RESTAURANT ENGLISH (RESERVING A TABLE)

Good morning. I hope you had a good weekend. Welcome back to the Daily Vitamin.

This week we will look at restaurant English. Many typical restaurant phrases are formulaic, meaning that many of the phrases are fixed. You will see the same phrases repeated in many different contexts because we often use the same language functions to:
-Ask for help
-Make a request
-Indicate a desire or preference or
-Ask for information.

By learning and memorising these expressions, you can reduce any feelings of nervousness that you have when you are in a restaurant in a foreign country. 

RESERVING A TABLE
People usually reserve a table in a restaurant by telephone, but it is possible to do this in the restaurant, too. You would talk to a waiter or a maitre d' (maitre d' --> jefe de comedor).

In place of the verb phrase to reserve a table you can also use the verb phrase to book a table. You can use any of the following words and phrases in combination.

Option 1) I'd like to reserve a table for tomorrow night. There are two of us.
Option 2) I'd like to book a table for four.
Option 3) Do you take reservations? I'd like to make a reservation for a party of ten. (party = grupo)
Option 4) Do you have any free tables tonight? I'd like to make a booking for 9 o'clock. (free = libre)

EXAMPLE DIALOGUE:
Customer: Good evening. I'd like to book a table for Saturday night.
Maitre d': How many people are there in your party?
Customer: There are six of us.
Maitre d': I can give you a table at half past nine.
Customer: That’s fine. My name’s Anne Wilson.
Maitre d': Right, then. The Wilson party, table for six, next Saturday at half past nine. See you then.
Customer: Thank you very much. Bye.

These are not the only options, but remembering a few of these formulaic expressions will help you survive in your next English restaurant experience. 

If you have any questions about this topic so far or would like to get some practice by writing your own short reservation dialogue, please do so on one of our social media sites (Facebook or Bluesky). We will get back to you as soon as we can. 

Bon appetit!