At the Table

So we sit down at the table and probably the hostess will give us some menus if not maybe our waiter or our waitress will come over and introduce themselves and they’ll say I’ll be I’ll be your waitress your waitress this evening I’ll be your waitress this evening.

And then she’ll probably or he will probably if it’s a waiter give you a menu or some menus.

If for some reason they don’t get menus you could say you could say could we look at some menus please.

Could we look at some menus please.

No I think you probably know what a menu is but a menu is the book that you look at which has all the food.

There are a lot of vocabulary words related to a menu entrees desserts appetizers all of these are very common words but really I want to make sure you’re comfortable with how to interact in this situation the words themselves are pretty easy to learn.

Could we have some menus please.

Or she gives us the menus and she says can I.

And this is a very common way to say it.

It’s almost always exactly the same.

Can I start you off with anything to drink.

Can I start you off with anything to drink.

It always starts with a drink.

Right.

So maybe we just want water and if we do we’ll just say that just water for me.

Now you you might not want to order for the other person you are with so you could just say for me just just water for me.

Thanks.

Now I can say just water instead of I’d like to have a glass of water here because I’m directly responding to the question Can I get you something to drink.

If someone says Can I get you something to drink.

And I say I would like a glass of water that’s fine but because I’m responding directly if I say just water we’ll just have water that’s also OK that’s also OK.

So this is a common way to respond to this sort of this sort of question.

And if we want to add something we could say for now thanks just water for now things.

What that means is right now I want to drink water as I’m maybe looking at the menu.

And then once I’ve decided what food I’m going to get what food I’m going to order maybe what dishes I want then I can maybe order something else to drink maybe a Coca-Cola some sort of soda or perhaps some wine whatever else I might want.

So for now suggests that I probably I will get something else but it doesn’t mean I have to.

But I probably will get something else to drink.

So if I do want something else I’ll say Can I Can I get a Coke please OK and then you can add and with no ice with no ice or extra ice whatever.

OK.

She says OK I’ll be right back with those.

I’ll be right back with your drink.

OK.

Maybe though you want alcohol you’d like to drink some alcohol and you’re not sure what alcohol they have.

So you might say something like could we could we.

Same sentence as we did with the menus.

Could we look at the the wine list.

Could we look at the wine list.

Could we look at the wine list.

And then once we decide we look at the wine list if we want to order wine now for alcohol.

Now alcohol alcohol is maybe red wine white wine beer maybe whiskey maybe vodka or a cocktail perhaps maybe a cocktail.

All of these things are called alcohol.

Alcohol wine is usually just red and white red and white made from grapes just to be clear that’s what wine is.

Alcohol is a broad category which includes every kind of drink like this on the wine list at the top.

There’s often something that says House red and house white.

This doesn’t mean that this is the best wine at the restaurant.

The house is the restaurant.

If you ever hear the phrase on the house on the house that means that you don’t need to pay it’s free.

For example if your food is an hour late and you waited and you’re starving they say Oh I’m so sorry for you know waiting.

Everything is on the house.

They’ll pay for your meal.

It’s on the house.

So if you see House red house white basically what that means is this is our basic wine.

This is the wine that we recommend.

It’s usually not super expensive maybe not the cheapest but close to the bottom.

It’s sort of like their standard.

It’s sort of like their standard wine.

So here comes the waitress with the drinks.

Here’s your wine here’s your Coca-Cola Here’s your water whatever.

Oh thank you so much.

Course you can just say thank you.

Say thanks.

Thank you.

And then she’ll usually ask you are you ready to order.

Are you ready to order.

Have you decided what you’d like.

Sometimes she’ll say Have you decided have you decided.

And then if you haven’t decided what should you say you’re still thinking right you’re still thinking.

So that’s what you should say.

That’s the common phrase actually.

Actually we’re still thinking we’re still thinking we’re still thinking please could you please could you please give us another minute could you please give us another minute could you please give us another minute.

We need a minute.

We need a minute.

The one that I usually use is not quite not quite simply a lower case cube.

Not quite.

We or I are still thinking I am still I’m still thinking I’m still thinking.

And then you could add could you please give me another minute.

That’s OK if you put both of those together.

That’s not a problem.

Still thinking Could you please give us or give me another minute.

No problem.

Then she’ll say OK sure I’ll check on you in a couple minutes or.

Sure no problem.