A2SpeakingReading~8 min

Restaurants & ordering

Read a menu, order, ask about ingredients, handle the bill.

1Learn the essentials

Ordering food follows a predictable script — from being seated to paying.

Ordering: “I'll have the…, please.” / “Could we see the menu?”
Ask about food: “Does this contain nuts?” / “What do you recommend?”
Paying: “Could we get the check/bill, please?” Tipping varies by country.

2Warm up & speak

Phrase 1 / 6

A table for two, please.

Una mesa para dos, por favor.

Speak it, or skip ahead anytime.

3Lock it in

Restaurants & ordering1 / 14

Una mesa para dos, por favor.

Say it in English, then check yourself.

4Practise speaking

A2say it out loud

Order around an allergy

Dinner with two friends. You are allergic to nuts, the menu is only in English, and the waiter is already at the table.

Say your allergy first, before you talk about the dishes.
Choose one dish and ask if it has nuts in it.
If the waiter is not sure, ask him to check in the kitchen.

You did it if

You said the word “allergic” before you ordered, and nobody at the table had to say it for you.

0 of 3 moves rehearsed

Nothing here is listening or marking you — this is your own rehearsal, and you tick a move when you have said it out loud. For live correction, take the same situation to Rumi, your AI Tutor, in the role-play step below.

5Practise reading

A23 min

The Lunch Menu at the Blue Door

The Blue Door is a small café near the station. It opens at twelve and closes at four. From Monday to Friday it has a set lunch. The set lunch is one soup, one main dish and a coffee. It costs nine pounds.

The soup changes every day. On Monday it is tomato. On Wednesday it is carrot and ginger. The main dish is usually chicken or fish, and there is always one dish with no meat. Bread comes with the soup, and the bread is free.

The café does not take cards for orders under five pounds, so bring some cash. If you have an allergy, tell the person at the counter before you order. The kitchen cooks every dish fresh, so lunch takes about fifteen minutes. On Saturday the café is open, but there is no set lunch — only sandwiches and cake.

Glossary

a set lunch: — two or three dishes together for one price
the counter: — the long table where you order and pay
cash: — notes and coins, not a card
an allergy: — when a food makes you ill

Comprehension

1. You want the set lunch on Saturday. What does the text say?

2. What is always part of the set lunch?

3. You order a coffee and a piece of cake for four pounds. How can you pay?

4. You cannot eat fish. When does the text say to tell the café?

6Role-play the conversation

Rehearse the full conversation with Rumi, your AI Tutor — live, in-character role-play with gentle grammar & word-choice corrections as you go.

Open the AI Tutor