may answer I would like to have cheesecake, please.

Speaker 1: 4:27

If you order eggs or steak, you need to answer how you'd like them. Cooked Eggs may be scrambled, mixed up, you know, cooked in little bites. Omelettes cooked in a circle and folded over easy at simple fried egg and sunny side up. Fried egg cooked only on the bottom side, so the yolk, the yellow part on top, stays liquid. You may also be asked if you want something on top of your food, a certain preparation style for your food.

Speaker 1: 5:05

If you'd like to order any desserts and much more, say what size order you want or how you'd like your coffee. Now ask for a steak and tell them if you want it cooked well done, medium, average or rare. Let's cook still red inside. If you cannot eat certain things because of your religion health. Check the menu carefully. Vegetarian and vegan dishes are usually marked, but if not, you can point at the dish on the menu and ask the waiter does this contain meat, nuts, dairy or do you have a gluten-free menu?

Speaker 1: 5:52

Get the right table. Book a table on the phone or ask for a table by saying we'd like a table for five, please. This will let the waiter know how many people to expect. The waiter might ask how many people are in your party or if you'd like to sit in the smoking or non-smoking section. If you're in a hot country, the waiter may ask if you'd prefer to sit indoors or outdoors. Pay the bill. Catch the waiter's attention and ask Can we have the bill, please? Or check please.

Speaker 1: 6:38

Music Buenaseras. Welcome to La Casa Mia, thank you. Did you make a reservation? Oh, yes, under the name of Sharon. Please, let me check La Fe. Yes, you ordered a table not non-smoking Next to the window. Follow me, please.

Speaker 1: 7:01

Would you like to start with a drink, madam, and you can reply oh, yes, please. Ah, while I look in the menu. Thank you so much. If you order a bottle of wine, the waiter might ask Would you like to taste the wine. If you like it, you can reply. Oh yeah, yes, that's fine, thank you. Are you ready to order, madam Music? Okay, very well, for starter, I'll have antipasti, vegetables with garlic bread and, let's see, I'm going to take a Sardinian stuffed eggplant, please, appetizer, to talk about the first course? Very good choice, very good choice. And for the main course, what would you like To talk about? The second course of food you will eat? So what would you recommend? What are today's specials? To find out if there are any dishes being served today that are not usually on the menu? Okay, you can have a look in the menu.

Speaker 1: 8:16

So we have a lot of good dishes today, madam. We have a sundry tomato and a ragorla pizza. We have a free forb sausage and three cheese lasagna. We have grilled fish with artichoke capponata. We have beef bristato with papadella and mint. Also, we have a spinach and ricotta ganudi with tomato butter sauce Very good. We have a swordfish. We have a gorgonzola fig, we have a balsamic and rosemary marinated steak and we have a breast chicken and a larbitella.

Speaker 1: 9:14

Also, we have pasta bolognese. Sounds good. So I'll have the pasta bolognese, please. And could I have a glass of your house wine. Certainly, madam. Good choice, the vino. Thank you, and this is your bolognese pasta. Enjoy your food. That was wonderful. Can I have the bill please? The bill, of course, madam One second please. Thank you. You get pretty cold right. There you go. Thank you so much. I hope you enjoyed your meal. It was a pleasure to have you here and I hope to see you soon. Ciao, buenasera. Madam Buenasera, oh yes, I enjoyed it so much really. Thank you. Thank you so much. Have a pleasant evening. Thank you so much. Ciao, that's it, guys. I hope you enjoyed it. See you next time. Good night.