Conversation in a restaurant
(Customer to customer)

    A lot of textbooks contain a unit on ordering meals in restaurants. Often the main focus is on speaking to the waiter as in:

      Waiter: Good evening, madam. Are you ready to order?
      Customer: Yes, please. I'd like soup of the day and a sirloin steak.
      Waiter: How would you like your steak?
      Customer: Medium, please.
      Waiter: And would you like fried potatoes or...

    Of course, conversations like these are fine, but I think there is another important element in restaurant conversations. Let's imagine that you're on holiday in the UK and you go to a restaurant with an English speaking friend. Before you order the meal, you will probably spend some time chatting about what you're going to have.

    The next section consists of an exercise in which 2 customers in a restaurant are deciding what to order

Customer to Customer (Exercise)

    Two customers are looking at a restaurant menu together. Customer A knows the restaurant very well, but it is Customer B's first visit. Their conversation begins like this:

    1. Right, let's see. What are you going to have?
    2. Hmm... the hamburger steak sounds nice. What do you reckon?

    The conversation then continues with the sentences below. But they are not in the correct order. Try to rearrange them so that they make a cohesive conversation:
    • The grilled salmon's very nice. That's what I'm going to have.

    • Oh, that's right. I'd forgotten. Erm... do you mind if I have a glass of wine.

    • (In a low voice) Well, to tell you the truth, I had a hamburger steak here once before. It wasn't very nice... too greasy.

    • I'll see how I feel after the main course.

    • OK, I'll try that, too.

    • Yeah.

    • Oh, I see. Well, can you recommend anything else?

    • And are you going to have some dessert?

    • No, not at all. Go ahead. I'll just have an orange juice or something.

    • And shall we order some wine?

    • OK. Shall we order, then?

    • Erm... I'd better not drink any wine. I'm driving.

    • (To the waiter) Excuse me...


    SUGGESTION:
    The best way to do this is probably to print out the dialogue, cut it into strips and then rearrange them on your desk.

    When you've finished, click here to check your answer and read some comments.
    Please click on the link below if you want to try some of my other one-point lessons:
    Bob's One-Point Lesson Archive

    © Robert E. Jones, 2005