Everyday Dialogues

Ordering at
a Restaurant
In this lesson, you will learn how to order food at
a restaurant. You’ll also learn vocabulary for main
courses and sides that you will find on a typical menu
in an English-speaking country. You may get hungry!

Pre-Reading
A. Warm-Up Questions

1. What type of restaurants do you like to eat at?

2. Do you prefer to eat salad or cooked vegetables?

3. W
 hat type of dessert do you
like to order at a restaurant?

B. Vocabulary Preview

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

1. order (verb) a) a salad with romaine lettuce, croutons, bacon, and an egg dressing
2. take your time b) a thick slice of beef
3. steak c) to tell a server what you want to eat or drink

4. potato d) a starchy vegetable with a peel (may be baked, mashed, boiled, or fried)
e) beaten into a smooth mixture
5. rice
f) don’t rush, do something as slowly as necessary
6. mashed
g) a bun, a round piece of baked bread
7. Caesar salad
h) a chilled, creamy dessert made with whipped cream and egg
8. house salad
i) fork, knife, spoon
9. roll
j) a starchy small cereal grain that is boiled
10. mousse
k) a basic salad with greens and fresh vegetables,
11. cutlery usually served with an oil and vinegar dressing

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 Ordering at 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.

Waiter: Good evening. Can I take your order?

Customer: Could you give me a few more minutes?

Certainly. Take your time.

Waiter: (a few minutes later)
Are you ready to order now?

Customer: Yes. I’d like an eight-ounce steak, please.

Waiter: Would you like potatoes or rice with your steak?

Customer: What kind of potatoes do you have?

Waiter: We have baked, mashed, or French fries.

Customer: I’ll have French fries, please.

Waiter: And how would you like your steak done?

Customer: Medium-rare, please.

Waiter: Would you like anything to start?

Customer: I’ll have a salad, please.

Waiter: We have Greek, Italian, and Caesar salad, as well as a house salad.

Customer: I’ll have the house salad with oil and vinegar dressing.

Waiter: Would you like a beverage?

Customer: I’ll have a large Diet Coke.

Waiter: And would you like anything for dessert?

Customer: What do you suggest?

Waiter: The apple pie is my favorite.

Customer: Okay. I’ll try that.

Waiter: I’ll put your order in and be right back with some hot rolls and butter.

Customer: Thank you.

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 Ordering at 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. Can I take your order? 6. A

 nd how would you 11. Would you like a beverage?
like your steak done?
• Would you like • Would you like
to order now? • How would you like anything to drink?
• Are you ready to order now? your steak cooked? • Will there be
• Have you had time to look • How do you prefer anything to drink?
at the menu yet? your steak?
12. I ’ll have a large Diet Coke.
2. Could you give me 7. Medium-rare, please.
• I’ll have a cup of coffee.
a few more minutes?
• rare • Just water, please.
• Can I have a few more • medium
minutes, please? • medium-well 13. What do you suggest?
• I’d like a few more minutes. • well-done
• What do you recommend?
• I’m not quite ready. I need
• What’s good?
a few more minutes. 8. W
 ould you like
• Any suggestions?
anything to start?
3. Certainly. Take your time.
• Would you like 14. The apple pie is my favorite.
• Of course. No rush. anything to begin with?
• The chocolate
• Sure. I’ll come back • Would you like an appetizer?
mousse is delicious.
in a few minutes. • How about a soup
• The lemon cheesecake
or salad to start?
is wonderful.
4. I ’d like an eight-ounce
• The strawberry
steak, please. 9. We
 have a Greek,
tart is fantastic.
Italian, and Caesar salad,
• I’ll have a 12-ounce
as well as a house salad.
steak, please. 15. I ’ll try that.
• Can I please have • in addition to
• I’d like that.
the rack of lamb?
• I’ll order that.
• Can I have the pork roast? 10. I ’ll have the house salad
• I’ll take that.
• I’d like the roast beef, please. with oil and vinegar dressing.
• Could I have the fried chicken?
• with Thousand 16. ...be right back with
• Can I have the grilled
Island dressing some hot rolls and butter.
salmon, please?
• with Italian dressing
• ...be back in a
• with French dressing
5. I ’ll have French fries, please. minute with your water.
• with blue cheese dressing
• ...be back right away with
• I’d like fries with that.
your cutlery and napkins.
• I’ll get the fries.

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 Ordering at 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?

Waiter: Good evening. Can I take your order?

Customer: Could you give me a few more minutes?

            . Take your time.

Waiter: (a few minutes later)
Are you ready to order now?

Customer: Yes. I’d like an eight-ounce             , please.

Waiter: Would you like potatoes or             with your steak?

Customer: What kind of potatoes do you have?

Waiter: We have baked,             , or French fries.

Customer: I’ll have French fries, please.

Waiter: And how would you like your steak             ?

Customer: Medium-rare, please.

Waiter: Would you like anything to start?

Customer: I’ll have a salad, please.

Waiter: We have Greek, Italian, and             salad, as well as a house salad.

Customer: I’ll have the house salad with oil and vinegar dressing.

Waiter: Would you like a             ?

Customer: I’ll have a large Diet Coke.

Waiter: And would you like anything for dessert?

Customer: What do you             ?

Waiter: The apple pie is my favorite.

Customer: Okay. I’ll try that.

Waiter: I’ll put your order in and be right back with some hot             and butter.

Customer: Thank you.

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 Ordering at a Restaurant
Everyday Dialogues

Vocabulary Building
Work with your partner. Fill in the chart below
with as many food items as you can think of.

Appetizer Entrée
Side Dish Dessert Beverage
(First Course) (Main Course)

salad steak French fries pie Coke

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 Ordering at 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 waiter and one of you will be a customer.
Practice and present the dialogue to your class.

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 Ordering at 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. What happens in this restaurant scene?

2. What type of meat does the man order, and how does he want it cooked?

3. What potato options are available as a side?

4. What does the man order for his appetizer?

5. What does the waiter suggest for dessert?

6. What is the server going to do after placing the order?

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 Ordering at a Restaurant
Everyday Dialogues

Review cont.
Task 2

QUESTION FORMATION

A. Questions

Write five questions a restaurant server might ask you.

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 server and your partner
is the customer. Use your questions to do a role-play for your teacher.

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 Ordering at a Restaurant
Everyday Dialogues

Answer Key
LESSON DESCRIPTION: LEVEL: Low Int

In this lesson, students practice ordering food at a restaurant.
They learn and practice vocabulary for food items that
are typically found on menus in English-speaking countries.
TIME: 1.5 hours
TAGS:  everyday dialogues, restaurant, order, food,
dining, server, waiter, customer, main course, side

Pre-Reading Review (Assessment Tasks)

A. WARM-UP QUESTIONS The following tasks can be used for assessment purposes
and/or review practice. You can save all of the tasks until
Discuss as a class or in small groups. Answers will vary.
the end or assess your students throughout the lesson.

B. VOCABULARY PREVIEW
TASK 1
1. c 3. b 5. j 7. a 9. g 11. i
1. (Answers may vary.) The man orders his dinner. /
2. f 4. d 6. e 8. k 10. h
A server takes a guest’s food order.
2. He wants an eight-ounce steak cooked medium-rare.
Dialogue Reading
3. The potato options are baked potato,
mashed potato, or French fries.
Give your students time to read the dialogue in pairs.
4. He orders a house salad with oil and vinegar dressing.
5. The waiter suggests the apple pie.
Practice 6. He is going to bring rolls and butter.

Have your students read the dialogue again and

TASK 2
practice subbing in some of the different expressions.
Answers will vary. Assess your students’ understanding
of how to talk to a server by having them write common
Listening Practice
questions and answers that they learned in this lesson.
Check for proper question formation.
Have students complete the dialogue by listening
to the recording or by having two students read
TASK 3
the completed dialogue from page 2.
Assess two students at a time as they role-play the scenario.

Vocabulary Building
SPELLING NOTE:

Answers will vary. This lesson shows the American spelling of the words Favorite
and Practice. Most other English-speaking countries spell
these words this way: Favourite and Practise (when used as
Write Your Own Dialogue
a verb; Practice when used as a noun). Make it a challenge
for your students to find these words in the lesson and see
Encourage your students to use vocabulary from the model.
if they know the alternate spellings.

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 Ordering at a Restaurant
Everyday Dialogues

Copyright 2016, Red River Press Inc. For use by ESL Library members only. ( LO W I N T / V E R S I O N 4 . 0) 10