Everyday Dialogues

Going to a Restaurant
In this lesson, you will learn how to talk to the host
or hostess, the first person you meet at a restaurant.
You’ll practice giving information that will help you
have a more comfortable dining experience.

Pre-Reading
A. Warm-Up Questions

1. W
 hat questions does a host or hostess
ask when you arrive at a restaurant?

2. W
 hat are some of the jobs
a host or hostess performs?

3. Why is it important for a host/hostess to be friendly?

B. Vocabulary Preview

Match the words on the left with the correct meanings on the right.

1. reservation a) a period of time before something is available

2. wait (noun) b) a list of food items that you can order at a restaurant
3. booth c) to prefer one thing over another
4. patio d) available now
5. ready e) a table with bench seating
6. certainly f) yes (strong)
7. rather g) an outdoor sitting/dining area
8. menu h) a pre-arranged arrival (e.g., a table is on hold for you)

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 Going to a Restaurant
Everyday Dialogues

Dialogue Reading
Read the dialogue with your partner a few times. Take turns
being each character. Practice your intonation and pronunciation.
Circle any new words or phrases that you need to practice.

Customer: We’d like a table for four, please.

Hostess: Do you have a reservation?

Customer: No, we don’t.

Hostess: I’m afraid there will be a 10- or 15-minute wait.

Customer: That’s okay.

Hostess: Would you like smoking or non-smoking?

Customer: Non-smoking, please.

Hostess: And would you prefer a table or a booth?

Customer: It doesn’t matter.

Hostess: Would you rather sit inside or on the patio?

Customer: The patio would be nice.

Hostess: Okay. I’ll take your name and call you when the table is ready.

Customer: It’s Montague.

Hostess: Could you spell that, please?

Customer: M-O-N-T-A-G-U-E. Could we look at some menus while we’re waiting?

Hostess: Certainly. Here you are.

Customer: Thank you.

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 Going to a Restaurant
Everyday Dialogues

Practice
Work with your partner. Role-play the dialogue on page 2,
substituting the different expressions below. Then switch roles.

1. Do you have a reservation? 7. The patio would be nice.

• Have you got a reservation? • We’d prefer the patio.

• Did you make a reservation? • We’d like the patio.

2. No, we don’t. 8. ...call you when the table is ready.

• No, sorry. • ...let you know you when the table is available.
• No, we didn’t. • ...tell you when you can sit down.

3. I ’m afraid there will be 9. Could you spell that, please?

about a 10- or 15-minute wait.
• Could you spell your name for me, please?
• I’m sorry, but you may have to • How do you spell your name?
wait about 10 or 15 minutes.
10. Could we look at some
4. That’s okay. menus while we’re waiting?

• That’s fine. • Can we look over the menu before we sit down?
• No problem. • Could we please see a menu now?

5. Would you like... 11. Certainly. Here you are.

• Would you prefer... • Of course. Here you go.

• Would you rather have... • Sure. Have a look at these.

6. It doesn’t matter.

• We don’t care.
• It’s not important.

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 Going to a Restaurant
Everyday Dialogues

Listening Practice
Listen to the recording of the dialogue from page 2. Fill in the missing
words as you listen. Listen again. Now look back at page 2 and check your
work. Did you fill in the correct words? Did you spell everything correctly?

Customer: We’d like a             , please.

Hostess: Do you have a             ?

Customer: No, we don’t.

Hostess: I’m afraid there will be a 10- or 15-minute             .

Customer: That’s okay.

Hostess: Would you like smoking or             ?

Customer: Non-smoking, please.

Hostess: And would you prefer a table or a             ?

Customer: It doesn’t matter.

Hostess: Would you rather sit inside or on the             ?

Customer: The patio would be nice.

Hostess: Okay. I’ll take your name and call you when the table             .

Customer: It’s Montague.

Hostess: Could you spell that, please?

Customer: M-O-N-T-A-G-U-E. Could we look at some             while we’re waiting?

Hostess:             . Here you are.

Customer: Thank you.

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 Going to a Restaurant
Everyday Dialogues

Vocabulary Review
Write the words from the dialogue that have the
same meanings as the words or phrases below.

# Meaning Word

1 available

2 a place that has been saved for you

3 a person who greets you at a restaurant

4 a person who goes to a restaurant to buy food

5 like better

6 a place to sit outside

7 a place to sit in a restaurant with a table and benches

8 a list of the food available at a restaurant

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 Going to a Restaurant
Everyday Dialogues

Write Your Own Dialogue

Write a dialogue with a partner using phrases from page 3.
One of you will be a host/hostess and one of you will be a customer.
Practice and present the dialogue to your class.

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 Going to a Restaurant
Everyday Dialogues

Review
Task 1

LISTEN & ANSWER

Listen to the conversation and answer the questions.

Your teacher will tell you if you have to write or say the answers.

1. How many people are in the Montague’s party?

2. What is the estimated wait time for a table?

3. What type of seating options does the hostess offer?

4. How will the customers know that their table is ready?

5. What do the customers ask to do while they wait?

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 Going to a Restaurant
Everyday Dialogues

Review cont.
Task 2

QUESTION FORMATION

A. Questions

Write five questions a restaurant host/hostess might ask a restaurant guest.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

B. Answers

Write five possible answers to your questions.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Task 3

ROLE-PLAY

Find a partner. Imagine that you are the restaurant guest and your partner
is the host/hostess Use your questions to do a role-play for your teacher.

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 Going to a Restaurant
Everyday Dialogues

Answer Key
LESSON DESCRIPTION: LEVEL: Low Int

In this lesson, a customer speaks to a hostess about TIME: 1.5 hours

getting a table at a restaurant. Students learn vocabulary
TAGS:  everyday dialogues, restaurant, dining,
and expressions to use when arriving at a restaurant.
dine, dinner, host, hostess, food, reservation

Pre-Reading Vocabulary Review

A. WARM-UP QUESTIONS 1. ready 4. customer 7. booth

2. reservation 5. rather / prefer 8. menu
Discuss as a class or in small groups. Answers will vary.
3. host / hostess 6. patio

B. VOCABULARY PREVIEW
Write Your Own Dialogue
1. h 3. e 5. d 7. c
2. a 4. g 6. f 8. b Encourage your students to use vocabulary from the model.

Dialogue Reading (continued on the next page...)

Give your students time to read the dialogue in pairs.

Practice

Have your students read the dialogue again and

practice subbing in some of the different expressions.

Listening Practice

Have students complete the dialogue by listening

to the recording or by having two students read
the completed dialogue from page 2.

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 Going to a Restaurant
Everyday Dialogues

Answer Key cont.

Review (Assessment Tasks) SPELLING NOTE:

This lesson shows the American spelling of the word Practice.

The following tasks can be used for assessment purposes
and/or review practice. You can save all of the tasks until
the end or assess your students throughout the lesson.
TASK 1
Most other English-speaking countries spell it this way: Practise
(when used as a verb; Practice when used as a noun). Make it a
challenge for your students to find this word in the lesson and
see if they know the alternate spelling.

Play the audio from this lesson. Then assign the questions. You
can decide if you want your students to say or write the answers.

1. T here are four people in the Montague’s party.

2. T he wait time is about 10 to 15 minutes.
3. T he hostess offers smoking / non-smoking,
table / booth, and indoor / outdoor.
4. T he hostess will call their name when the table is ready.
5. T he customers ask if they can look at a menu while they wait.

TASK 2

Assess your students’ understanding of how to talk to a restaurant

host/hostess by having them write common questions and answers
that they learned in this lesson. Individual answers. Check for
proper question formation.

TASK 3

Place students in pairs for this role-play task. Your students should
try to perform without a script. Challenge students to work with a
different partner than they had on page 6.

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 Going to a Restaurant
Everyday Dialogues

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