Recursio
At the Restaurant: Ordering in English
Restaurant English step by step: book a table, read the menu, order politely, ask about dishes, and pay — with the phrases servers actually use.
A meal out follows the same short script everywhere: you get a table, look at the menu, order, eat, and ask for the check. The server's lines are predictable too, so once you recognize a handful of questions, you can relax and enjoy the food.
Booking and arriving
On the phone or at the door:
The menu and asking about dishes
A meal usually has starters (also called appetizers), a main course, and dessert.
Useful to recognize: for steak, servers ask how you'd like it — rare, medium rare, medium, or well done.
Ordering
The standard opener is I'll have… — short, natural, and polite with please.
What the server says: Are you ready to order? · Can I get you anything to drink? · How would you like your steak? · Anything else? · Enjoy your meal!
Paying
In American English the paper you pay is the check (British English says bill).
Common mistakes
"I want a pizza." Grammatically fine, but blunt to a server — soften it.
✓I'll have the pizza, please. / Could I get the pizza?
"Can I have two waters?" / "a bread". These nouns are uncountable, so count the container or the piece.
✓Can I have some bread and two glasses of water?
In casual restaurant speech servers themselves often say "two waters" or "three coffees" as shorthand for the glasses or cups — but the safe standard form is the one above.
Asking for "the account". The word in a restaurant is check (US) or bill (UK).
✓Could we get the check, please?
Quick exercise
Complete each line with one word.
- A ___ for two, please.
- I'll ___ the salmon, please.
- What do you ___ ? (you want the server's advice)
- Could we get the ___ , please? (you want to pay, US English)
- Is service ___ ?
Answer key
- table (a table for two)
- have ("I'll have…" — the standard way to order)
- recommend (asking for a suggestion)
- check (US English; bill in the UK)
- included (asking whether the tip is in the total)
Practice this in Recursio
Ordering follows the same short script every time, which makes it ideal for spaced review. Save the phrases you'd use to your word list in Recursio, and daily review can bring "I'll have…" and "Could we get the check?" back so they come out smoothly when the server arrives.
Build your word list in Recursio → · Free to start, on iOS and Android.