ESL CONNECT

Ordering in a Restaurant

An A2 ESL CONNECT lesson on ordering in a restaurant, helping learners ask for a table, order food and pay politely.

Waiter in a restaurant
Lesson preview

Order food and drinks politely

Students practise simple restaurant English: asking for a table, ordering, asking about food, paying, and saying thank you.

A2CEFR level
60 minInteractive lesson
8 pagesMore grammar and vocab
Section 1
Page 1 — Warm-up

Eating out

7 minutes · Speaking

Discuss:

1. What food do you usually order in a restaurant?

2. Do you prefer water, juice, or a soft drink?

3. What do you say when you want the bill?

Tonight's menu at The Olive Garden Bistro:

Starters
Tomato soup£5
Garlic bread£4
Main courses
Chicken pasta£12
Vegetable pizza£11
Fish and chips£13
Desserts
Chocolate cake£5
Ice cream£4
Drinks
Still water£2
Orange juice£3
Soft drink£3
7 min
Page 2 — Vocabulary 1

Restaurant words

9 minutes · Click and fill

Click a word, then click a blank. Click a filled blank to remove it.
bill
waiter
menu
vegetarian
main course
table
dessert
starter

Could I see the , please?

Do you have a for two?

The brings the food to the table.

I would like soup as a .

For my , I would like chicken pasta.

For , I would like ice cream.

Could we have the , please?

My friend is , so she does not eat meat.

9 min
Page 3 — Vocabulary 2

Food groups and choices

8 minutes · Sort and match

Food types

starter = first small dish

main course = big dish

dessert = sweet dish after dinner

drink = water, juice, cola

Match orally:

1. Tomato soup → starter

2. Chicken pasta → main course

3. Ice cream → dessert

4. Orange juice → drink

Practice: Choose a starter, a main course, a dessert and a drink from the menu. Say: “I’d like..., please.”

8 min
Page 4 — Grammar

Polite requests: Can I...? / Could I...? / I'd like...

10 minutes · Grammar focus

1. Asking for something

Can I have a menu, please?
Could I have some water, please?

2. Ordering food

I’d like the vegetable pizza, please.
I’ll have the chicken pasta, please.

3. Asking about food

Does it have cheese?
Is it vegetarian?

Make sentences:

1. menu / please → Could I have a menu, please?

2. vegetable pizza / please → I’d like the vegetable pizza, please.

3. nuts? → Does it have nuts?

10 min
Page 5 — Grammar exercises

Choose the best sentence

10 minutes · Multiple choice

10 min
Page 6 — Functional language

Useful restaurant phrases

8 minutes · Study and repeat

Arriving

• Do you have a table for two?

• I have a reservation.

• Could we sit by the window?

Ordering

• I’d like the soup, please.

• I’ll have the pasta, please.

• Could I have a soft drink?

Questions

• Is it vegetarian?

• Does it have nuts?

• What do you recommend?

Paying

• Could we have the bill, please?

• Can I pay by card?

• Thank you. It was very nice.

8 min
Page 7 — Role play

At the restaurant

6 minutes · Pair work

Student A = waiter. Student B = customer. Then swap roles.

Goal: Order a meal and pay politely. Use the menu from Page 1.

Waiter
Good evening. Do you have a reservation?
Customer
[Say no. Ask for a table for two.]
Waiter
Of course. Here is the menu. Would you like a drink?
Customer
[Order water or juice.]
Waiter
Are you ready to order?
Customer
[Order a starter and a main course. Ask if one dish is vegetarian.]
Waiter
Yes, the vegetable pizza is vegetarian. Would you like dessert?
Customer
[Order dessert or say no thank you.]
Waiter
Was everything okay?
Customer
[Say yes and ask for the bill.]
6 min
Page 8 — Review

Lesson complete!

2 minutes · Review

Today you practised:

• restaurant vocabulary

• food groups: starter, main course, dessert, drink

• polite requests: Can I...? Could I...? I’d like...

• asking about food: Is it...? Does it have...?

• a full restaurant role play

Homework: Write a short restaurant dialogue with 8 lines. Use “I’d like...” and “Could I have...?”

Great work. Keep your restaurant English simple, polite and clear.