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How to Order at an American
Restaurant |
When I lived in Portugal, one of the simplest things to
do was really hard for me: ordering food at restaurants.
I worried about being laughed at or not being
understood. Often, I said just the name of the food and
“please,” instead of full sentences.
Ordering food in a foreign language can be frightening!
But in today’s Everyday Grammar, we’ll give you some
expressions and suggestions for ordering at American
restaurants.
Begin by greeting
Let’s begin with greetings. When ordering food in any
restaurant, it’s a good idea to greet the person taking
your order. You can say things like:
Hi (or) hi there
Hello
Good morning, afternoon or evening (or)
How’s it going?
In the United States, asking someone you’ve never met
how it’s going is just a friendly way of saying hello.
Kinds of restaurants
The language we use to order food usually depends on the
kind of restaurant. Is it a casual place where you order
at a counter? Or, is it a full-service restaurant –
where a server comes to your table and takes your order?
Counter service
Let’s listen to four common expressions used at American
counter service restaurants. Imagine that you want to
order tea:
Can I get a medium tea, please?
Can I order a medium tea, please?
I’ll take a medium tea, please.
I’ll have a medium tea, please.
The expressions “I’ll have…” and “I’ll take…” are useful
at both counter service restaurants and full-service
restaurants.
Listen to someone ordering food at a counter:
Hi there! How can I help you?
Hi, how’s it going? I’ll take a medium tea and a toasted
whole wheat bagel with vegetable spread.
The worker might respond with one of these questions:
Do you want anything else with that?
Will that be all for you today?
If your answer is no to the first question or yes to the
second, they might say this next:
Is that for here or to go?
They are asking whether you will eat at the restaurant
or take the food away to eat elsewhere. The appropriate
response is:
To go, please (or)
For here, thanks. *
Full service
OK, let’s move to full-service restaurants. These can
range from very casual to very formal. At casual
restaurants, you usually do not need a table
reservation. But, at very busy restaurants and for
formal dining, you often do.
Arriving
At places where no reservations are needed, a host or
hostess will greet you at the door with something like
this:
Hi, welcome to Paprika! Party of how many?
They are asking how many people are in your group. Or,
they may simply count your group and confirm the number:
Party of four? (or)
Table for four?
At places that require reservations, if you are the
first of your group to arrive, tell the host what name
the reservation is in and the time, for example:
Hi, I’m here for the 7:45 reservation for Bryant.
If some of your group members have not yet arrived, you
will likely have to wait to be seated.
Ordering
OK, so imagine that you are now seated with your group.
Here’s what a server might say when they first come to
your table:
Hi, my name is Alice and I’ll be your server today. Our
special today is a tasty vegetable gumbo. Can I start
you off with something to drink?
If you’re ready, you can respond:
Yes, I’ll have an orange juice.
Yes, I’d like an orange juice.
When they return with your drinks, they’ll likely check
whether you’re ready to order food or have questions:
Do you have any questions about the menu?
Are you ready to order?
You can tell them your questions, if any. Or, maybe
you’re unsure what to order. In that situation, ask for
a suggestion, more details or more time:
I’m having trouble deciding. What would you recommend?
Can you tell me more about today’s special – what’s in
it?
We just need a few more minutes, please.
Paying the bill
OK, now imagine you’ve enjoyed your meal. It’s time to
pay your bill. You can use eye contact to catch the
server’s attention or just raise your hand halfway when
they look in your direction. Here are three ways to ask
for the bill:
We’re ready for the check, please.
Can we have the check, please?
Check, please.
If people in your group wish to pay separately, you can
request separate checks. Many – but not all –
restaurants offer this.
And, lastly, at an American restaurant, don’t forget to
leave a tip! A good tip is between 15 and 20 percent.
But, read your bill carefully since some restaurants add
the tip into the bill.
Final thoughts
Ordering food in a foreign language is not easy at
first, but after a few tries, I promise you will feel
more at-ease.
Here’s what I suggest:
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Even if you use
different expressions than you learned today, your
server will probably understand you if you speak
clearly. Also, don’t be afraid to ask the server to
repeat themselves if their words are unclear or they
speak too quickly.
Enjoy your meal!
I’m Alice Bryant.
Alice Bryant wrote this story for Learning English. Caty
Weaver was the editor.
*For many of these expressions, either “please” or
“thank you” is acceptable. |
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