Drinks and Eating Out
Learn 20 easy A1 English words for drinks and eating out - menu, waiter, order, bill, juice - with examples, a story and a quiz.
This is a lesson you will use the first time you travel. With these 20 words you can book a table, understand the menu, ask for what you want and pay at the end without pointing at anything. Learn the words, then come to dinner with a family that cannot agree on anything.
20 words to learn
The 20 words
/drɪŋk/
Any liquid you take into your body. Also a verb: to drink.
Would you like something to drink?
/ˈwɔːtə(r)/
The clear liquid we all need. Uncountable.
Can I have a bottle of water, please?
/tiː/
A hot drink made with leaves and hot water.
My father drinks tea with mint after dinner.
/ˈkɒfi/
A hot brown drink that keeps you awake.
Two coffees, please.
/dʒuːs/
The liquid from fruit. Say JOOS.
An orange juice for the boy, please.
/mɪlk/
The white drink that comes from cows. Uncountable.
I take my coffee with a little milk.
/ˈrestrɒnt/
A place where you sit down, order food and pay for it.
There is a new restaurant near the mosque.
/ˈkæfeɪ/
A small place for coffee, tea and light food.
We meet in the same café every Friday.
/ˈmenjuː/
The list of all the food and drinks a place has.
Could we see the menu, please?
/ˈweɪtə(r)/
The person who brings your food. A woman is a waitress.
The waiter was very friendly.
/ˈɔːdə(r)/
To tell the waiter what food you want.
Are you ready to order?
/bɪl/
The paper that says how much you must pay. Americans say check.
Could we have the bill, please?
/tɪp/
Extra money you leave for the waiter.
We left a tip under the glass.
/bʊk ə ˈteɪbl/
To telephone a restaurant and keep a table for a time.
I will book a table for four at eight.
/ɡlɑːs/
The thing you drink from. Also the hard clear material.
Can I have a glass of water?
/ˈbɒtl/
A tall container for liquid, with a narrow top.
We ordered a big bottle of water.
/kəʊld/
Low temperature. The opposite of hot.
I like my juice very cold.
/hɒt/
High temperature.
Careful – the tea is very hot.
/aɪs/
Water that is frozen hard.
Water with ice, please.
/ˈteɪkəweɪ/
Food you buy and eat at home. Americans say takeout.
On Friday we usually get a takeaway.
Now read the story
Story · all 20 words
Table for Four
Last month my father decided that we should all go out for dinner. My sister telephoned the restaurant on Thursday to book a table for four at eight o’clock, and my father said the word “eight” four times to make sure.
The place was small and warm. “Something to drink?” the young waiter asked before we even sat down. He brought us the menu and a big bottle of water with ice in it. My mother asked for hers without ice, because she believes that cold water is bad for the throat, and she has believed this since 1994.
We read the menu for a very long time. My little brother wanted one thing only: an orange juice and chips. My father was ready to order after two minutes, and then changed his mind three times. In the end my mother also asked for a glass of milk for my brother. My brother said nothing, but he looked at her for a long moment.
The food came slowly and it was very good. After it my parents had tea – hot, with mint – and my sister had a coffee, and we all sat there and talked for another hour about nothing important. My father said twice that the café next door makes better coffee, but nobody moved.
Then the bill arrived on a small white plate. My father looked at it, then looked at the ceiling, then put the money down with a tip under the glass. On the way to the car he said the sentence he always says: “Next time we get a takeaway and eat at home.” Everybody was happy, and we went back again in June.
Be polite, not direct. In English, I want a coffee sounds rude to a waiter. Use one of these instead:
Could I have a coffee, please?
I would like the chicken, please. (spoken: I’d like)
Can we have the bill, please?
The word please does most of the work. Use it every time.
Countable for one moment: coffee, tea and juice are uncountable, but when you order them we count the cups: two coffees, three teas. That is normal and correct in a café.
Pronunciation: restaurant is short in British English – REST-ront, not res-ta-u-rant. And juice begins with the same sound as January: JOOS.
Drinks: water, tea, coffee, juice, milk, with ice, hot or cold.
Places: restaurant, café, takeaway.
What happens there, in order: book a table → the waiter brings the menu → you order → you eat → you ask for the bill → you leave a tip.
Practise the whole thing out loud: Hello, I booked a table for two. Could we see the menu, please? I’d like the fish and a glass of water, no ice. Could we have the bill, please?
Now practise with the questions below.
Check your understanding
Answer the questions below. You will see instantly if you are right.
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