SPEAK FIRST · A1 · 50 min

Dinner with the Customer

A table for two, the menu, the starter, the main course, and the bill. The meeting went well — now dinner.

Speak First · Lesson 10 of 15. ← Lesson 9: A Problem, and the Way · Lesson 11: The Meeting →

Today: order food and drink in a restaurant, understand the waiter's questions, and ask for the bill. Grammar: I'll have… and Could we have…?
Warm up — five words to remember. They come from Lessons 4, 8 and 9. Do you know it? Say what it means and use it in a sentence. Is it new? Good — learn it now. Click Reveal to check, and follow the link to read the lesson.
a towel — from A Problem, and the Way
What does it mean? Say the problem: There are no…
a towel — a cloth to dry your body.
opposite — from A Problem, and the Way
What does it mean? What is opposite your home?
opposite — on the other side of the street.
straight on — from A Problem, and the Way
What does it mean? Say a direction with it.
straight on — not left, not right: in front of you.
breakfast — from The Hotel
What does it mean? What do you have for breakfast?
breakfast — the first meal of the day.
a meeting — from A Working Day
What does it mean? How was Leo's meeting? Guess.
a meeting — people talk about work together, at a table.

Now — the words for today's conversation

These are the new words for Dinner with the Customer. Match each word (1–8) to its meaning (A–H). Say your answers out loud — "I think 1 is D" — then check.

Words

  1. a table
  2. the menu
  3. a starter
  4. a main course
  5. a dessert
  6. the bill
  7. to order
  8. delicious

Meanings

  • A. the paper that says how much you pay
  • B. very, very good (food)
  • C. the small first dish
  • D. the list of food in a restaurant
  • E. the big dish in the middle of the meal
  • F. to say to the waiter what you want
  • G. the sweet dish at the end
  • H. you sit at it to eat

1 = H (a table) · 2 = D (the menu) · 3 = C (a starter) · 4 = E (a main course)

5 = G (a dessert) · 6 = A (the bill) · 7 = F (to order) · 8 = B (delicious)

Now talk — out loud

Before we read:
  • Say the three parts of a meal, in order.
  • A business dinner. Who pays? Guess.

The conversation, in three parts

Leo and Mr Hill at a restaurant table by the river; a waiter brings the menu.
Look at the picture. Say:
  • Where are they?
  • Who is the man with Leo? Guess.
  • What is on the table?

The meeting was good. Now Mr Hill takes Leo to dinner. Read each part. Then try the questions from memory, and answer the last one about you.

Part 1 — A table for two

Seven o'clock. The meeting was good. Very good. Now Mr Hill takes Leo to dinner: a small Italian restaurant near the river.

Waiter: Good evening. Do you have a reservation?

Mr Hill: Yes. Hill, a table for two.

Waiter: This way, please. Here's the menu. Would you like something to drink?

Mr Hill: A glass of red wine, please. Leo?

Leo: Just water for me, please. Sparkling.

Quick check — answer from memory, then reveal:

1. How many people are at the table?

2. What does Leo drink?

1. Two: Leo and Mr Hill.

2. Sparkling water. Mr Hill has a glass of red wine.

Talk about it:
  • And you? Wine or water at a business dinner? Why?

Part 2 — Are you ready to order?

Waiter: Are you ready to order?

Mr Hill: Yes. For the starter, the soup, please. And then the fish.

Waiter: And for you, sir?

Leo: I'll have the salad to start. And the pasta, please.

Waiter: The pasta with tomato or with mushrooms?

Leo: With tomato, please.

Waiter: Thank you.

The food comes. It's delicious. Mr Hill talks about London, about football, about his children. Leo understands almost everything. He asks questions. He smiles.

Quick check — answer from memory, then reveal:

1. What does Leo order?

2. What do they talk about?

1. The salad to start, then the pasta with tomato.

2. London, football, and Mr Hill's children.

Talk about it:
  • And you? What do you usually order: meat, fish or pasta? A starter, or just the main course?

Part 3 — The bill

Mr Hill: Would you like a dessert?

Leo: No, thank you. Just a coffee.

Mr Hill: Two coffees, please. And the bill.

Leo: Please, let me pay.

Mr Hill: No, no. You are in London. Next time, in your city.

Leo: OK. Next time, my city. Thank you.

Outside, the rain has stopped. Leo walks back to the hotel and calls Carla. "How was it?" "Good," he says. "Very good." And then, in English, because he can: "It was delicious."

Quick check — answer from memory, then reveal:

1. Who pays? Why?

2. What does Leo say at the end, in English?

1. Mr Hill. Leo is in London; next time Leo pays, in his city.

2. "It was delicious."

Talk about it:
  • And you? Who pays at a business dinner in your country? What do you say at the end of a good dinner?

Grammar: ordering food

In a restaurant you need one shape for ordering and one shape for asking. Everything else is the menu.

I'll have + the food. "I'll have the fish." "I'll have the soup to start." (I'll = I will — but here it just means: this is my order.)
For the starter / for the main course: "For the starter, the salad. For the main course, the chicken." · No starter? "Just the main course, please."
Could I / Could we have…? = asking, very politely: "Could we have the bill, please?" "Could I have some water?" "Could we have a table by the window?"
with / without · a glass of / a bottle of: "pasta with tomato" · "coffee without sugar" · "a glass of wine" · "a bottle of water" · "a cup of tea"

1. Which word?

Complete each sentence with I'll, Could, of or with.

1. have the soup, please.

2. we have the bill, please?

3. A glass water, please.

4. Pasta tomato, please.

1. I'll

2. Could

3. of

4. with

2. Make the sentence

Put the words in order. Then say the sentence out loud.

1. have / I'll / the fish

2. ready / Are / to order / you?

3. the bill / Could / have / we / please?

4. for / two / A table / please

1. I'll have the fish.

2. Are you ready to order?

3. Could we have the bill, please?

4. A table for two, please.

3. Complete the conversation

Fill each gap with one word. Read the conversation out loud when you finish.

"Are you to order?" — "Yes. For the , the soup. And then the chicken." — "And to ?" — "A of water, please." — "Would you like a ?" — "No, thank you. Just the , please."

ready · starter · drink · glass · dessert · bill

starter → main course → dessert → the bill.

Role Play

A restaurant. You are with a colleague, and you order for yourself.

Round 1 — you are the guest. Read your partner's line, then say your own line from the cue in italics. Use your real answers. Then click to compare with a model.

Waiter: Good evening. Do you have a reservation?
You: your name · a table for two

Waiter: This way, please. Here's the menu. Something to drink?
You: your drink

Waiter: Are you ready to order?
You: starter + main course

Waiter: With rice or with potatoes?
You: choose

Waiter: Would you like a dessert?
You: yes or no · coffee?

Waiter: Anything else?
You: ask for the bill

Waiter: Good evening. Do you have a reservation?
You: Yes. Kowalski, a table for two.

Waiter: This way, please. Here's the menu. Something to drink?
You: A bottle of sparkling water, please.

Waiter: Are you ready to order?
You: Yes. For the starter, the salad. And then the fish.

Waiter: With rice or with potatoes?
You: With potatoes, please.

Waiter: Would you like a dessert?
You: No, thank you. Just a coffee, please.

Waiter: Anything else?
You: Could we have the bill, please?

Round 2 — change roles. Now you are Waiter. Ask the questions, and listen to the answers. Then say one thing you remember.

Quick-fire questions

Answer fast, in full sentences. No time to think. Then check a model answer for the ones that were hard.

1. Do you have a reservation?

2. Would you like something to drink?

3. Are you ready to order?

4. With tomato or with mushrooms?

5. Would you like a starter?

6. Would you like a dessert?

7. How is the food?

8. Anything else?

9. Who is paying?

10. Was the dinner good?

1. Yes. Navarro, a table for two.

2. A glass of water, please.

3. Yes. I'll have the pasta.

4. With tomato, please.

5. Yes, the soup, please.

6. No, thank you. Just a coffee.

7. It's delicious.

8. Could we have the bill, please?

9. I am. Please, let me pay.

10. Yes, very good. Delicious.

Speak

Do all three tasks out loud. Use the timer to keep talking.

Useful language: "A table for two, please." · "I'll have…" · "For the starter… / For the main course…" · "With tomato, please." · "Could we have the bill, please?" · "It's delicious." · "Please, let me pay."
Time remaining: 1:00
Task A · Tell the dinner

Tell the dinner in your own words. Steps: seven o'clock, the meeting was good → a table for two → wine and water → soup and fish, salad and pasta → delicious, football, children → no dessert, two coffees → the bill: "Next time, in your city" → the call to Carla: "It was delicious."

Task B · My favourite restaurant (2 minutes)

Tell me about a restaurant you like: where it is, what you order, a starter or not, what you drink, who pays. Start the timer and keep talking.

Task C · Order from me

I am the waiter. Order a full dinner: drink, starter, main course with a choice, dessert or coffee, and the bill. Then we change: you are the waiter, and you ask me the questions.

To finish

  1. Business dinner: is it work, or is it fun? What do you talk about?
  2. In your country, who pays: the host or the guest? Is it polite to say "Let me pay"?
  3. From memory: order a starter and a main course, then ask for the bill.