At the restaurant - A1 English Vocabulary — Explanation

Practice A1 English with these fun “At the Restaurant” vocabulary exercises. Learn food, menu items, ordering phrases and restaurant words through interactive quizzes and activities. Ideal for beginners!

At the restaurant Explanation

In this Pre-intermediate Vocabulary Lesson about Restaurants, you will learn useful words and phrases for eating at restaurants. Here are pictures, descriptions, and examples to help you remember and understand the terms.

Nouns

1 A starter is a small dish that you eat at the beginning of a meal.

We had tomato soup as a starter before our meal.

2 A main course is a larger plate of food that you have after your starter.

For my main course, I chose grilled chicken and rice.

3 A side dish is a small dish of vegetables, salad, or potatoes that you have with your main course.

She ordered a side dish of salad with her steak.

4 A dessert is a piece of fruit or a sweet dish such as ice cream or cake that you have at the end of your meal.

My brother ordered ice cream for dessert.

5 Cutlery is a word referring to knives, forks, and spoons.

The waiter brought clean cutlery to our table.

6 A napkin is a paper or cloth sheet that you use to protect your clothes and clean your mouth or hands while you’re eating.

He used his napkin to clean his hands.

7 A reservation is an arrangement made with a restaurant to use a table and have a meal at a particular time.

Sarah made a reservation for Saturday evening.

8 A waiter is a man, and a waitress is a woman who looks after you when you eat in a restaurant.

The waitress brought our drinks quickly.

9 A customer is a person who dines at a restaurant and purchases food or drinks.

Several customers were waiting near the entrance.

10 A menu is a list showing all the food and drinks available in a restaurant, and a set menu is a special menu containing a particular starter, main course, and dessert that you can order for a fixed price.

I looked at the menu for a few minutes before choosing my meal.

The set menu includes soup, pasta, and dessert.

11 A beverage is a drink that you order in a restaurant.

Cold beverages are very popular in summer.

12 A special is something that is not normally on the menu but that you can have on that day.

The special today is spicy chicken with vegetables.

13 An order is the food or drinks that you ask the waiter or waitress to bring to you. To order is also a verb.

Your order will be ready in a few minutes.

I’d like to order a cheeseburger and orange juice.

14 The bill or check is a piece of paper that lists how much you need to pay for your meal.

Can we have the bill, please?

15 A tip is extra money that you leave for the waiter to reward them for good service.

He gave the waiter a small tip.

Verbs and Verb Phrases

16 When you eat out, you have a meal in a restaurant or away from home.

My family likes to eat out on weekends.

17 If you book a table, you call a restaurant to say that you will use a table at a particular time.

We booked a table for my birthday dinner.

18 If you recommend something, like a dish, you tell someone to try a particular dish because you think it is good.

Can you recommend a good dessert?

19 When you pay the bill, you give money to pay for your meal.

Jake paid the bill with his credit card.

20 If you leave a tip, you give extra money to the waiter for good service.

They left a tip because the food and service were excellent.